FRONT sight assembly

[Crazyone]

Well-- I got stung on actually 2 Russians, one really nice but some friggin lame brain in one of those posterior states had ground the bayonet mounting lugs off !! Then along came a poor refugee with 4 neatly drilled/threaded holes in the receiver for mounting a scope mount where it apparently wouldn't interfere with the rear cover--problem is the good usable front sight assembly came off nice and relatively easy. Then the ground down one on the good rifle refused to move at all !  I soaked it with JB for a couple of days and it just would not budge using a hammer and punch. I know--use a press-well I don't have one-so there! I don't have availability to a drill press good enough to where I could make a press type plate for taking off/putting on a rear sight assembly.  If need be I can take it to the LGS but it takes forever to get anything done there. There is a good metal fabricating shop here but don't know if they could press it off, its kind of a special size and I have never seen press blocks that small .  Even thinking about freezing it like we used to do with axle bearings in the old days..

[Loose}{Cannon]

The original fsb it trash....  right? 

I would remove the post components and pins, then freeze it. Once you pull it out the freezer, work quikly to secure the action and strike the main post with a heavy hammer in the forward direction and perhaps side/side a few times.

I havee heard of a method in which you take a 2x4 about 4 feet in lenght standing vertical on concrete and the barreled receiver pointing straight uo hooking the fsb on the top/end of the 2x4.  Then (wearing gloves) lift them both together about a foot off the concrete and strike downward into the ground.

If that don't work, get one of those little cutting discs on a dremel a cut the sucker with one cut on the side...  front to back.  If you cut it, dont go all the way through. Go like 80-90% through and then whack it with a hamjmer on the post.  It will splitt the rest of the way and fall right off.

[Greasemonkey]

One thing I've learned wrenching, a 50:50 mix acetone and ATF  mix, shake it well and soak her down, works great on stuck crap, even better when you can warm the area and knock/beat/bang it. I've worked on some nasty stuff, maggot mashers, honey wagons, gut wagons, trash trucks, stuff most people would blow groceries even smelling. Tried PB, Kroil, WD40(seriously , water works better), engine oil, gear oil, refrigerant oil, machine oil, air tool oil, diesel fuel, kerosene and tons of other spray lubes, I always go back to acetone and ATF.

[Greatguns]

Set the muzzle down onto a 2x4 so that the muzzle will not get damaged. Then, take a 1x2 or 1x4 block of hardwood on edge with a friend holding the SKS in place and give the hardwood block a good smack with a heavy hammer like a mini sledge. It should get the FSB to move without damaging the FSB. You can also alternate and put the block onto the bayonet lug(remove bayo first) smack it there then go back and forth til the FSB comes loose. At one point you may need to support the muzzle with a drift pin punch or the like so the FSB will slide over it until it drops off.
Another option is to get a bottle of MAP gas. Like Propane but hotter. Should be able to heat up the sleeve just enough without damaging the integrity of the metal to get the FSB off.

[xtriggerman]

One thing I've learned wrenching, a 50:50 mix acetone and ATF  mix, shake it well and soak her down, works great on stuck crap, even better when you can warm the area and knock/beat/bang it. I've worked on some nasty stuff, maggot mashers, honey wagons, gut wagons, trash trucks, stuff most people would blow groceries even smelling. Tried PB, Kroil, WD40(seriously , water works better), engine oil, gear oil, refrigerant oil, machine oil, air tool oil, diesel fuel, kerosene and tons of other spray lubes, I always go back to acetone and ATF.

Great tip. I'll try it on a stuck cylinder pivot pin on an antique 22 I have. PB did nothing...

[Justin Hell]

I posted this a couple days ago...looks like it might suit your needs.

SKS Front Sight Removal Tool Made in USA | eBay

[Loose}{Cannon]

I posted this a couple days ago...looks like it might suit your needs.

SKS Front Sight Removal Tool Made in USA | eBay

+1

[Greatguns]

Wish they had that around a few years ago when I was doing all my mod work, lol. If you watch the video they have to show how the tool works they have a pin removal tool that is really slick as well.

[Justin Hell]

Wish they had that around a few years ago when I was doing all my mod work, lol. If you watch the video they have to show how the tool works they have a pin removal tool that is really slick as well.

Yeah...me too.  I ultimately decided against modding one, after beating the hell out of the poor thing to get it off...and then even harder getting it back on.

I did acquire a spare from that accidental abortion of an over cut barrel on that other board last year that I would like to put on it instead...but really don't want to deal with it again....and it is REALLY hard trying to get them off a chopped barrel vs. a barreled action.  I considered getting one of these to get it off, pay off most of if not all of the tool by selling it.  But I fear if I have the tools, and get bored enough...all of my SKS's would become paratroopers. 

That and a water heater failure kept me from getting those tools from you last year GG 

That pin driver is the bee's knees too.  If one was specifically developed like that to remove hand guard pins, imagine how many hand guards and gas tubes would be saved if they were included with every aftermarket stock.

In fact, it should be an addition to 922r that any manufacturer of an aftermarket hand guard should be required to provide one.  Maybe that would get that silly law off the books once someone actually reads it again.

