mounting front sight perfectly?

[cpileri]

How can a guy (me) mount a front sight- can be a bead, post, etc.- on a blank barrel that is mounted to the receiver?

I have an old bolt action shotgun that had its muzzle chopped off at one point in its long life (down to 21 inches, don't worry!). But it is now a smooth tube with no sight.
I can drill a divet and weld a BB into it, but I want it to be straight. Any ideas?
THx,
C-

 

[1911Tuner]

Front Sight

Clamp the receiver in a mill vise, use an edge finder on the side, move the
table exactly one half the width of the receiver. Move the table to set the
quill where you want the front sight, center drill it with a stub drill,
drill the hole, remove the drill and mount a threading tap, and turn the
whole works by hand while feeding the tap S-L-O-W-L-Y and gently.
Bada BING! About as perfect as you can get it.

Luck!
Tuner

 

[cpileri]

thanks

That doesn' sound too bad.
Thanks!
C-

 

[Jim K]

Of course, you have to have the front sight and know the size of drill and tap you need. The most common bead threads are 3x56, 5x40 and 6x48. Check www.brownells.com if you don't have the sight already to see what is available. On a shotgun front sight, you drill right through the barrel, screw the sight in, and then carefully file off any excess on the inside using a half round file with masking tape to minimize the goofs. Or you can do it by trial and error, but that takes time. It doesn't hurt to leave a little bit sticking out on the inside, but too much will pick up lead or plastic from the wads.

Jim