[TomSwift]

OK, I've seen this posted several times about sights needing to be removed right to left and I don't understand why. It seems to be the consensus that they only move in one direction. I'm not a gunsmith but I do have extensive woodworking experience and some machining and metal fabrication experience. The dovetails for sights are cut with a milling bit which makes parallel cuts. If the dovetail was angled then the sights would only go so far into the slide. They would either be loose and then stop at the point where the two mating pieces match. This being the case you could never adjust for drift past the point of contact.

I have just measured with a vernier caliper the width of both sides of the socket for the rear sight on my XD Sub and they are identical. The depth of both sides is also identical. I know for a fact that the front sight will slide on and off from both sides as mine was loose with I got the XD Sub. If the bottom surface was stairstepped, then the depth of each side would be different.

The tolerances with parallel surfaces can be tight enough to make the two mating surfaces very tight and difficult to move. If I'm missing something, please educate me.

EDITED - In other words, it seems as though you should be able to remove the sights either right to left OR left to right.

 

[[TASF]Overkill]

Aw, you're forgetting something...

How many pancakes does it take to paddle a dog house up a tree?

None, because ice cream DOES NOT have bones.

 

[Wilds]

I was wondering the same thing. I just picked up my XD9SC today and was looking at changing out the sights. By the way I love it! Best purchase I've made in a long time. Anyways, I believe I read somewhere on here today that they remove from right to left. I haven't tried this yet, but they recommended having a gunsmith do it with the right tools and a vice because they are in there so tight. After shooting the SC for the first time today and looking it over I noticed that my rear sight is farther to the right and not directly in the center. If you look closely you will see two lines where the sights should be centered for the front and rear. The front is fine but the rear is to the right, right on the line instead of to the inside of it where it should be so it's even. I was just going to wait and align the new sights when I put them in instead of messing with it now. Maybe someone that knows a bit more can chime in if I'm wrong. Thanks Chris

By the way, maybe it's just because I'm new here but I have no idea what [TASF]Overkill is talking about. Maybe if your so kind you could fill me in.

 

[Son of Norway]

Overkill]Aw, you're forgetting something...

How many pancakes does it take to paddle a dog house up a tree?

None, because ice cream DOES NOT have bones.

Dude, thanks for straightening that out for me. I thought I was losin' it there for a minute.

 

[one-eyed-fatman]

Overkill]Aw, you're forgetting something...

How many pancakes does it take to paddle a dog house up a tree?

None, because ice cream DOES NOT have bones.

Somehow I think this is going to be the best answer to this thread. I'll check back in the morning....

 

[Don]

The dovetails are tapered on my HS2000s. They don't figure on you drifting the sights, they are done once and that is it. They do this so that they can have the tight fit and still install them easily. I tend to agree with them for the most part.
The experiences related to the board are usually "my sights are off", the reply is usually "adjust your finger postion on the trigger" followed by "thanks guys, all is well now".

 

[Snake-eater 1]

Perhaps the sight base is angled rather than the dovetail it fits into? Just a thought.

Overkill, if you don't care, just say so :lol: