# Fiber Optic Sights



## SLING-N-SHOT (Jun 5, 2018)

Messing around with adding a true, end to end light transmitting FO to a Birch ply test frame….it’s okay but gonna try a different mounting option on the right fork to see if it gathers more light.



































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## Valery (Jan 2, 2020)

It is better to use tritium markers for such a sight mount. 
The fiber must collect light along its entire length. You can make a neat cut in the very corner of the horn and glue a piece of fiber there, it will glow brighter.


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## Sandstorm (Apr 5, 2021)

Good deal. Let us know how the other mounting works out. Mine should be here Friday. I think I might build a detachable mount of some kind for it.


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## Trap1 (Apr 12, 2020)

Neat! Darrell I like it !

Hi Valery: Hiv ye any examples of a sight mount using a tritrium marker? I would like to see!


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## Valery (Jan 2, 2020)

Hello to you too, Trap1! There are no examples specifically on the slingshot, I think that no one puts them, just an idea. However, they are often used on firearms. Tritium markers are self-luminous, they can be installed in blind holes, and the optical fiber must collect external light.


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## Sandstorm (Apr 5, 2021)

Valery said:


> Hello to you too, Trap1! There are no examples specifically on the slingshot, I think that no one puts them, just an idea. However, they are often used on firearms. Tritium markers are self-luminous, they can be installed in blind holes, and the optical fiber must collect external light.


Yes but will the gamma rays turn me into The Incredible Hulk? Lol no I’m just kidding friend. I did look into that a bit. I couldn’t find anything tritium that wasn’t already mounted to a holder in some fashion, and they’re a little pricy for use on my sling. Ideally though a tritium marker would work very well. I’m just not sure it’s the most practical (or easiest due to the mount it comes in) solution. I’d have to tear it apart and it’d be a crying shame. Probably better to throw on a firearm. 
The FO were 12 for $10 USD and the tritium in the mount was 1 for $25 USD. I could buy a Fowler Sparrow for just around the same price. The childish slinger in me yells “Screw that..Sparrow, Sparrow!”


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## SLING-N-SHOT (Jun 5, 2018)

Valery said:


> It is better to use tritium markers for such a sight mount.
> The fiber must collect light along its entire length. You can make a neat cut in the very corner of the horn and glue a piece of fiber there, it will glow brighter.


Tks Valery, but Tritium sights are WAY more expensive than I want to put on a sling, but yeah, they are definitely nice for sure.

The FO I am using though does not gather light vertically or from top to bottom like most, these are true FO that the light travels end to end…..came from ABB
new.abb.com/products/58988821/nlwc-02


















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## Valery (Jan 2, 2020)

SLING-N-SHOT said:


> The FO I am using though does not gather light vertically or from top to bottom like most, these are true FO that the light travels end to end…..came from ABB


Clear. These are classic optical fibers for signal transmission. The problem is that they cannot give more light at the exit than at the entrance. If used as a sight, then in low light they will be ineffective. And in good light, the angle of the slingshot is already perfectly visible.


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## Bimbo (Oct 20, 2019)

I have a micarta fork with a small piece of fiber optic glued on the top corner, works really well, all i did, was burn both ends with a lighter a bit, just so it became a little wider on both sides, and just glued it on with crazy glue.

On the tritium sights, you might want to take a look at photoluminescent powders, just mix a bit with some epoxy and place some on your fork tip with a toothpick or something or make a line across the whole tip, that should work as well.

and on the plus side, they are rather cheap... an ounce should have you covered for a lot of epoxy, some builders here in Mexico actually use the powder to mix resin and fill gaps, knots and holes in wooden frames, makes them look cool at night...


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## SLING-N-SHOT (Jun 5, 2018)

Bimbo said:


> I have a micarta fork with a small piece of fiber optic glued on the top corner, works really well, all i did, was burn both ends with a lighter a bit, just so it became a little wider on both sides, and just glued it on with crazy glue.
> 
> On the tritium sights, you might want to take a look at photoluminescent powders, just mix a bit with some epoxy and place some on your fork tip with a toothpick or something or make a line across the whole tip, that should work as well.
> 
> and on the plus side, they are rather cheap... an ounce should have you covered for a lot of epoxy, some builders here in Mexico actually use the powder to mix resin and fill gaps, knots and holes in wooden frames, makes them look cool at night...


