1911 gold cup front sight loose

[terraformer]

Anyone have any ideas on how the front sight of the gold cup 1911s fits in? Mine is loose and I want to know what I am dealing with before dealing with getting it fixed.

BTW: It's a series 80 colt with the flat rib along the top. It is not a dovetailed/slotted front sight.

 

[Rob Boudrie]

The sight is staked in from the inside the slide with a "staking tool" that reaches around to alow the force from a hammer blow to be transferred to the base of the sight. It's an easy job with the right tools; impossible without. Gold Cup Front Sights frequently get a bit loose, and the pin in the rear sight is prone to breakage. Mike Larocca, Dave Santurri or Greg Derr should be able to fix this for short money.

 

[richc]

Tom... two words:

Duct Tape...

)

 

[Greg Derr]

Best fix is to go with a dovetail cut. I use a special sight which runs along the top with the barrel as opposed to a crosscut.

 

[md2020]

I use to hang out at a small shop and one of the locals who frequented it told me how to fix that exact same problem:

609 Loctite RC compound - it is made for cylindrical bonding - green colored. You clean up the area with some denatured alcohol (NOT rubbing alcohol because it leave white residue! Acetone is fine if you have it too) - and work with just the slide. Put a drop or two around the base of the sight and them clamp it with a vise (c-clamp or whatever you have available). Wipe off any excess and let it sit over night. Wipe off excess again in the morning and clean up area with some alcohol then use your favorite oil/lube and put it back together.

Don't ask me why this works as well as it does and it doesn't cost much at all (.34 oz/10 ml bottle of Loctite RC compound is $12 - of course you do about 100 other pistols and still not run out of it ..... LOL, hey - share the love and do some one else's loose sight, too). My .45 has had 1000+ rounds go through it and it is still tight! I did this about 17-18 yrs ago and it is still holding strong. I just checked online and they sell small single use 0.02 oz/0.05 ml of 609 for $2. Try local hardware if not then mail order.

I'm just passing along something that works. I doubted it until I did it myself !

 

[Chuck Would]

I'd send it right back to Colt. They'll fix it free of charge. I had the same thing happen on two of my Officer's Models. I drove them to Colt and dropped them off. They sent me
two cards detailing the repairs within a couple day's and shipped them to my door within two weeks. No Charge.

Here's the real funny part. One of them had a cracked Grip panel. I forced it down over the grip bushing and cracked it. Pnce it was in place it seemed fine so I left it. The replaced the grips too.

Hope that helps,

 

[Rob Boudrie]

Greg solution sounds great as long as you're not hung up on keeping the gun 100% original. Time for you to decide if 100% original or "rock solid" is more important.

 

[terraformer]

Greg solution sounds great as long as you're not hung up on keeping the gun 100% original. Time for you to decide if 100% original or "rock solid" is more important.

Originality has nothing to do with it, I do not want the front dovetailed for other reasons. Right now, it looks like I can simply get it fixed (greg, when I pickup my other colt from you?) which may or may not be a permanent fix which I am fine with. That will give me some time to figure out what I want for a permanent fix.

 

[one-eyed Jack]

I had one that was a pain in the ass. I welded it to the slide. Never came loose again. Jack.

 

[depicts]

Dave Santuri replaced a missing front sight from my gold cup for $20. It is one of the staked in sights

 

[Sir_Macadoo]

bubble gum?

 

[terraformer]

bubble gum?

Or sticky tape?

 

[Dan S]

The hole for the sight tang should be dished out on the inside of the slide, giving the displaced metal a place to go. Use Retaining Compound Loctite, and a swage tool. The sight will stay in place, without the need for a dovetail or soldering.