Air rifle replacement front post sight

[Divided he ad]

Just a quick one for my first post in a while.

A friend asked me if I could make him a replacement front post sight for his old Webley air rifle... I looked at it and said I'd give it a go.


So.. a few hours later.

Start with cleaning up a scrap of ali....




Drill and bore to the barrel size.




Using a ball mill I carved the shape of the sight out of the top of the block while I still had something solid to hold in the vise.







I tried an idea with a fibre optic in the top.... Didn't really pan out (think it was too small) so we'll forget that 

I then cut off the big block from the base and made a mandrel with a brass washer turned to the diameter of the original sight.
It was centred in the rotary table and milled round to meet the upright.








And then fitted to the rifle...



I'm having issues with photobucket at the mo' so this one is upside down! (The organise function just simply will not work! )






Other than that all I can tell you is is shoots straight 




Ralph.

[Rob.Wilson]

Good to see you in the shop Ralph 

I bet your friend is pleased with his new sight ,,cracking job 


Rob

PS you adding any glow in the dark material to it ?

[Stilldrillin]

Yes! It's nice to see you're back to it again Ralph.   

Nice, helpful first project. I like to make things for friends....... 

David D

[PTsideshow]

nice job, I am waiting for my new sight for my Glock 26 gen 4 this is another company that has the fiber optics and paint May be of some interest or help in the future
 

[andyf]

Nice one, Ralph. How is it held on - press fit?

Fibre optic with a red dot would have been nice, but as you say there just isn't the room. Have you thought of black anodising it?.

Andy

[kayz1]

I have a cheapO anodizing setup if you want to pop around one day..
 Lyn.

[Brass_Machine]

 

Nice bit of carving there Ralph! Get some GID powder or some other perm glowing piece fitted in there and I see a nice side business for you!

Super impressive. Glad you are able to get in the shop!

Eric

[Jonny]

Grub screw through the top.

Looks like too much hassle unless a good friend.
Not knocking it spotted two mistakes, too short and undersize to barrel.

Polish it up and black to Webley standard.

[Divided he ad]

Thanks guys.

Always good to get a few positive responses 

I'll try this in order...

Rob, he hasn't had it yet... .Will tomorrow (erm today technically now!) I tried the GID bit, there is a fibre optic rod in the little hole in the post. the two little holes cross drilled into that have green GID resin in them... Didn't work. Well, you try these things

David, I always like to make things for friends.... it's the time I find hard to get hold of!


Glen, I like the sight site... lol    I would like a bucket full of radio active isotopes (tritium) and no ill effects.... I could get some mighty fine glowing done then 

Andy (you big ol' global Mod' you!  )   It's a 4mm grub screw (similar to the original) the hole can be seem in the top of the sight. It would be nice to have a dot in there... If it were mine I might have used an LED torch modification with the fibre optic. But that would be massively time consuming and I'm fighting to get time in the workshop as it is!
Not set up nor do I have the space for an anodising rig... But it appears there is one locally....

leading me to... Lyn, I'm thinking a visit could be on the cards.... Maybe not for this... But more for a general chat n visit.... Holywell's on the doorstep! (And only up he road from my renovation project house). We will have to arrange a visit. Gonna have to be Feb now though. Booked up solid!!

Eric, As explained to Rob, It is there....It just sucks! I'm contemplating a 1.5mm slot through the top of the post removing all the 1.2mm drillings and then filling the slot with GID resin?  I'll have to asses this when I look at it tomorrow.

 If I'm back from work early I can get it done on the mandrel shouldn't take long. The resin sets in 10 min's



Jonny, It's for an old "plinker" It only shoots at about 5Lbs!   "Too short and undersized to barrel"  could you clarify that a bit. I'm not quite there... Under size and short what? where? It's the same dimensions as the original Webley part. Except for the ramp... I didn't have the right "FOC" material for that. The grub screw is the metric equivalent of the imperial one in the original too.

 No worries either way. I would just like to understand what you're saying



Tis very good to have something to talk about again.... Got a new little project on the go that is currently top secwet. But will be posting up an old project I thought I already had and a little fun one I did a week or so ago.






Ralph.

[Jonny]

Ralph when you milled the profile you done it undersize to o/d of barrel, they should be flush or slightly proud.
Lengths a tad short at muzzle should end flush.

I can find you some work if you want it.

[rleete]

Looks good.

I'm surprised you didn't polish it to a mirror finish!

[Divided he ad]

Jonny, I get you now... The length is exactly that of the plastic one. Barrel was proud on that too.

See what you mean on the undersized bit. I haven't checked to see if the plastic one was the same.... But I made the button to the external measurement and only just skimmed it while adding the finishing cut!?

Was fun to make and will be received well I'm sure.  

Not bad for a first try though. Not my usual machining zone. Good to challenge yourself a little now and then. The cutting part is easy, it's the planning that took the time 

Definitely not a job choice, all works "dun for fun" 




Roger....Nice to know you still want to see that elusive mirror finish     I very nearly gave it a go. But decided function won this time.
Sometimes you have to leave the tooling marks so they know you were there





Ralph.

[Jonny]

Last job gaffer would have expected job done in 3hrs tops, with only a lathe, vice and files, lug type extractors precision fit no tolerance when polished 4hrs.

[Divided he ad]

You're losing me there a bit Jonny.

Maybe a picture?   





Ralph.

[kayz1]

Ralph,,,,,,

 Lyn, I'm thinking a visit could be on the cards.... Maybe not for this... But more for a general chat n visit.... Holywell's on the doorstep! (And only up he road from my renovation project house). We will have to arrange a visit. Gonna have to be Feb now though. Booked up solid!!




any time i am mostly here now i have retired..

  Lyn.

[johnbaz]

Very nice job Ralph 

The foresight that is in one of the pics looks like a mk1 Hawk..

Did the rifle resemble this one and have removable barrels??




Cheers, John 

[Divided he ad]

Hi John, Thank you.



It's not the same as yours.

What you can't see in the pic's is that it is side lever operation.

It loads via a little lever that rotates the pellet chamber through 90 degrees.


Removable barrels... Sawn off air rifle!?   






Ralph.