First gunsmithing attempt!

[Kevinf2349]

I have been hunting around for some night sights for a Taurus 709 Slim but couldn't find any. Now what good is a carry weapon without them I ask?

So I bougth 3 vials of titium from a website along with some Norland 61 super glue. The 3 vials are 'ice blue' 1.5mm by 5mm, They cost me $7.50 each, the glue was also $9.99. Norland 61 is a dry clear non reactive super glue and the recommended glue for titium vials. It uses UV light to dry.

Once the entire stock arrived set about my first attempt at gunsmithing

1) Unload and strip down the Taurus
2) Protected the slide in cloth.
3) Clamped the slide in a bench clamp.
4) Using a 1/16 drill, drilled out the old sights to a depth of 1/2 inch.
5) Remove the slide from the clamp and clean the slide down.
6) Drop a few drops of Norland 16 into the drilled holes.
7) Carefully insert the titium vials into the holes and wipe away any excess glue.
8) leave to dry

Overall the sights look good, but with hindsight I should have got a slightly bigger (wider) vial for the front sight. I think I may paint or detail around the front sight vial for daylight shooting.

The sights look great in the dark, just a little hard to see the front sight in the daylight.

The website for the titium vial was http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showth ... p?t=194646 the glue was from the same site and shipping took about a week.

All told the total cost as less than $40

Edit: I corrected the rpice per vial. It was actually $7.50 per vial not $9.99

[TLynnHughes]

I have been hunting around for some night sights for a Taurus 709 Slim but couldn't find any. Now what good is a carry weapon without them I ask?

So I bougth 3 vials of titium from a website along with some Norland 61 super glue. The 3 vials are 'ice blue' 1.5mm by 5mm, They cost me $9.99 each, the glue was also $9.99. Norland 61 is a dry clear non reactive super glue and the recommended glue for titium vials. It uses UV light to dry.

Once the entire stock arrived set about my first attempt at gunsmithing

1) Unload and strip down the Taurus
2) Protected the slide in cloth.
3) Clamped the slide in a bench clamp.
4) Using a 1/16 drill, drilled out the old sights to a depth of 1/2 inch.
5) Remove the slide from the clamp and clean the slide down.
6) Drop a few drops of Norland 16 into the drilled holes.
7) Carefully insert the titium vials into the holes and wipe away any excess glue.
8) leave to dry

Overall the sights look good, but with hindsight I should have got a slightly bigger (wider) vial for the front sight. I think I may paint or detail around the front sight vial for daylight shooting.

The sights look great in the dark, just a little hard to see the front sight in the daylight.

The website for the titium vial was http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showth ... p?t=194646 the glue was from the same site and shipping took about a week.

All told the total cost as less than $40

Very cool!!! I didn't know that could be done. Do you have any before and after pics...or just pics of the finished product?

T.

[Dan20703]

pictures, pictures!!!

[NOS]

Nice!
I've been thinking of doing the exact same thing to my 709 Slim. I just haven't had the time to do it yet.
Thanks for the link.

[Chemist45]

I think you mean "Tritium" which is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, not titium.

I could postulate several definitions for titium but I think I would violate one of the rules of this site.

[Kevinf2349]

I think you mean "Tritium" which is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, not titium.

I could postulate several definitions for titium but I think I would violate one of the rules of this site.

R yes, that is the stuff. I wonder where my mind was at the time!

[USA1]

I think you mean "Tritium" which is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, not titium.

I could postulate several definitions for titium but I think I would violate one of the rules of this site.

R yes, that is the stuff. I wonder where my mind was at the time!

I noticed that too. And after several minutes of daydreaming I chose to remain quiet on the subject.

Anyway..Nice job on the sights Kevin.

[hangfour]

Thanks for sharing your work. I like to do things myself not to save money but to make sure that they are done right and to feel some competence in this age of mechanization.

[Kevinf2349]

Here are some pictures for the sights. The work is still going on, but mainly that will be touch up, clean up, and re-align (at the range) . Hopefully that should be it.

Anyway..... This is the rear sight.



As you can see it needs a little touch up work and to be slightly realigned.

The front sight.



I added the white triangle to make the front sight easier to see in the daylight. That tritium dot was just way too small for my old eyes

Again a little bit of touch up and clean up required but I have to wait until the Norland 16 is fully set (3 days is recommended)

And finally.....how they look at night.



The good news is, if I can do it, anyone can! Trust me, I work in an office for a reason!