[Greatguns]

Actually a tool was developed specifically for the rear ferrule pin, but the developer quit making them. Ain't that right LC

[Loose}{Cannon]

Actually a tool was developed specifically for the rear ferrule pin, but the developer quit making them. Ain't that right LC

Its redundant...  you have to relieve the head on one side of the rivet regardless. Once you accomplish that, they tap right out easy cheesy.   

[Carl in CT]

One thing I've learned wrenching, a 50:50 mix acetone and ATF  mix, shake it well and soak her down, works great on stuck crap, even better when you can warm the area and knock/beat/bang it. I've worked on some nasty stuff, maggot mashers, honey wagons, gut wagons, trash trucks, stuff most people would blow groceries even smelling. Tried PB, Kroil, WD40(seriously , water works better), engine oil, gear oil, refrigerant oil, machine oil, air tool oil, diesel fuel, kerosene and tons of other spray lubes, I always go back to acetone and ATF.

I assume you mean automatic transmission fluid when you say ATF?

[Greasemonkey]

One thing I've learned wrenching, a 50:50 mix acetone and ATF  mix, shake it well and soak her down, works great on stuck crap, even better when you can warm the area and knock/beat/bang it. I've worked on some nasty stuff, maggot mashers, honey wagons, gut wagons, trash trucks, stuff most people would blow groceries even smelling. Tried PB, Kroil, WD40(seriously , water works better), engine oil, gear oil, refrigerant oil, machine oil, air tool oil, diesel fuel, kerosene and tons of other spray lubes, I always go back to acetone and ATF.

I assume you mean automatic transmission fluid when you say ATF?

Yup, unless Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is a fluid I ain't found yet.

I'm sorry I thought it was kinda tad bit funny. Don't hit me...

On a serious note, they do mix, somewhat, but will separate in time, which is why you have to shake it before each use. Acetone thins the oil and carries the trans fluid in to very small places, and after a bit the acetone evaporates away leaving the oil film behind. I would guess any thin light weight oil may work, power steering fluid, hydraulic fluid, maybe even standard old brake fluid. One concern with brake fluid, it's hygroscopic, over time brake fluid will absorb atmospheric moisture. So it could possibly open up a chance for corrosion if left to sit for any length of time, especially in a humid area.

And use in open area, away from open flame, acetone can be some nasty stuff.

[Murray]

May be too late to help the OP but if that metal fab shop has a hydraulic press, that's your best bet. But you're right that they may not have plates suitable for the job, but a simple "U" shaped cut in a 1" block of alum works perfectly for us. And an alum rod about 3" to 4"long, just smaller in diameter than the barrel, placed against the muzzle, allows removal in short order. And some front sights are on so tight the rod gets bent, but a new rod is easy and cheap and prevents any damage to a much more expensive barrel. 

Don't want to step on any toes here, but those 2 new tools interest me. Especially the cross pin removal tool. I see how it would work when the back side, (or the side the pin is coming out of) is flat, but how does it support the back side when it's the front pin on a Yugo 59/66 FS base? Or the GL pin on the same gun? The back side in these cases is very much round and don't see how they would support the tool while the pin is removed. Those and the stock ferrule and gas block and rear sight pins would be difficult to remove with it, right?

And the main bolt of the front sight removal tool bothers me a little. Wish the video showed an extreme close up of the crown, before and after. I'd be afraid it might burnish or gall the crown and affect accuracy. Maybe a small piece of brass or alum between it and the crown would protect it from damage, but a hardened bolt rotating against the muzzle raises the eyebrows a bit. Is it machined to butt against the muzzle without touching the crown?

[Loose}{Cannon]

Great points Ben...    I never had an issue driving pins with a quality punch of the right diameter and the gastube ferrule rivet slides right out after relieving the head on one side.

The fsb tool could very well gall the muzzle even if the head of the tool is designed to spin freely.  I would take caution and utilize a penny with a hole cut in the center and let it be pressed into a conical shape acting as a buffer.   

[Justin Hell]

I think the pin removal tool is only for standard FSB's, and probably wouldn't apply to anything else easily, but there was no close up of that tool...perhaps it is adaptable to a degree.

The puller could be significantly improved with a rotating brass guide with a nipple to hold it in place on the barrel....kind of like a C-clamp, it would have to be rather small, to allow for the FSB to slide over it. 

BETTER YET....it could have a hole for a hardened pin, to hold the brass guide into place....leave the pins in the FSB, and with a little lapping compound it could also be a perfect crowning tool.  As much of a bear as it is to remove the FSB, with that locked down, you would end up with a nice concentric crown.....just a thought. 

[Loose}{Cannon]

Would have to be perfectly square to the bore... not seeing that happen.   

[Dannyboy53]

I read about a tool much like what is used to grind valve seats, it basically consists of an arbor fitting in the bore to properly align the grinding wheel with the bore/muzzle. I think it was Brownell's web site where I saw this. I have heard of guys "eyeballing" a spherical grinding wheel mounted in a drill, dremel, etc but I question the accuracy of this method.

I have never had to remove a front sight from our carbines, from what I have learned from many of you guys I hope I never have to.

[running-man]

I have heard of guys "eyeballing" a spherical grinding wheel mounted in a drill, dremel, etc but I question the accuracy of this method.

I'm with you Danny, a $@$#$@$@ dremel has no business near any of my SKSs!   

[Dannyboy53]

I'm with you Danny, a $@$#$@$@ dremel has no business near any of my SKSs!   

Amen sir.