Viggen Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 I just got one of those SDM Slip-in sights for the S&W revolver. The factory sight slips out and in just fine. The issue I am having is slipping the SDM into the slot. It is quite a bit longer than the original. Is there some deep dark secret as to a method that works? (It also might be that it is late and I am tired and not thinking clearly.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmoney Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 Yep, I had the exact same problem with mine, and had to file the dovetail thing before it would even fit in the slot. If I remember right, I also wound up filing off the front of the SDM sight so it wouldn't hang way off the front and look weird. Works good now, though.... Don't work on it while you're tired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Round_Gun_Shooter Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 I found it easier to drift out the pin, install the sight, and put the pin back. Kind of defeats the purpose of "Interchangeable sights", but it won't fall out either Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Sahlberg Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 For my 625, I had to file both sides of mine down and it did not have the hole as this was made to have a tight fit (by a gunsmith) I drifted my .0055 pin and matched this to a drill bit. Much better than the old patridged front sight. BTW, I bought the tallest one with red fiber. rear sight was changed to a Millet with me filing out the rear knotch to .250. Now the gun is much faster to acquire targets and with sunlight the red dot really stands out. If you are not a gunsmither by nature spend the extra $20 and have it installed by a pro. SDM makes the best front sight I have ever seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10mmdave Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 I just got one of those SDM Slip-in sights for the S&W revolver. The factory sight slips out and in just fine. The issue I am having is slipping the SDM into the slot. It is quite a bit longer than the original. Is there some deep dark secret as to a method that works?(It also might be that it is late and I am tired and not thinking clearly.) I don't know that this will work for everyone but here goes. I had the same problem but from my point of view the problem was just hanging onto the dang sight! Pushing against the spring pressure and pressing down on the sight without cracking the fiber was a tough one. What I finally did was take my 2 inch machinist vise, clamp the sight in it with the tab and approx. .03 to .04 of the sight sticking above the jaws. This gave me a huge "handle" to push with. As long as the sight fits the slot this is way I do it now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viggen Posted March 8, 2006 Author Share Posted March 8, 2006 What I finlly did was the simple thing: 1. Take off the original factory sight 2. Tap the pin half way out with a punch(actually a really small allen wrench) 3. Placed SDM sight in the slot and pushed it to the rear a little bit 4. Tapped the pin back in. 5. Admired it Total time was about 1 minute once I had the right size punch(allen wrench) The sight looks great. It will need a trip to the range to test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10mmdave Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 What I finlly did was the simple thing:1. Take off the original factory sight 2. Tap the pin half way out with a punch(actually a really small allen wrench) 3. Placed SDM sight in the slot and pushed it to the rear a little bit 4. Tapped the pin back in. 5. Admired it Total time was about 1 minute once I had the right size punch(allen wrench) The sight looks great. It will need a trip to the range to test. Well done, explained very well too, maybe we need a "sticky" section in the Revo section for helpful hints like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 [Well done, explained very well too, maybe we need a "sticky" section in the Revo section for helpful hints like this. Done. Any others that need to be pinned? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Instead of a bunch of pinned threads, somebody might come up with a post/thread that gives links and names to some of the better threads here in the revolver section. I would pin that up at the top as an FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viggen Posted March 9, 2006 Author Share Posted March 9, 2006 We range tested the SDM fiber-optic sight today. We found that it was necessary to add 6 clicks of elevation for hits at point-of-aim at 25 yards compared to the stock gold-bead. The actual black edges of the blade were used for the sighting in, not the fiber. The reason being that for close in and fast any difference would not really matter but for 25yard and 50 yards, the standards, you will need a fine sight picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ignatz Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 Just got my "green" FO sight and it went right in. I put a small pin punch in from the front and pushed the spring assy in while droping the sight right in. For once something went right! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viggen Posted March 15, 2006 Author Share Posted March 15, 2006 Very good that it went smoothly. We tried the punch from the front and for us it didn't want to cooperate, so we went with the "pin option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fdkay Posted September 20, 2007 Share Posted September 20, 2007 Okay, hopefully someone will see this, as it has been a while. Quite a long time ago, my father bought an SDM super sight for me to put on my 625 (model 1989). I am not a gunsmith, but I am fairly mechanically inclined. He bought me the pinned sight, the sight came with ZERO documentation. So, do I have to drill a hole for the pin? I'm not about to invest 95 dollars to have a 35 dollar front sight installed (60 round trip shipping and 45 for the work). my Dad had ordered it through the blue press, and if it would have stated that it was not a drop in, he would not have bought it. The closest gunsmith is 2.5 hours away (one way). