Drifting rear sight on 75th Anniversary LCP Max

[Punch7]

The stainless steel slide on my 75th Anniversary LCP Max isn't tall enough to adjust correctly to my sight pusher when the bottom guide plate has reached its travel limit. And...the rear sight is not budging when I attempt to drift it with a brass punch and a hammer even though I've soaked the dovetail in Kroil over night. Anyone else had this problem and can offer a solution?

 

[Punch7]

A follow up concerning drifting the rear sight in the stainless steel slide of the 75th Anniversary Edition LCP Max. I've been able to drift sights with a brass punch many time over the years but I believe Ruger uses a commercial grade super glue to keep THIS rear sight from making any movement possible at all. Four days soaking in KROIL and I haven't budged it 0.0001".

 

[hittman]

Don't seem like we're much help for you yet.
You call Ruger?

 

[Punch7]

If I could convince Ruger Customer Service to send a new slide that has a rear sight I CAN manipulate and in turn send my current slide back on their RMA label AFTER I receive the new slide, I'd call them in a heartbeat!
However, I've found they don't do it that way. I must return my CURRENT slide first. I'm not waiting another four weeks for Ruger to send the replacement part. I'll just use KENTUCKY windage from now on.

 

[NikA]

Out of curiousity: have you tried heating the slide to break the glue bond?

 

[Punch7]

I was really joking about the glue bonding, NikA. Ruger doesn't bond their sights into the dovetail of their pistols, but I do believe they used oversized sight bases when they press them in the dovetail in the slide. They make sure the sights are not loose when the customer receives the new pistol. You can always lightly stake a new sight once you get it where you want it but the sight needs to be easier than mine is in order to MOVE it, then stake it if I choose to do so.

 

[ILC]

I had the same problem with my 75th, couldn't get the rear sight out with anything. Gave up and took it to the local gunsmith who charged $10 to switch it out with the night sight. Don't know what he did but I can ask next time I'm there.

 

[Punch7]

That would be very helpful information for me and I imagine several others on this forum.
Thank you very much for your consideration and courtesy, ILC

 

[ILC]

He said he used a press, one that clamps the whole slide in place. Hope this helps.

 

[Punch7]

Thank you again, ILC! However, the slide on my LCP Max is approximately .6875 and the platen of my sight pusher, on which the slide rests, interferes with the clamp being able to close to that dimension when raised as high as possible. In other words, the clamps hit the platen and are blocked before they reach the slide. It's possible your gunsmith has a sight pusher that will close the clamps down to that dimension without interference, or, he has milled a jig that allows for such a situation as this narrow slide.

 

[Punch7]

He said he used a press, one that clamps the whole slide in place. Hope this helps.

Thank you again, ILC! However, the slide on my LCP Max is approximately .6875 and the adjustable up and down platen of my sight pusher, on which the slide rests, interferes with the clamp being able to close to that dimension when raised as high as possible. In other words, the clamps hit the platen and are blocked before they reach the sides of slide to secure it. It's possible your gunsmith has a sight pusher that will close the clamps down to that dimension without interference, or, he has milled a jig that allows him to get around the problem for such a narrow slide as this one is.

 

[NikA]

More likely, the gunsmith is outfitted with enough clamping and pressing tools that he's not reliant on a sight pusher. They're a fine DIY tool, but I doubt most doing work professionally would purchase something so application specific.

 

[Punch7]

Your point is well taken and I agree with you, NikA. What a wonderful world it would be if every gunsmith had access to the facilities you speak of across the nation and I'm positive there are quite a number of those shops across the USA.
I also imagine that's not the case in smaller cities and rural and or remote areas. There are wonderful exceptions, of course, in many of those areas. Unfortunately for many of us, we don't live in those areas and we rely on the competence of those who serve us as qualified gunsmiths.
I love the give and take on this subject and I look forward to more discussions and recommendations on my rear sight problem.

 

[NikA]

@Punch7, you're sounding a bit preachy about rural life for someone who lives in a metropolitan area that is 3x the population of the entire state I live in.

I don't own a sight pusher. I do own several milling vises and presses that would almost certainly allow me to move a sight like this without a whole lot of effort. To each their own, but I couldn't use a sight pusher to seat bearings, press dowel pins, etc. so I find my setup more useful. I'd guess that most people in the trades would take the same approach.

WRT your previous comment, I would not be surprised if Ruger used an industrial adhesive in addition to an interference fit for their sights. That's not all that uncommon and helps make up for manufacturing tolerances. When I put a sight on and want to make sure it will not shift, at very least I will use blue threadlocker on the screws, or green threadlocker on the dovetail if there are no screws. Heat is your friend in removing these if you want to possibly reuse the pieces.

 

[Punch7]

Fair enough, NikA. My visit to the metropolis you speak of is not to my liking and it would take much more than a stuck rear sight for me to venture into that river of discontent. And by the way, I lived all my life in a small town of less than 13,000 souls along the tracks of the ICRR between Chicago and New Orleans before we moved here two years ago.
Be that as it may, Ruger emphatically states that they do NOT use any adhesive products to secure their sights so I'll accept that as the truth.
So, what I need to find locally is perhaps not a gunsmith but a machinist with more equipment such as yours to solve my problem.
Thanks kindly for your suggestion.

 

[ILC]

I didn't see the press, but it sounds like NikA is on the right train of thought. I wonder if a reloading press could be modified for a job like this?

 

[NikA]

Reloading press could be modified but would take excessive effort.

I would start with an arbor press, some wood and large welding clamps for clamping, and a very study table. If that didn't work, I'd use a milling vise attached to some piece of heavy tooling with a brass punch and hammer, followed by a machine geared with mechanical advantage. Arbor press and clamps would probably be less than 100$ at Harbor Freight and could be used for numerous other tasks.

Usually, I find that the amount of force is less of a problem than the precise application of the force. A lot of frustration and wasted energy goes into attempting to force things without proper workholding.

 

[magpouch]

Heat the slide with a butane torch, then quickly (before the sight heats up) tap the rear sight smartly to break the bond. PATIENCE is key, you may need to try several times. For instance, Heat and tap, if sight does not move drop slide into your lube of choice (I use ATF) for a bit and try again. This will work but you need to be patient and have a good set up.

 

[wagwan]

I've had surprisingly good results on stubborn sights using a Wyoming Sight Drifter. It has moved some really stuck CZ sights for me. Here's the link: https://www.wyomingsightdrifter.com/store/product/wyoming-sight-drifter

 

[Punch7]

The stainless steel slide on my 75th Anniversary LCP Max isn't tall enough to adjust correctly to my sight pusher when the bottom guide plate has reached its travel limit. And...the rear sight is not budging when I attempt to drift it with a brass punch and a hammer even though I've soaked the dovetail in Kroil over night. Anyone else had this problem and can offer a solution?

An update on this thread. It took a qualified gunsmith after I tried several more times to remove the sight based on suggestions voiced here and on other forums, too. The gunsmith admitted he'd run across very few other rear sights as tight as was this one and even when reinserting the sight in the slide. He made a few minor adjustments on the base of the sight by stoning the ways and the base.
I'm satisfied and now I can take a brass punch and with a couple judicial taps with my double ended hammer move the sight where I need it.

A follow up concerning drifting the rear sight in the stainless steel slide of the 75th Anniversary Edition LCP Max. I've been able to drift sights with a brass punch many time over the years but I believe Ruger uses a commercial grade super glue to keep THIS rear sight from making any movement possible at all. Four days soaking in KROIL and I haven't budged it 0.0001".