Anyone out there know their way around vintage Lyman #1A sights?

[Ki6vsm]

I don't know if this is a "C and R" question. Definitely and old-gun question though. I am wondering if the fore-aft angle on the Lyman #1A sights can be adjusted. Mine (on my Remington Model 8) has a detent that locks the sight angled back just a tad. I wouldn't mind if it would lock in an exact vertical orientation. I was wondering if the key to this would be figuring out what the two tabs (called out below) are for. I know from doing a little research that these Model 8 version sights' angles can vary slightly. So, anyone know if it's an adjustment situation?

[TRAP55]

That locking lever was added to the 1A and 2A just for that purpose. Before you do anything with it, it never hurts to apply some Kroil. Dirt and rust build up in these old sights, and trying to force things doesn't go well. "IF" it has to be taken apart and cleaned, here's a "how to" with pics:

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/2406770/lyman-tang-sight-repairs#Post2406770

[Ki6vsm]

Ah finally! Thank you. I searched for something like that info but came up empty.

I will need to study that a bit. But it looks like the "dohicky" is what drops into the detent on base. And the main "stem" part does not seem to index on the cross shaft. Just noticed that he says, "For the stems that are not properly aligned, you only have to loosen off the lock nut, adjust stem and retighten. "

That's what I was hoping to see. It is what I need to do. And good tip on the snap ring pliers. I was wondering how to deal with that "snake eyes" head.

And no worries on the sight function overall. It's gotten a bath of Kroil recently while I was tearing down and cleaning the receiver end. I had to replace the firing pin. My dad or brother must have busted it off years ago and didn't mention it to anyone. So the sight folds and locks very smoothly.

[TRAP55]

There's a tool made for the "snap ring pliers substitute", but after seeing the price, I used a Dremel on a cheap 1/4" drive socket and made my own.
When I was pulling up that web link for you, I was going through a list of vintage sight parts suppliers in case you needed a part. Sad to see all those old timers are gone, and their inventory with them.
What's your Mod. 8 chambered in?

[Canucky]

Great post! Thanks for the education.

[Ki6vsm]

There's a tool made for the "snap ring pliers substitute", but after seeing the price, I used a Dremel on a cheap 1/4" drive socket and made my own.
When I was pulling up that web link for you, I was going through a list of vintage sight parts suppliers in case you needed a part. Sad to see all those old timers are gone, and their inventory with them.
What's your Mod. 8 chambered in?

Reporting back:

Well that worked like a charm. Didn't need to mess with the snake-eyes side either. I just put my 1/4" open-end on the lock nut and backed it off about 1/8 of a turn. This was while holding the stem immobile with my other hand of course. At that point the stem was free to pivot front and back. Once oriented more vertical, I tightened the nut again.

Odd thing is, the lock lever does seem to have a different feel now. I guess it's more free to move fore and aft, and hits those ruffled tabs more easily. When that happens I feel the lever ratchet across them. So I will just learn to avoid extra movement with the lever.

And BTW, it's chambered in .35 Remington. I'm very curious to shoot it, so see if the recoil is as thumpy as they say. My grandfather bought this rifle in TX, circa 1930. Ended up in my dad's collection. He passed it on to me a few years back.

I finally took it out to the desert a few weeks ago try out and was disappointed to learn that the FP was broken. Luckily, replacement FPs are still being made by one company, so I bought one from Midway. I finally got the rifle all back together last weekend. It was a good experience taking it all apart and cleaning everything, and learning how it works. That John Browning, he designed some interesting guns for sure.