Removing front sight base pins

[spleify]

I have a Del-Ton barrel that I am trying to knock out the FSB pins and they are absolutely not budging.

I started a thread on AR15 http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=3&f=118&t=489901 and got a lot of good advice to no avail. It was recommended that I send it to ADCO, so I contacted them and they were pretty cool about it and said just drop $20 in the box for shipping it back and they would take care of it for me. So shipping it back and forth is definitely going to be the biggest cost, and I will be with out it for a while.

I figured I would ask and see if anyone local would have the ability to do this for me before I send it off.

Thanks

[Quib]

Are you working on a solid surface? Using a big enough hammer?

Some tips I’ve given DIYer’s in the past:

- Work on a solid surface. Use the garage floor and a piece of 2X4 if you must. Working on a flimsy/bouncing table top or bench top only absorbs the energy from the hammer, rather than transferring that energy from the hammer through the punch and into the pin.

- Try using a nail set rather than a pin punch to initially knock the pins loose. The concave face of the pin punch helps it stay on top of the pin during the hammer strikes. The flat face of a standard pin punch has a tendency to slip off the round head of the FSB pins.

- Once the pins are knocked loose using the nail set, follow up with a 1/8th pin punch to completely remove the pins from the FSB.

[Troublco]

I have a starter punch that I use. In fact, I just changed out the gas block on my SPR clone today.

I don't want to sound like I'm trying to be funny, but are you hitting the pins on the correct side? I only ask because I've run into one or two folks who didn't realize that those are taper pins that need to be knocked out from one side. Usually once you have them started they come out reasonably easily.

[spleify]

Thanks for the info and offers guys!!

I tried everything, and I mean everything to get these SOB's out. I used a micrometer to measure the heads of the pins on both sides to assure I was driving them out the correct way. I heated them, I froze them, I used penetrating oil on them. Different punches, bigger hammers. I was using a block of sleet under the FSB and steel punches and a 5 lb sledge hammer. Nothing worked. I finally got fed up and sent it back to Del-Ton, they said they would take care of it for me.

Thanks again for the help.

[steincj]

When I removed my gas block, I accidentally rounded over one pin. It was hard to see it at first, but it was definitely rounded. The other pin popped right out.

Nothing my DeWalt couldn't fix . . . drilled it out in seconds, and clamped on a YHM railed gas block.

[Not_A_Llama]

This is the most ghetto thing I will ever admit to having done, but:

I bought a lump of plastic "clay" at Michael's, mixed in two cotton balls for reinforcement, molded it onto the front sight for really solid support, then baked it.

Drilled for pin clearance, then went to town with Kroil, a nail punch, and 5 pound sledge, with the support jig on the garage floor. Two hits per pin and I was done, compared to an afternoon of pounding on my workbench.

Whether this is a testament to the shittiness of my bench or the utility of improvised tools, I don't know.

Total cost of "jig": $1 (+dignity)

[68Charger]

This is the most ghetto thing I will ever admit to having done, but:

I bought a lump of plastic "clay" at Michael's, mixed in two cotton balls for reinforcement, molded it onto the front sight for really solid support, then baked it.

Drilled for pin clearance, then went to town with Kroil, a nail punch, and 5 pound sledge, with the support jig on the garage floor. Two hits per pin and I was done, compared to an afternoon of pounding on my workbench.

Whether this is a testament to the shittiness of my bench or the utility of improvised tools, I don't know.

Total cost of "jig": $1 (+dignity)

I say Utility of improvised tools.. ghetto would be using the clay to hold the sight on.. [ROFL1]

[spleify]

I actually think that is a very industrious way of doing it. Quite smart actually.

I really wish there was a way of getting it out, but I beat on that thing for hours with no luck. It will be interesting to see ho they get it off. After all the hammering on it, I unfortunately slipped off the pin one time(I"m actually lucky it wasnt more than that) and put a small nick in the FSB, I wouldnt be surprised if they have to cut it off.

Thanks again for all the ideas guys!

[Not_A_Llama]

Aw shucks.

Well, here's what it looked like before I drilled it:

http://subpar.info/photos/dump/fsb-jig.jpg

You can see how the ends of the pins are basically shiny, from the pounding I'd done before. I've got a new set on order from CMMG, but I'm not really in any hurry.

Pretty much the entire issue with removing the pins comes down to having proper support that minimizes movement. The ghetto jig probably won't last you more than a job or two, but it provides exceptionally solid support for its lifetime.

Delton will probably just drill the pins out (they're relatively soft) and pop in some new ones.

[MadRabbit]

This is the most ghetto thing I will ever admit to having done, but:

I bought a lump of plastic "clay" at Michael's, mixed in two cotton balls for reinforcement, molded it onto the front sight for really solid support, then baked it.

Drilled for pin clearance, then went to town with Kroil, a nail punch, and 5 pound sledge, with the support jig on the garage floor. Two hits per pin and I was done, compared to an afternoon of pounding on my workbench.

Whether this is a testament to the shittiness of my bench or the utility of improvised tools, I don't know.

Total cost of "jig": $1 (+dignity)

Hockey Pucks make great customizable bench blocks for projects like this. They mill okay if you keep the rpm's way down there, but also cut surprisingly easy with a hacksaw/exacto knives etc. FWIW