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How to Silver Solder the Front Sight

With some patience and a steady hand, you can repair the front sight of your firearm yourself. The front sight is the most important part of an open sighting system for firearms. Without it, it is almost impossible to aim. If a fixed front sight has broken off, it can be repaired by soldering it in place with silver solder. This will allow you to make use of the weapon again.

Things You'll Need

Hard silver solder
Torch acetylene/oxygen or propane/oxygen
Vise
Tweezers
Flux
Brush

Instructions

- 1
  Secure the weapon in the vise with the front sight facing upward. If the weapon is a semiautomatic pistol, remove the slide from the frame and secure the slide in the vise. If soldering a revolver, remove the cylinder from the frame and secure the frame in the vise. Refer to your firearm's manual on how to do this.
- 2
  Use the brush to apply flux to the broken portion of the front sight on the weapon and the separated broken post. The solder will not flow without the presence of flux. Only apply flux to the broken portions.
- 3
  Light the torch and adjust it for a high-intensity flame. There should be a solid blue cone of flame about 1 inch long. Quickly pass the flame over the broken sight post on the weapon and the separate broken piece.
- 4
  Heat the broken post on the weapon with the torch flame. Apply a small amount of the silver solder to the broken top of the post.
- 5
  Pick up the broken piece with the tweezers and match up the broken portions so they fit together. Apply moderate downward pressure on the broken piece.
- 6
  Heat both pieces with the torch until the solder becomes liquid again and sticks to both of the pieces. Remove the torch heat and hold the broken pieces together until the solder hardens. Allow the metal to cool before handling it.

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