Buffington sight disassembly & servicing?

[DxF]

Hello the camp!

I have an 1884 Trapdoor with the Buffington sight. The windage screw is very stiff, to the point that I'm afraid to turn it for fear of snapping something.

Can anyone point me to a safe guide for disassembly, so I can clean out the dried grease that (I'm hoping) is the cause of this?

[pietro]

.

Welcome to the forum !

I would suggest you first flush the sight/screw with a grease-dissolving solvent, like kerosene (which won't affect the stock finish) or a brand-name/commercial product (remove the stock if a commercial solvent is used).

I like the kero (available at most Hess gas stations) because it leaves a thin, oily residue on the inside, hard-to-get-to places where only a bit of lube is needed.


.

[kootne]

Look at the sight from the bottom and make sure there is no pin locking the 2 bases together. Old rumor was some units disabled the windage that way to make the sight less fragile for field use.
kootne

[bigted]

very good advise ... my buffington came apart with some soaking in pure terpentine. out of the stock for sure or even better remove the sight from the rifle to soak in the terp to loosen it up ... i would likewise suggest that after a good soak for a couple days ... scrub with a soft brisstle tooth brush and ensure it has not been pinned as warned of above.

[DxF]

Thanks very much! The only pin I see on the underside appears to be the one about which it swivels for the windage adjustment.

There's a bit of looseness in that, too... there's a good 1/8 inch of side-to-side play on the base, without touching the windage screw. I'd like to get that out if possible, to see if it's been damaged.

UPDATE: I take it back, the play is from removing the mount screw (the one under the ladder when folded down). Thanks Pietro, but I can't see buying a gallon of kero for this little job... but I do have bucketful of WD40, and a two day soak has begun.

[Char-Gar]

I have cleaned up a fozen Buffington sight or two and the cause was always old grease, oil and grit. I have found Kroil to work fine. A little light tapping the a brass drift and small hammer while turning the screw also helps. Note, I said tapping and not hitting.

[John Allen]

Char-Gar is right on the money soak the **** out of it for a week with kroil and slowly work back and forth. I have had three that needed this.

[DxF]

Thanks for all the help, everyone! I thought, for the benefit of anyone who might find this thread interesting in future years, that I'd follow up with what worked for me:

Remove the sight from the barrel. Turn out two screws: the smaller one, nearest the eye (call it screw A) and the second, screw B, which hides under the sight leaf. (NB, i.e., Note to Brits:wink:: "screw" means "pin".)

With the sight off the rifle and before you touch anything else, re-insert screw B into the sight. Just push it in. It needs to be in place- it's the axle around which the swivel swings.

Soak the knob end in your solvent of choice. I didn't have kerosene, but I did have a lot of WD40 so that's what I used and it worked for me. Every once in a while, turn the knurled knob (BTW, always pronounce the k's) gently and work it back and forth.

Once the leaf swivels through its full travel, clean off and reinstall the sight on the barrel. But here's a caution: after you've torqued screw B down, back it off a half turn or so. If it's too tight, it clamps the leaf.

HTH and good shooting. BTW, Wolf's Western Traders (http://www.4570products.info) is still selling their "how to use the Trapdoor's sights" booklet. Just thought I'd mention that.

[joebrotch]

It does not look like anyone addressed "why its so tight".

Yes, dried grease and dirt are major problems affecting movement but the usual culprit is the front and rear base "Ears" that retain the staff base, but due to "damage/banging/bubba gunsmithing" the ears edges are usually bent/burred/damaged and restricting rotational movement.

Virtually all the buffingtons I have taken apart need stoning to remove any/all burrs, staff bases and staff's need to be checked for straightness or twisting and can be repaired on a flat surface and small brass/copper hammers.

After the staff base and staff have been checked/trued you need to reinsert into base and assess rotational movement, if extremely easy the base ears are probably too loose and gentle tapping to close gap of ears will insure minimal drag to retain windage setting (too loose enhances windage changes up to 2 MOA due to backlash of windage screw thread form).

The ears over the windage screw are typically the culprit being peened too much creating too much drag and require careful prying with opposing flat blade screwdriver (placed opposed on top of each other) to expand open the ear on each corner, go slow, do not over expand ears. After the ear is opened reinstall base/staff and check rotational movement, if too loose carefully
place a bar of copper/brass and tap until enough tension/drag is on base rotation to retain/hold your sight setting.

Its a slow tedious process but you will be rewarded with a rear sight that will track better and maintain settings better.

[Jim Flinchbaugh]

If any one has a line on a Buffington sight lemme know please :)
for less then the 250$ one on ebone

[Baron von Trollwhack]

Ed'S Red worked wonders for me when alternated with a squirt with carb cleaner. Then subsequent soaking and gentle manipulation, several times.

BvT

[SkiUSMA07]

Hello the camp!

I have an 1884 Trapdoor with the Buffington sight. The windage screw is very stiff, to the point that I'm afraid to turn it for fear of snapping something.

Can anyone point me to a safe guide for disassembly, so I can clean out the dried grease that (I'm hoping) is the cause of this?

I just picked up an 1888 model Trapdoor with the same issue. If you can remove the sight from the stock this will be much easier and safer for your stock.

1. Remove the sight from the rifle (If possible)
2. Soak the sight in a penetrating oil like liquid wrench. This dissolves the old grease and helps to lubricate pretty well.

Only continue if you are still having the same problems as above and have verified that it was not pinned.

3. Look at the windage knob and locate the pin. This can be removed with a small brad, sewing needle or drift pin punch. Remove that pin carefully.
4. Remove the windage knob from the worm drive.
5. Using rubber coat channel locks or Robo-Grips, unscrew the worm drive. (Mine was fairly dirty and had to be cleaned by hand.)
6. Remove the windage and elevation portion of the rear sight. Clean thoroughly and check for burrs.
7. Lube everything with white lithium grease to prevent metal-on-metal rubbing and carefully reassembly in reverse order.

My buffington is still very tight, but as I have worked it and fired the rifle it has begun to operate more smoothly.

I realize this is very late to the party, but hopefully it helps the next along. This gave me a starting point for fixing and adjusting mine.

[waksupi]

You can also boil the bejeebers (grease) out of it, then soak it in the Kroil or whatever.