good instructions but I never thought plastic had a place on fine guns... it cheapens them, looks tacky and speaks not so well of the owner..... once you have cut the dovetail notch it takes so little effort to shape a small gold inlay to go in the place of the plastic.... looks good, lasts for years most likely longer than the owner and makes for an excellent sight picture.
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S&W Red Ramp Insert - Tips & Pics
- Thread starter GS
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LOL so true it is all about sight picture..... but that's why my shooters that get the most use and my every day carry guns have metal inlays.... my walther PP came from the factory with platinum inlays in both sights. I was taught that any job you do.... do it to the best of your ability and use the best materials anything less is just..... well no need to go there. funny thing is... there's no shortage of people wanting best quality workmanship..... like a number of my friends I never advertised, never had a shop open to the public, did my best to keep people away as they were nothing but a bother. and for all the years my average wait time was two years..... I have to laugh about all these people that complain about having to wait a month or two and then get crappy work...... no real gunsmith or gunmaker I know anywhere in the country has such short waiting times. I loved to watch the guys at the big gun shows that do plastic insert replacements... they'd set up and stay busy all weekend just doing the inserts.... never even looked up or spoke to the customers... had their wives there to do that..... fifteen minutes wait!!!!! in my way of thinking the whole thing didn't speak well of plastic inserts.... never had one of mine break or fall out.
ooh come now... "most expensive materials out there" and "isn't something anyone really carries" just excuses cause now I'm sure you've never used any with metal inlays.... first off one old gold wedding band will make you 50 inlays, who doesn't have one of those laying around... my Walther PP in .22lr is just plain factory, it is an ex mossad issue..... they and mi-6 carried them for many years... back 35 plus years I got into doing the metal inlays at the suggestion of an old friend and drinking buddy, he had long used gold and platinum inlays on his handguns... but now the shooters don't want to spend the money on his old books, if it isn't on-line it doesn't seem to be worth reading..... I was lucky and got to sit and chat for hours over bottle after bottle of whisky... was lucky the man didn't completely destroy my liver.... but that was Elmer Keith, hard drinking, hard talking and knew what he was talking about..... might do you well to find some of his old books. it was the gold inlays that gave him the ability to accurately shoot at long range.... he taught me this back fifty years ago, miss the old fart.
I will agree that there are more expensive materials than gold that one could use, but acrylic is considerably less expensive than gold and arguably brighter. I meant that of the factory engraved guns that I have seen with gold inserts, none are something I would throw in a holster. It could also be because I dont have a wedding band just laying around. I do however have a gold (brass) bead on my model 27 front sight that I love. Maybe someday I will mature into liking a gold front sight insert, until then I guess I'll just stick with what my eyes like. You never know, I used to not care much for engraved guns either. Thanks for your advice.
I started this thread to show people how to replace their factory insert, not to debate about what looks tacky and cheap to you. I can appreciate your input about using gold, lets see some pictures. But if someone wants to replace a factory orange, red or yellow insert that the factory did they probably won't want to use gold. They will probably want to go back with the color it left the factory with, and from what I hear, the factory is no longer doing inserts. So a thread showing how to melt gold into a dovetail would probably only be something even fewer people would actually do.
I started this thread to show people how to replace their factory insert, not to debate about what looks tacky and cheap to you. I can appreciate your input about using gold, lets see some pictures. But if someone wants to replace a factory orange, red or yellow insert that the factory did they probably won't want to use gold. They will probably want to go back with the color it left the factory with, and from what I hear, the factory is no longer doing inserts. So a thread showing how to melt gold into a dovetail would probably only be something even fewer people would actually do.
wow a bead front sight..... that's sure old school, they went out of favor back in the fifties..... love them, but don't see too many of them any more and so very hard to convince people how great they are..... can't let everyone go out and try mine...... my favorite thing to do with the inlays is to make the insert of a size that to the eyes it's a gold square..... I also like to narrow the normal sights, current stuff is way too wide or everyone is going blind. I won't take anymore of your time, good chatting with you and as I said from the first... good instructions, I just wanted to put forward an option when you already have a dovetail cut....
I am sorry, I thought you were saying that having an acrylic insert cheapens the guns, looks tacky and speaks not so well of the owner. My mistake. Nice chatting with you too, sir.
Still holding up very well, hasn't budged.
A bump for 2017
