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Best way to DIY sight replacement, XDs?

Peglegjoe

Peglegjoe

Professional
Founding Member
OK, so I'm mechanically inclined. Build cars, motorcycles, home improvements, wiring, plumbing...about the only things I stay away from are welding, and freon.

I have an XDs as my EDC, and I just bought some TruGlo sights for it.

I have a press in the garage that I can make a correct jig for, to hold the slide as needed.

My thoughts are, I'll put both the slide (with the stock sights), and the new sights, in the freezer overnight, then press them out and in?

I have my laser already zeroed, so I can use that for any windage adjustments needed (I do have brass drifts/punches for slight tap-adjustments), and I'll scribe center before I remove the original sights...

Will this work, do we think, without damaging stuff? Or are the sight dovetails super-tight and I should just suck it up and take it to a 'smith?
 
I thought all you had to do was to drift out the old sites and tap the new ones in, but, I’m just guessing, my neighbors son is a gunsmith and does my work for me.
 
When I used to install wrist pins on a pistons( press fit) I would heat the piston and freeze the wrist pins. Expand 1 and contract the other, but not the opposite will work. Now back to the slide vs sights. Are the XDs sights poly or iron?
 
Have the punch.

Slide and sights are steel (well, metal at least).

The TruGlo's came with an allen wrench in the package...is there a set screw somewhere under the dovetails? Do I need to disassemble the slide to get to it?

I need to find an exploded diagram...all I've done so far with the pistol is field-strip to clean after range time. I've never removed the rear plate or any of the firing pin assembly...
 
From my past experience Springfield sights are extremely tight-we cut the rear sight crosswise with a cut off wheel and then pushed the sight out.Of coarse he didn't need to save the rear he was installing a Dot sight plate.
 
This aught to do it...
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That was easier than I'd imagined.

I have a hefty, stable, 90-year-old vise attached to my workbench. It weighs about 35 lbs. It does. not. move.

Taped the jaws to protect the slide, with a couple layers of duct tape. Got the slide clamped in. Steel punch, 16oz framing hammer. Tap....tap....tap harder....tap a little harder...it moved...tapped some more (right to left)...and out came the front sight. Lined up the TruGlo front, tapped it into place.

Moved to the rear, did the same thing. Right to left, tapped out the stocker, tapped in the TruGlo. Turns out the allen wrench is for a locking screw for the TruGlo rear sight. I left it out until I'd used my (known-zeroed) laser to cowitness proper alignment (slight tap here, slight tap there, and the rear was lined up), and once I had it centered I put the screw in to help hold it.

I like 'em. SUPER-easy to pick up when bringing the gun up on target, and they gather a TON of daylight. The tritium isn't super bright, but it's only dusk yet...we'll see how it looks once my eyes are used to low light (it was SUNNY today, a trip to a dark room netted me absolutely zero because my eyes were accustomed to the brightness).

I have a friend coming up tomorrow for some gun-fun - she has a bunch of stuff that needs some rounds run through them - and I'll bench-fire the XDs to make sure I've got it right...but I'm 99% sure it'll be there, considering I have the laser lined up right where it was before.
 
The sights, are not pinned and just need to be drifted out in either direction. The new ones may need to be fitted but press in. Now lets just say I have a bunch of experience installing sights and I can tell you some of them are tight beyond belief where others are a breeze to remove. It just depends on the tolerance of the slide and the sights.
 
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