How to Make a Reticle

Use electrician's screwdrivers to carefully dismantle the sight or scope. Electrician's screwdrivers have small, precisely engineered heads for removing small screws and carrying out fiddly jobs. When each component is removed, place it in a secure container to ensure that no pieces are lost in the dismantling and reassembly process. Remove the glass lens at the other end of the sight from the eyepiece and place it to one side.

Secure the lens in a circular clamp and secure that clamp with a bench clamp to ensure there is no movement during the engraving process. Use a scientific ruler, as precise as possible, preferably to below a millimeter, to derive the halfway points on the x and y axis of the sight and make a small mark in pen on the frame of the lens to denote this.

Line the ruler up along the x axis and use G-clamps to secure the ruler. Put on goggles and take the diamond- or tungsten-tipped glass engraving tool and run it firmly but steadily along the x axis of the lens. This should be completed in one sweeping movement, creating a clean and precise engraving in the surface of the glass. Loosen the G-clamp and remove the ruler, before repeating the process for the y axis. This will leave a two-line crosshair etched into the glass.

Blow firmly onto the surface of the lens to remove any minute glass particles that might obscure vision. Repeat until no glass dust remains, then wipe the lens with a synthetic cloth to remove any moisture and other dirt. Remember to use a synthetic cloth rather than anything that might leave fibers on the surface. Remove all clamps and carefully reassemble the scope, being careful to check that the sight is not crooked and the y axis runs perpendicular to the bottom of the sight.