moving front sight

[mike528]

i have a glock 21 slide that I have made some cosmetic changes to and now need to move the front sight back a little. has anyone ever welded in a hole on a glock slide? looking for info on what filler metal to use and what settings for tig. or any other suggestions to fill in some space, needs to move back about a half a hole to get the edge of the front sight to no overhang the chamfer. I'll add pics to this post when I go to lunch.

 

[mike528]

 

[4 FN 27]

@Gunfixr

Might be able to help.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

I think you could weld it without issue. I've heard of guys using 309SS rod. I'd probably do it kinda like I do pin and welds and just make a "plug" and blend it with a very small tungsten.

Can you just reshape the front of the site blade to match the bevel?

*I'm not a gunsmith or professional welder*

 

[mike528]

dont want to do much with the sight blade since it has the tritium in it. might bevel the bottom of it to make it match instead of trying to blend it. the plan was to plug weld then either mill it smooth or surface grind it. then mill a new slot. I have 308 filler, silicone bronze and reguler er70. havent invested in much else yet.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

If you have access to a grinder, I'd definitely give it a whack.

 

[BMoscato]

May I ask why? The sight radius on a 21 is 6.77" with the plastic Glock sight installed where the 17 is 6.5" (I'm fully aware that the 17 is 9mm and the 21is .45 ACP). People usually go to a longer slide for better accuracy based on sight radius and barrel length when competing. How far back are you planning on moving it?

 

[mike528]

May I ask why? The sight radius on a 21 is 6.77" with the plastic Glock sight installed where the 17 is 6.5" (I'm fully aware that the 17 is 9mm and the 21is .45 ACP). People usually go to a longer slide for better accuracy based on sight radius and barrel length when competing. How far back are you planning on moving it?

maybe 1/8" probably closer to 1/16. if you see the bevel that i cut on it the sight just barely hangs over the bevel.

 

[Gunfixr]

I've not searched, but i've not seen what steel the slide is made from. The 308 filler would almost certainly work, as it's very flexible about mixing, but, it will not blue, or likely take phosphate, so, it woll depend on your plans for refinishing.
It is always possible there will be a hard area around the edge, you may need to mill, using carbide tools, if only going half the hole. I'd start undersize, so if it wanders a bit, you can true it back in.
Brownells sells a tig filler suitable for tool steel slides and such, blues well, comes in a smaller quantity than weld supply shops.
Heat is based a lot on thickness, steel or stainless is not widely different.
You will affect the temper in the immediate area, but the muzzle isn't under a lot of stress. The muzzle barrel opening sees wear, but if you're quick, should be OK.
Welding prior to beveling would be preferred.

ETA: looking again, almost looks like a stainless slide. If so, definitely the 308 would work, or 309.

 

[mike528]

it will get cerakote. didnt plan on moving the sight until i got done with the bevel. its not stainless, I already sandblasted it to see how it get rid of some of the original coating and knock down some of the tooling marks.

 

[Firebrick43]

Brownells Tig Rod

This is what I use to weld up steel guns, well worth the money. It blues and parks wonderfully and welds really nice to.

I know the op doesn't have a stainless gun gun but for them I use Euretic Tigtectic 680. It is the nicest welding SS rod I have ben able to lay my hands on and the color is a real close match, I have to point it out most of the time to people. However most SS are 420/416/410 alloy and I have not been able to find tig rod in those alloys. 308/309 does not work well with these alloys in my experience and the color difference is really bad.

 

[mike528]

know anywhere that sells it in a smaller than 5 lb tube?

 

[mike528]

figured I would share a little update on this. here is why it needs to be moved back, just far enough for the front of the sight blade to land behind the bevel.

I took a piece of scrap aluminum and faced off the end that had a bevel on the corners then milled out a pocket to use a clamp on to secure the slide and be a little bit of a heat sink/ backer. then in a true impatient fasion after getting everything set up I pulled the trigger on the tig without checking the settings and blew a bigger hole in the top. turned the welder down and the 308 filled it in nicely. Now hopefully I dont get too distracted and get this milled out in the next week or so.

 

[ScottsGT]

I would have just filed the front of the sight down to match it.

 

[CGarage]

Plastic sights **** and do not belong on any firearm...