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Tedk said
Zebulon said
Perhaps I don’t properly understand the intricacies of making a slide blank for a Lyman 48WJS, although I’ve owned and used several of these sights. Still have one on my 30 Gov’t ’06 Super Grade.
It seems to me the blank could consist of nothing more than a short section of flat stock, mild steel or even aluminum, with the opposing vertical edges dressed with a file to mate with the obverse bevels of the sight base dovetail. This could be done with a hacksaw or jigsaw, files and sandpaper. The fit is not critical because the blank could be held in place by a single set screw in the center of the blank, after d/t a hole in the blank.
I’d use mild steel and color it with Oxypho but blackened aluminum would work.
It would be needlessly difficult to emulate the fit and function of a bridge-less factory staff.
Yes, that could all be done, but it wouldn’t have the look or cachet of a Lyman dummy slide designed specifically for this purpose
Absent the Lyman logo, here’s what another fellow did along the lines I suggested. I think it gets pretty close and it does provide protection from the sharp edges
The illustrations are fairly far down in the article but they show the dummy slide in situ very well:
https://oldgunkie.blogspot.com/2011/02/lyman-peep-dummy-slide.html?m=1
- Bill
WACA # 65205; life member, NRA; member, TGCA; member, TSRA; amateur preservationist
"I have seen wicked men and fools, a great many of both, and I believe they both get paid in the end, but the fools first." -- David Balfour, narrator and protagonist of the novel, Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson.
Zebulon said
https://oldgunkie.blogspot.com/2011/02/lyman-peep-dummy-slide.html?m=1
How did you ever dig this up? But excellent idea IF you have some skill with a file, or milling machine. Old Gunkie could sell these on ebay.
Mike, I am missing various things that I THINK are still here in the house somewhere! Want to come and rummage through my treasures? I would reciprocate and rummage through yours. Maybe we could then either exchange junk or find some things the other has missed for years! So many ‘good places’ for things to be stored in. Tim
Tedk said
Lyman Dummy Slide in action on a pre-war M70 carbine. Very pleasing to the eye and the Lyman ‘Leaping Deer’ is definitely a bonus.
The advantages of a properly installed Griffin & Howe side mount are illustrated in this photo. Flip the two levers, slide the scope off and put in the Lyman slide. If the Lyman is sighted in the elevation screw will contact the base and one is ready to go. Remove the slide, reinstall the scope and it will hold zero (or be minute of a deer close). Pre-war ingenuity at its finest.
What a beautiful classic! Had no idea that a Lyman receiver sight would hold zero that simply. You’re right, that is ingenious. Thanks for sharing the photo and providing some great info.
Mike
“Absent the Lyman logo, here’s what another fellow did along the lines I suggested. I think it gets pretty close and it does provide protection from the sharp edges
The illustrations are fairly far down in the article but they show the dummy slide in situ very well:”
Zebulon,
These are VERY impressive and give an idea of what can be achieved if you have those kind of file skills. Unfortunately, I don’t and doubt I could achieve anything close to Gunkie’s products. He must have been a filer for Holland & Holland! Thanks for the ideas.
Mike
November 5, 2014
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Hi Skizzer-
It is not uncommon to find stripped (all parts removed) Lyman 48 staffs for sale on eBay for relatively low cost (maybe $20 compared to $80+ for a genuine slot blank). With one of these all you need to do is cut off as much of the crossbar as you don’t need (hacksaw – no precision filing). As far as I know, the elevation staff of all Lyman 48 series sights have the same dovetail dimensions, they differ only in whether there is a “step-up” in the cross bar and whether the aperture is oriented for left side or right side mounting on the block. Since you’re going to cut that off anyway, it doesn’t matter which application code the sight is.
I didn’t see any fully stripped slides in my eBay “Lyman 48” search just now, and this partially stripped slide is priced too high, but it should convey the idea.
There seems to be no end of “loose” Lyman blocks, slides, and slide parts out there… I guess they just keep crawling out of the dresser drawers of people like Clarence, Mike and Chuck… 
Best,
Lou
P.S. Another note regarding your response to Tedk above. When sighting in a Lyman 48 receiver sight, one typically adjusts the elevation staff (using the elevation knob) for the shortest range you plan to shoot, say 100 yards, and then move the index scale pointer on the face of the block to align with the “zero” on the staff. That’s the little sheet metal pointer held on by a small screw, it’s designed to slide up/down. Once that is done, there is an elevation set screw on the horizontal portion of the cross bar. Run that down until it touches the block (and maybe add a dab of LocTite if you’re shooting a lot). That way, when you re-insert the slide (post-removal), you just push it down until the set screw contacts the block and everything back back to your “zero” setting… The scale in the front of the slide is really only a quick visual reference for whether the sight is set to “zero” or to some longer range… Pre-war engineering at its finest???
WACA 9519; Studying Pre-64 Model 70 Winchesters
Louis Luttrell said When sighting in a Lyman 48 receiver sight, one typically adjusts the elevation staff (using the elevation knob) for the shortest range you plan to shoot, say 100 yards, and then move the index scale pointer on the face of the block to align with the “zero” on the staff. That’s the little sheet metal pointer held on by a small screw, it’s designed to slide up/down.
If it’s not stuck fast; if it is, that thin slot in the tiny screw head makes damage hard to avoid.
November 5, 2014
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That’s true Clarence…
I don’t think Lyman was thinking about people putting their receiver sight onto different rifles and having to repeatedly re-zero it, or else they could have come up with something a little more robust than that tiny (easily breakable) screw. I guess they didn’t plan for people changing bullet weight on the same gun either…
I suppose the idea was to set it, snug it down, and forget about it… It works well for target shooters always using the same match ammo in the same rifle… You “zero” for the closest range you’ll be shooting and move the elevation staff up a pre-determined number of clicks when moving to longer range. Works great on the firing range where distance to target is known/standardized. The pointer just serves as a visual reminder of whether the staff is in the “zero” position or cranked up for long range.
Of course you know all this (but some others may not)…
Lou
WACA 9519; Studying Pre-64 Model 70 Winchesters
November 7, 2015
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Lou, how did you know that 55R sight was in my dresser drawer? I enjoyed rummaging through my parts box and sizing/tumble lubing all those bullets but next time I’ll just ask.
Mike
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