Excellent video! I lack two pieces of equipment that would have made life a lot easier on me. A vice and a brass punch. I'll invest in both for sure before I attempt to change out any dovetail irons thank you.
great vid needed the info., wish i had it before i let the gunsmith at the range i attend reck the install on my m&p 40 had to take to another gunsmith he is correcting the job now i'll do the install myself next time again thank you
I recommend to put a bit of tape or something on the brass punch .It can still take off the bluing on a gun when you hit the steel sight with a brass punch.
I bought an American Classic II 45 ,went to the range and when I was cleaning it later I noticed the REAR sight is loose as a Goose:) How do I make sure this doesnt happen again and How do I set it in the correct posistion before tightening it down(Do I just eye ball it from above to CENTER it?) and what SIZE is that small (1) allen screw? My smallest one I have is too small and the next size up is too big.Thanks
From Bo at XS: The rear dovetail on the American Classic II is supposed to be a Novak spec dovetail. The ones we have seen are close but aren’t cut to a true spec. So the rear sight has to be hand fitted and depending on who does it, it can wind up loose if the set screws back off under recoil, which is common.
That is why we include that tube of red thread locking compound. That way you only need to rely on the set screws holding for just a little bit while you adjust the rear sight for windage. Then you apply several drops around the rear dovetail (not down the set screw holes) and allow it to creep in under the sight & harden.
The Allen wrench is .050, if you don’t have one shoot me an email and we will drop one in the mail to you. Or you can check with whoever did the install, there was one in the kit & they should have passed it along to the customer when they were done..
For now just center the rear in its dovetail. Then shoot to see if you need to adjust it a little left/right for your own shooting style.
While this is certainly the correct method, the technique is not for begginers. You should never, ever ( especially with small parts ) hold the piece you are working on IN YOUR HAND!!! You cannot lock your wrist, fingers, etc. for a flat, even stroke, so no matter how good you are in your mind, you will never, ever file this sight bottom or sides flat. Please, please put your workpiece in a fixture... basic fundamental....
@damarei What looks awful about it? That white you see on top of the sight is where it says Trijicon and some other stuff. It looks perfectly fine to me.
You could always use a string or piece of tape to measure from the left side of the site to the shoulder, and from the right side of the sight to the shoulder.
If the distances are equal, then it's perfectly centered.
awsom video, I will be giving you a big 5 stars, I am knew to owning a hand gun and had no Idea how to adjust the front sights, this was the only video I could find on you tube explaining the process, thank you so much for you time and expertise you have no idea how you have helped me and saved me time and frustration, thanks again matt
Outstanding. Very helpful. I will be giving your method a try this very afternoon. Knew there had to be a way to install sights without the purchase of a tool that cost almost twice the price of the sights themselves (at least in my case with an HK). Thanks for posting your expertise for all to benefit and learn from. Well done, Sir.
Fantastic video. I have three pistol's to put new sights on and really didn't want to spend $130+ on a universal dovetail sight tool. Thank you so much for posting this video. I feel very confident that this is something I can do now.
he should have said you almost always have to file the angle face
joeratti 7 months ago
Comment removed
joeratti 7 months ago
Excellent video! I lack two pieces of equipment that would have made life a lot easier on me. A vice and a brass punch. I'll invest in both for sure before I attempt to change out any dovetail irons thank you.
SoCalTactical 8 months ago
great vid needed the info., wish i had it before i let the gunsmith at the range i attend reck the install on my m&p 40 had to take to another gunsmith he is correcting the job now i'll do the install myself next time again thank you
morpheus61361 8 months ago
Awesome video, I have the big dot set coming.
1okie 9 months ago
I recommend to put a bit of tape or something on the brass punch .It can still take off the bluing on a gun when you hit the steel sight with a brass punch.
kontknager 1 year ago
I bought an American Classic II 45 ,went to the range and when I was cleaning it later I noticed the REAR sight is loose as a Goose:) How do I make sure this doesnt happen again and How do I set it in the correct posistion before tightening it down(Do I just eye ball it from above to CENTER it?) and what SIZE is that small (1) allen screw? My smallest one I have is too small and the next size up is too big.Thanks
HerbWalker 1 year ago
From Bo at XS: The rear dovetail on the American Classic II is supposed to be a Novak spec dovetail. The ones we have seen are close but aren’t cut to a true spec. So the rear sight has to be hand fitted and depending on who does it, it can wind up loose if the set screws back off under recoil, which is common.
the3wire 1 year ago
That is why we include that tube of red thread locking compound. That way you only need to rely on the set screws holding for just a little bit while you adjust the rear sight for windage. Then you apply several drops around the rear dovetail (not down the set screw holes) and allow it to creep in under the sight & harden.
the3wire 1 year ago
The Allen wrench is .050, if you don’t have one shoot me an email and we will drop one in the mail to you. Or you can check with whoever did the install, there was one in the kit & they should have passed it along to the customer when they were done..
For now just center the rear in its dovetail. Then shoot to see if you need to adjust it a little left/right for your own shooting style.
the3wire 1 year ago
Shouldn't you apply that loc-tite compound after firing the pistol at the range first and adjusting the sights dead center. ?
themailman43 1 year ago
I would SO screw this up if I did it myself.....LOL
sheba106 1 year ago
While this is certainly the correct method, the technique is not for begginers. You should never, ever ( especially with small parts ) hold the piece you are working on IN YOUR HAND!!! You cannot lock your wrist, fingers, etc. for a flat, even stroke, so no matter how good you are in your mind, you will never, ever file this sight bottom or sides flat. Please, please put your workpiece in a fixture... basic fundamental....
sandspar 1 year ago
Not to be a nay-sayer, but that sight looks awful after he drives it in at 4:50
damarei 1 year ago
@damarei What looks awful about it? That white you see on top of the sight is where it says Trijicon and some other stuff. It looks perfectly fine to me.
jdstripper 9 months ago
@jdstripper It totally disrupts the lines of the slide :)
damarei 9 months ago
how do u center the sights? just eyeball it?
shamrock84922 1 year ago
@shamrock84922
You could always use a string or piece of tape to measure from the left side of the site to the shoulder, and from the right side of the sight to the shoulder.
If the distances are equal, then it's perfectly centered.
damarei 1 year ago
Nice video. I am considering getting thse sights for my 1911 and it has the novak style sights on them..
mixwell1983 2 years ago
How do you know that the front sight is perfectly centered?
cooljazzhd 2 years ago 6
nice vid...i think putting lock tight before installing sight is much better...that just me
pinoykillaz 2 years ago
awsom video, I will be giving you a big 5 stars, I am knew to owning a hand gun and had no Idea how to adjust the front sights, this was the only video I could find on you tube explaining the process, thank you so much for you time and expertise you have no idea how you have helped me and saved me time and frustration, thanks again matt
jerdans 2 years ago
Outstanding. Very helpful. I will be giving your method a try this very afternoon. Knew there had to be a way to install sights without the purchase of a tool that cost almost twice the price of the sights themselves (at least in my case with an HK). Thanks for posting your expertise for all to benefit and learn from. Well done, Sir.
warcog 3 years ago
Fantastic video. I have three pistol's to put new sights on and really didn't want to spend $130+ on a universal dovetail sight tool. Thank you so much for posting this video. I feel very confident that this is something I can do now.
DreamVertigo 3 years ago
Great video! Now I feel good about doing it myself. Thanks man!
occlicker 3 years ago
A very useful video, makes putting in my new sights far easier.
SuzakuoftheSouth 3 years ago
great vid.
DannyK426 3 years ago