lost ball-bearing in L1A1 rear sight - source?

**W.E.G.** · August 06, 2003, 09:11

I went and did it.

I pulled the slider thingy off a non-pushbutton Aussie rear sight. When it came off, it launched the ball bearing that serves as the detent.

"Its gotta be here somewhere." (famous last words.) I'll keep looking. In the meantime...

Anybody have source/advice on what to use as a substitute/replacement?

Snakeshot · August 06, 2003, 09:27

Hehe, I just found an Aussie rear sight spring that I launched two weeks ago.

So I measured the ball while it's still out: 0.124"

HTH.

M1950 · August 06, 2003, 09:29

Check the hardware bins at your lock Ace, or try you local auto parts store. These ball bearings, of various sizes, are used in carb and tranny recuilds, and in some electric motors. It ain't the endof the world. I had to do the same thing to replace the sight detent on my HK 91.

Goood luck.

John

Michael Bush · August 06, 2003, 09:56

Call John at dealer showroom 916-371-8606 he has original new lithgow balls.

**W.E.G.** · August 06, 2003, 09:57

Thanks y'all!

hydrotx · August 06, 2003, 10:18

Gary,
E-mail me your mailing address and I'll drop one in the mail. I happen to have one and no more L1A1 stuff.

Regards,
Joel

**bykerhd** · August 06, 2003, 10:22

Fire up the starship and investigate the "Black Hole" under the workbench.
You can probably recoup your Dilithium Crystal useage costs by loading up the rest of our stuff you find in there. You can either go the "finders keepers" route or offer it up for sale or offer to return it for a reward. I'll see if I can make up a list of what I've lost to it so far. I'm sure the rest of the gang will also have some items to list.

kotengu · August 06, 2003, 10:48

IIRC it's also the same size ball as in the AR sights.....

xcpd69 · August 06, 2003, 14:01

Years ago in my misspent youth, I worked as a mechanic in the local Honda Shop.

One day, the old man (about MY age now) who ran the parts dept came back into the shop, wiping tears from his eyes and laughing.

Of course we wanted to know what had happened.

He told us a young, good looking lady had come in the shop, went to his parts counter, and opened up her hand, showing him some small bearings. She then caused him to nearly lose it, by asking:

"Do you have balls this size?"

No sooner than the words were out of her mouth, than she realized what she had said, and turning red and flustered, immediately left the shop without another word.

Which was a good thing, as Bill sid he couldn't restrain himself much longer, and it saved him from laughing out loud in her face.

wpnsman · August 06, 2003, 17:41

After months of lurking and finally getting my account to work right, I can answer this one.

Do you have any AR-15 parts laying around, or know someone who does. What you need is the detent ball and spring out of an A2 rear sight assembly. The detent and springs are the same for the elevation wheel, sight housing and windage knob. New ones sometimes are a little stiff on an L1A1, but it does help take some of the slop out of the sight. Or, you could cut a coil off a new one or use a old one if it seems to stiff.

I discovered this while reworking a L1A1 for a friend of mine who brought it to me disassembled in a box. Since I work on a lot of AR's I noticed the A2 detents I had as spares and figured I'd give it a try, works perfectly.

303smle · August 06, 2003, 20:59

If you have not gotten a replacement yet, stop by a bicycle shop. They generally have them by the gross in assorted sizes. There is one in Vienna--if you ever get out that way--that gives them to me as it's apparently too much bother to sell one or two at a time.

August 06, 2003, 09:11	#1
W.E.G. Administrator Silver Contributor FALaholic #: 1211 Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Virginia Posts: 31,055	lost ball-bearing in L1A1 rear sight - source? I went and did it. I pulled the slider thingy off a non-pushbutton Aussie rear sight. When it came off, it launched the ball bearing that serves as the detent. "Its gotta be here somewhere." (famous last words.) I'll keep looking. In the meantime... Anybody have source/advice on what to use as a substitute/replacement? __________________ . . . Ask me about the Mason-Dixon FAL Collectors Association.