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Round_Gun_Shooter Posted September 20, 2007 Share Posted September 20, 2007 Okay, hopefully someone will see this, as it has been a while. Quite a long time ago, my father bought an SDM super sight for me to put on my 625 (model 1989). I am not a gunsmith, but I am fairly mechanically inclined. He bought me the pinned sight, the sight came with ZERO documentation. So, do I have to drill a hole for the pin? I'm not about to invest 95 dollars to have a 35 dollar front sight installed (60 round trip shipping and 45 for the work). my Dad had ordered it through the blue press, and if it would have stated that it was not a drop in, he would not have bought it. The closest gunsmith is 2.5 hours away (one way). You have to drill a hole in the sight base. I do not have the drill size handy, but I do it with my Dremel. I score both sides then take it out and drill it. It is nice to have a spare pin or the over size pin Kenny sells at SPEED SHOOTERS His site says the pin is .055 Regards, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viggen Posted September 20, 2007 Author Share Posted September 20, 2007 Like Round Gun said...... but I can't varify the dirll or pin size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmoney Posted September 20, 2007 Share Posted September 20, 2007 The SDM is a good sight, but kind of a pain in the ass to install. Not hard, though. First problem is you have to make a punch to drive out the pin from the factory sight. Don't use a 1/16" punch, it will be just big enough to get stuck. Find a piece of drill rod to use for a drift punch, or make your own by grinding off the tip of one of those little eyeglass screwdrivers. When the pin is out, pad the sight with a rag and gently knock it loose and out from rear to front. Now clean out the slot with a steel brush. Next problem, you will find the sight base on the SDM sight will not fit down into the slot. Why, I have no clue. Take your file and gently dress down the sides of the sight base, being careful not to damage the actual parts of the blade which will show when the sight is installed. When you finally get it so the sight will push down nicely into place with thumb pressure, use the punch through the hole to score the sight on both sides. Then take the sight back out, bang a dimple on each side with a sharp center-punch, and drill the sight base from both sides until the holes meet in the middle. Don't try to drill the sight through the holes, you'll just screw things up. When you're done, do one file stroke on each side to take away any burrs you made while drilling, then fill the slot with red loc-tite, reinstall the sight and drift in the pin. That's it. Not a huge deal, but a little time-consuming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
granderojo Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 (edited) Brownells sells a pin punch MADE for the pin on a S&W. They sell 2 lengths. I found that the short one is good enough. I got one & it works Great, not very expensive either. The drill bit # that is needed for the hole in the new sight is a # 54. I got mine at a bolt supply store. I bought 2 just incase I broke one (they are very small). + 1 on what Mike said about using the barrel for a drilling fixture. Very bad idea. Very good discription of the job details, Mike. Thanks for the info! Edited September 21, 2007 by granderojo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mooney Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 (edited) I guess I'm just lucky- I have two SDM front sights (both green, one on a 617x10 and one on my 625) and I don't have either of them pinned back in- and neither has backed out. I used the end of a paperclip to drive out the old pin (took a while but it worked). Some creative filing got them most of the way into the bbl slot, and vice-grips got them the rest of the way in. The one for my 625 didn't break the FO rod (was more liberal with the file) but the one on my 617 broke the rod and I had to replace it. Kinda rough to get all the little pieces of plastic out of the sight once it broke, so I just drilled it from the front, and slid a new piece of rod in. FWIW, I have 10-15K (all major PF and then some) since the 625 sight went in, and not one itoa of movement. edited to add: aesthetically, the 625 isn't bad looking the way I did it- I also have NO intention of ever selling her, so since it works..... the 617's sight isn't pretty at all, but it is functional too, and since it is MINE MINE MINE it's not going anywhere without me....I love that little gun! Edited September 21, 2007 by Mooney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmoney Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 Some creative filing got them most of the way into the bbl slot, and vice-grips got them the rest of the way in. So you're saying you just press-fit them and never bothered with the drilling and pinning?? Did you put any glue in there first? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mooney Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 Nope. No glue, and I just keep an eye on the for any wiggling out, but (knock on some serious wood here...) haven't seen any movement yet. I think that the key is (with all things gun) to keep test fitting until it works, as you can take more metal off, but find it hard to put it back on Pad the heck out of the jaws before trying it though, or your results may vary. They stick in there really tight if you take off just enough of the sight base. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmoney Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 Mooney, that's some crazy-ass redneck ingenuity you're talking about. You know that, right?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fdkay Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 Thanks for all the info. It is a great help. I won't be able to take a crack at it for a couple of months (I'm overseas). I just find it incredible that they sell it that way. Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now