Front sight frustration

[Dave]

I put a Foolproof rear sight on a Marlin and it wouldn't zero so I fished around and found a taller front sight in my stuff and fitted it. When I got it on it was a little crooked which surprised me. I have the correct dovetail file and have never had a sight go on crooked before.
I told myself I I just wasn't paying attention. Today I fitted another sight that is the style I want and a little shorter and it too is a little crooked. Not as much and I was really paying attention when I was fitting it.
Is there some trick to fitting the sight I am missing? I am filing as straight as I can.

[Hobie]

I'm wondering why you had to file a dovetail on a Marlin.

[Dave]

I'm wondering why you had to file a dovetail on a Marlin.

I am filing the male dovetail on the sight to make it fit the existing female dovetail on the Marlin. The factory Marlin barrel mounted sight is straight so I am miss filing. There has to be a way to file straighter than I am.

[Pete44ru]

I was taught to never, ever, file a rifle's dovetail, but to instead file the replacable sight's dovetail, for fitting sights - so that's correct. Where are you filing the insert ?

[Dave]

I was taught to never, ever, file a rifle's dovetai, but to instead file the replacable sight's dovetail, for fitting sights - so that's correct. Where are you filing the insert ?

I have a dovetail file that has two smooth sides and one cutting side. I am cutting the angled side of the sight dovetail. I have never had trouble before, but most of the time it only took a few pushes of the file to fit the sight. This time I am having to hog off a good amount of metal so I guess that is giving me a chance to file the edge crooked.

[Pete44ru]

That's usual with me too. The only thing I can suggest would be to either get a third sight, or cold blue the last one, and scribe lines on both sides, at the ends of the dovetail, equidistant from the opposite dovetail point - to limit the filing area.
Basically, scribe a line delineating the material you need to remove, then cut/file to the line.

[bsaride]

If it ends up only a thou or two undersize you can use Loctite 609 on it.

[El Chivo]

I never file the bottom of the sight, if I had I might have made it crooked. I've only filed the sides of the V, I have a small 3 corner file.

Get a Skinner sight for $10 including shipping, you can specify the height and blade width. I put one in a Marlin and it tapped right in, no filing needed.

[foxtrapper]

Take some emory cloth and lay it flat on your work surface. Sand the bottom of the sight,by gently passing it over the emory cloth. Doing it this way you will never have to adjust the side angles and you know the bottom will always be flat Check often

[Dave]

Take some emory cloth and lay it flat on your work surface. Sand the bottom of the sight,by gently passing it over the emory cloth. Doing it this way you will never have to adjust the side angles and you know the bottom will always be flat Check often

That is what I used to do, but one time I cut down the bottom of the sight until there was daylight between the bottom of the sight and the dovetail and the sight still would not slip into the dovetail. I think I am going to order two or three sights and try that method on one and see how it goes. I may also try filing a few pushes, then flipping the sight around in the vice and filing the other direction to try to balance things out.