Putting the rear sight assembly back on a K98

[RaccoonRough]

I have a problem........

I want to restore a K98 mauser and when I went to see how to reinstall the rear sight sleeve/assembley. (The original had been taken off by Bubba.) I found out that the sleeve will not fit over the front sight base.............now what? Am I going to have to take the whole front sight base off then put both parts back on? I will try to post some picts soon. But ........HELP.

RR

[KSH67]

Yep. No easy answer on this. They were both high temp silver soldered on. Take it to a gunsmith, they should be able to do this for you easy and should not be too terribly expensive.
Kevin

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

I made a mistake with regard to the intentions of RR's last post and have taken steps to correct my response and have unlocked this thread. Sorry about the misunderstanding.

When I make a make a mistake, I 'fess up and fix it.




(You should be super stoked on me now.)

[RaccoonRough]

No problem Darivs! I was just looking for someone who may have had the same issue.

RR

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

The front sight is similarly soldered onto the barrel. Underneath the the korn (front sight leaf) is a set screw that is used to hold the sight in position while it is soldered. You need to take the leaf out of the dovetail with a press, NOT a hammer, and loosen the set screw. The set screw MAY be held fast by solder underneath, so heating with a propane or mapp gas torch may be necessary to free it. Heat the parts just hot enough for you to remove the front sight from the barrel with a channel lock or similar wrench, taking care not to scratch the blued surfaces. Once the rear sight is replaced, the hard part will be lining up the front sight, which must be done precisely if you ever want this k98 to shoot straight. Hopefully a detent in the barrel will allow you to tighten the set screw precisely in its original position, and thus the sight will also be aligned properly in the same position. Make sure to remove excess solder from the joint with a swipe of steel wool across the joint edges, because it will show up bright against the blued steel, and thus reveal that the sight has been removed or adjusted.

[RaccoonRough]

Excellent. Now I just need to get up enough guts to tackle this project!!

Thanks

RR

[junglewalk]

Wait!....there is a quick way of getting the rear sight over the front sight block.....
Of course remove the front post out of the dove-tail mount; put the new, stripped rear sight collar, upright in the vice,( horizontal) so that the vice in affect,is squeezing this new sight collar, very carefully,(no touch the steel hand-guard lip).....
Now, take the barrel/receiver and point the barrel in the collar tunnel , (be-sure right way), and with the other hand on the vice crank, apply pressure to squeeze collar just enough, to give the room needed for the front sight base & barrel to be pushed thru!!!
Once thru, yes the rear sight collar is slightly 'elongated', but take the vice jaws and place in the right place on the rear end of the collar, the other way, as you slip the 'stepped' up part of the barrel where the sight collar will be placed.
This way will keep you from having to remove the front sight base ring, then having to replace it, and get it rightly lined up with the rear sight....
This, i am sure was a trick german field armorers used to do the same task.
I praise you for saving, and restoring this 98k; good deal......bob h

[KSH67]

Bob,
That is a great tip. Thanks for sharing.
Kevin

[RaccoonRough]

Wow,

Thanks so much. This is why I posted this question here. I havnt done anything yet so I will give it a shot.

Thank you so much. I am also going to take some photos of the rifle in various stages until it is finished.

Thanks again junglewalk for the help!

RR