I hold it in place when tightening it.

But I have manly strength fingers!

I have been known to use an adjustable box wrench on metal sights to keep them centered or to center them afterwards. Wrap them with tape if you are a stickler for pristine quality finish on your guns.

 

I use a Crescent too, but I set the sight max counterclockwise, then tighten the screw, then use the wrench to 'tighten' the sight clockwise into true.

 

What do you do to align your sights when installing them, particularly the front sight?

I put it in the oval slot in the slide, that prevents it from turning even half a degree, and screw it down. First, are you sure your front sight isn't straight? Second, what makes you think your rear sight is supposed to be centered? Fixed rear sights are drift adjustable for windage - centered in the dovetail is not a requirement.

 

I put it in the oval slot in the slide, that prevents it from turning even half a degree, and screw it down. First, are you sure your front sight isn't straight?

No, this is not true. It still wobbles very slightly even when "locked" into that oval slot. As you tighten the screw, the entire sight can rotate very slightly.

Second, what makes you think your rear sight is supposed to be centered? Fixed rear sights are drift adjustable for windage - centered in the dovetail is not a requirement.

I am assuming that the top of the slide is symmetrical and has resulted in a dovetail that is itself centered on the slide. I'd like to measure it to confirm that, though.

 

I hold a ruler to the sight while I tighten it down. Use the radius line along the corner of the slide to compare to your rulers angle.

Blue threadlock on the screw. Red Locktight under the base of the sight, which kinda glues it down.

Use a lighter on the sight to remove.

 

Every gun is different. Obviously these 2 guns are different just by what you have described.
What distance and how are you holding the gun when testing?

You need to calibrate (zero) your sights on sample A, just like you need to zero your optics on a rifle. Do the same things you would do on a long gun optic, no different on a pistol.

Tips:
zero off a bench rest position, seated or prone, well supported, then you know the gun is zeroed. If you are off POA afterwards, then it is you-- at which point you have options to think about.

 

I have 6 inexpensive tools I use for Glock sight installation.

TEKTON 23001 4-Inch Adjustable Wrench

Dawson Professional Grade Glock Front Sight Installation Tool

NcSTAR VTUPRS Universal Pistol Rear Sight Tool

Illumifun Digital Caliper 6 Inch

6” and 12” (for G34, etc) straight edges

I install the new rear sight with the NcStar tool and check that it is centered with the Digital Caliper on both sides.

I tighten the front sight screw with a drop of red Loctite with the Dawson tool.

Then I use the straight edge on both sides of the front sight to check centering to the rear sight notch.

Adjustments are made to the front sight with the Tekton wrench.

All tools were purchased at Amazon

 

I've done hundreds of sight installs and the Gen 4 and newer Glocks seem to have larger slots. I don't remember this issue on the early guns, in fact you had to tap them in with a small gunsmith hammer. I sock them down, using Permatex # 2, as a thread filler, then use a small crescent to center them by using a 6" scale and check against the firing pin line up on each side. Never had any come loose using Permatex. And they are removable.

 

I just snug the front sight up finger tight, and then put my Leatherman on the tool and give it an extra "tweak". Blue Loctite too.

If the front sight doesnt look straight, which it often doesnt, I just take the Leatherman and "adjust" it. Usually an imperceptible movement too.

I use a sight tool for the rear sight, and none of my Glocks have the rear sight centered. They all favor the right side of the slide when zeroed.

 

If the sights are centered, then that's a grip issue. The typical low left that plagues newbies.

 

Ive been told that a number of times, and Ive tried every possible grip and trigger finger placement I could, and it still needs the rear sight to the right. The gun doesnt shoot "low", only "left".

Glocks are the only gun I have that do that. All my other handguns rear sights are pretty much centered.

The guns all "point" where I look without issue too.

 

No, this is not true. It still wobbles very slightly even when "locked" into that oval slot. As you tighten the screw, the entire sight can rotate very slightly.

I've changed the sights out many times over the years on several models, never had any come out crooked or need adjustment. Every Glock sight I have used, whether OEM, TruGlo, Dawson, Warren, etc., has fit that oval in the slide so tight I had to use a punch to pop it out. Maybe the Glock night sights are different, which seems odd, but there is absolute -0- movement in the ones I've tried. I've changed out 2 or 3 sets just this month.