August 06, 2003, 09:27	#2
Snakeshot Registered FALaholic #: 909 Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Non Harry Reid Nevada Posts: 4,045	Hehe, I just found an Aussie rear sight spring that I launched two weeks ago. So I measured the ball while it's still out: 0.124" HTH. __________________ "When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men living together in society, they create for themselves in the course of time a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that justifies it." Frederic Bastiat

August 06, 2003, 09:29	#3
M1950 Registered FALaholic #: 6777 Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: NH Posts: 289	Check the hardware bins at your lock Ace, or try you local auto parts store. These ball bearings, of various sizes, are used in carb and tranny recuilds, and in some electric motors. It ain't the endof the world. I had to do the same thing to replace the sight detent on my HK 91. Goood luck. John __________________ Author of DEPLOYMENT, RECOVERY and OVERWATCH, a trilogy of Military fiction. www.johnmartinbooks.com

August 06, 2003, 09:56	#4
Michael Bush Registered FALaholic #: 5641 Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 316	original sight balls Call John at dealer showroom 916-371-8606 he has original new lithgow balls. __________________ Michael Bush Michael@mgstocks.com www.MGStocks.Com 208 25th Street Sacramento, CA 95816 "Our government has kept us in a perpetual state of fear - kept us in a continuous stampede of patriotic fervor - with the cry of grave national emergency. Always there has been some terrible evil at home or some monstrous foreign power that was going to gobble us up if we did not blindly rally behind it." ~ General Douglas Macarthur, 1957

August 06, 2003, 09:57	#5
W.E.G. Administrator Silver Contributor FALaholic #: 1211 Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Virginia Posts: 31,055	Thanks y'all! __________________ . . . Ask me about the Mason-Dixon FAL Collectors Association.

August 06, 2003, 10:18	#6
hydrotx Registered FALaholic #: 37 Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: PA for now Posts: 1,414	Gary, E-mail me your mailing address and I'll drop one in the mail. I happen to have one and no more L1A1 stuff. Regards, Joel __________________ "The drinking will continue until morale improves"

August 06, 2003, 10:22	#7
bykerhd Dinosaur Bronze Contributor FALaholic #: 2798 Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Burlington Vermont area Posts: 13,262	Fire up the starship and investigate the "Black Hole" under the workbench. You can probably recoup your Dilithium Crystal useage costs by loading up the rest of our stuff you find in there. You can either go the "finders keepers" route or offer it up for sale or offer to return it for a reward. I'll see if I can make up a list of what I've lost to it so far. I'm sure the rest of the gang will also have some items to list.

August 06, 2003, 10:48	#8
kotengu Registered FALaholic #: 1594 Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Baxter, TN, USA Posts: 3,064	IIRC it's also the same size ball as in the AR sights..... __________________ "The way is in training." - Miyamoto Musashi

August 06, 2003, 14:01	#9
xcpd69 Registered FALaholic #: 31 Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Uranus Posts: 5,567	Years ago in my misspent youth, I worked as a mechanic in the local Honda Shop. One day, the old man (about MY age now) who ran the parts dept came back into the shop, wiping tears from his eyes and laughing. Of course we wanted to know what had happened. He told us a young, good looking lady had come in the shop, went to his parts counter, and opened up her hand, showing him some small bearings. She then caused him to nearly lose it, by asking: "Do you have balls this size?" No sooner than the words were out of her mouth, than she realized what she had said, and turning red and flustered, immediately left the shop without another word. Which was a good thing, as Bill sid he couldn't restrain himself much longer, and it saved him from laughing out loud in her face. __________________ Mama, take this badge off of me I can't use it anymore.

August 06, 2003, 17:41	#10
wpnsman Registered FALaholic #: 10548 Join Date: May 2003 Location: VA. Posts: 8	After months of lurking and finally getting my account to work right, I can answer this one. Do you have any AR-15 parts laying around, or know someone who does. What you need is the detent ball and spring out of an A2 rear sight assembly. The detent and springs are the same for the elevation wheel, sight housing and windage knob. New ones sometimes are a little stiff on an L1A1, but it does help take some of the slop out of the sight. Or, you could cut a coil off a new one or use a old one if it seems to stiff. I discovered this while reworking a L1A1 for a friend of mine who brought it to me disassembled in a box. Since I work on a lot of AR's I noticed the A2 detents I had as spares and figured I'd give it a try, works perfectly.

August 06, 2003, 20:59	#11
303smle Registered FALaholic #: 2247 Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Northern Virginia, USA Posts: 22	If you have not gotten a replacement yet, stop by a bicycle shop. They generally have them by the gross in assorted sizes. There is one in Vienna--if you ever get out that way--that gives them to me as it's apparently too much bother to sell one or two at a time. __________________ Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes you time and annoys the pig.

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