 

The plastic sights Ive removed have all been a tight/snug fit.

None of the Meprolight or other steel sights Ive used have been. If you put it in and turn the slide over, they will fall right out.

 

I hold a ruler to the sight while I tighten it down. Use the radius line along the corner of the slide to compare to your rulers angle.

Blue threadlock on the screw. Red Locktight under the base of the sight, which kinda glues it down.

Use a lighter on the sight to remove.

I did this on a gen 4 19 with great results.

 

OK, silly question here from a newbie. Can you swap the slides between the 2 guns & see if the issue moves with the slide or not?

 

That would suggest a shooter/trigger issue. And other cans of beans....We don't want to go there.

 

I use a machinist ruler .

 

G19 fan, yes if its the same model. And the same generation. But keep in mind that doen't mean that is the true zero for that gun/slide assembly?

 

Once you get the the sights mounted, you can actually get a sight picture in a well lit room and move your head side to side slightly and see the side of the front sight and see which way it’s twisted. I find this to be pretty common when changing Glock sights. I just use my Mark 1 eyeball and a pair of high tech needle nose pliers to twist it slightly to straighten it out.

 

After installing the front sight, I flip the slide upside down and secure the front sight in a vise. Then I center the firing pin on the gap in the vice jaws and tighten the front sight screw with a nut driver. Done.

 

Genius. I'll try that next time.

 

... . As you tighten the front sight screw, the sight itself can twist half a degree, and I knew about the issue and even tried to correct it when installing the sight, but apparently not enough. I feel like I need a jig to hold the front sight perfectly straight. Or maybe put it in a vise?

What do you do to align your sights when installing them, particularly the front sight?

I have been using a simple yet very effective solution to this problem.

I apply a very small drop of super glue gel at the bottom of the front sight blade that meets the slide top after degreasing them thoroughly. I then put the front sight in place to be sure that it is aligned straight, and hold it there for a couple of minutes until the super glue sets. Once the front sight has been super glued, I tighten the screw normally with a drop of blue Locktite. That’s all it takes.

The key is to 1) degrease thoroughly for the super glue gel to be effective and 2) apply a very small amount of super glue gel, so it will not seep out of the seam. (If the excess super glue gel seeps out, you can remove it with a bamboo skewer later.)

I have been using this simple solution on all of my Glocks, and it I have not had the super glue come off for over a decade with normal use of Hoppies #9, GunScrubber, Birchwood-Casey Barricade, etc. on the slide while cleaning. When I needed to replace the front sight, I could simply prying it off with a pair of plier after removing the screw. The super glue left on the slide top can be removed with nail polish remover without any scratch or discoloration. Once the front sight is securely in place, you can zero in the gun by setting (or moving) the rear sight in the desired place.

 

Tightening a tiny front sight screw on a Glock is now of equal precision to removing a Nuclear bomb fuse in a James Bond movie.

 

I align my sights using a laser bullet and it has worked well for me on several different brands and models. Have not had a problem getting the front sight straight on the four Glocks I changed.

 

You would think we were trying to launch the space shuttle or split the atom here

come on guys...we are gun guys, we are better that this!

 

I put it in the oval slot in the slide, that prevents it from turning even half a degree, and screw it down. First, are you sure your front sight isn't straight? Second, what makes you think your rear sight is supposed to be centered? Fixed rear sights are drift adjustable for windage - centered in the dovetail is not a requirement.

^
^
^
this

 

Unless the front sight is damaged, I don't see how it can be installed crooked. If you replaced the rear, you may just need to shift it slightly, doesnt take much to be off.

 

Glock front sight slots have been getting looser and looser over the last 15 years or so. Used to be you could tap in a new sight, Dawsons, Heinies, Tarans. But today, they are almost never tight. Having installed over 200 sets on Glocks, I can remember a tap in other than the early 90's Glocks.

 

Yep, gen4's are pretty sloppy.

Not a complaint. Still 1000% easier to deal with than 1911 sights. There's 18 million different types of cuts and combinations. No idea whats on my 2010 Valor. ''Springfield 1911" something or other front, ''Novak'' rear. Or ''some guy that once met Novak, and starting cutting slots in slides'' sight cut.

Kimber cut sights, now those are fun.