Great idea and one I was also thinking of trying, so we’re on the same page.
I bought a product called Glow-On that’s exactly what you’re referring to.
www.glow-on.com


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## SLING-N-SHOT (Jun 5, 2018)

I am also going to try just drilling a small hole and in laying it with Turquoise, like I do on my makers mark…..that’s plenty bright without needing to glow, and I think would be a great visual aiming reference…..gonna even try some of Mike’s (stankard757 ) toxic green pixie dust ( craft sand ) he sent me.


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## Bimbo (Oct 20, 2019)

SLING-N-SHOT said:


> I am also going to try just drilling a small hole and in laying it with Turquoise, like I do on my makers mark…..that’s plenty bright without needing to glow, and I think would be a great visual aiming reference…..gonna even try some of Mike’s (stankard757 ) toxic green pixie dust ( craft sand ) he sent me.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


That sounds like a great option too, i still have some green turquoise laying around somewhere, might try it as well, but so far, the little piece of fiber optic is working well.

i'll keep you posted on further experiments!


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## ffastfzr (Feb 15, 2021)

SLING-N-SHOT said:


> I am also going to try just drilling a small hole and in laying it with Turquoise, like I do on my makers mark…..that’s plenty bright without needing to glow, and I think would be a great visual aiming reference…..gonna even try some of Mike’s (stankard757 ) toxic green pixie dust ( craft sand ) he sent me.
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


You can get g10 rod down to at least 1/8 and probably smaller in pretty bright colors (toxic green, orange, red, yellow, white, etc.) . That might be easier to work with than the turquoise. You can also use a copper or nickel pin that you polish. Other option is copper or aluminum tube, but they have to be big enough to let the light through. 

That said, it's not just the terminations on a fiber optic rod that helps it gather light. If you could attach the fiber optic kind of on top of the wood so as much light as possible could get to the outside of the cylinder, it would glow better. maybe just a couple of dab of superglue, or possibly a blob of JB weld to hold it in place.


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## Sandstorm (Apr 5, 2021)

Ahh crap my order came in and I must have left off the darned FO tubes. Darrell that Glow-on stuff is pretty handy. I used it on the front sight on my Ruger Wrangler and it works well. I like it because it’s not necessarily glowy in the daytime but it still has pigment unlike a lot of the glow in the dark paints. I’ve found a lot of uses for it off-label too.


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## ffastfzr (Feb 15, 2021)

ffastfzr said:


> You can get g10 rod down to at least 1/8 and probably smaller in pretty bright colors (toxic green, orange, red, yellow, white, etc.) . That might be easier to work with than the turquoise. You can also use a copper or nickel pin that you polish. Other option is copper or aluminum tube, but they have to be big enough to let the light through.
> 
> That said, it's not just the terminations on a fiber optic rod that helps it gather light. If you could attach the fiber optic kind of on top of the wood so as much light as possible could get to the outside of the cylinder, it would glow better. maybe just a couple of dab of superglue, or possibly a blob of JB weld to hold it in place.


Ok I'm a moron. I must have missed the post where you say how the FO you are using is not like standard. FO. Please ignore that part of my previous post. The rest holds true though....


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## Sandstorm (Apr 5, 2021)

ffastfzr said:


> Ok I'm a moron. I must have missed the post where you say how the FO you are using is not like standard. FO. Please ignore that part of my previous post. The rest holds true though....


No morons here brother, we just misread stuff sometimes. All very human.  .. or maybe we’re all morons. Either way, doesn’t matter lol


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## SLING-N-SHOT (Jun 5, 2018)

ffastfzr said:


> You can get g10 rod down to at least 1/8 and probably smaller in pretty bright colors (toxic green, orange, red, yellow, white, etc.) . That might be easier to work with than the turquoise. You can also use a copper or nickel pin that you polish. Other option is copper or aluminum tube, but they have to be big enough to let the light through.
> 
> That said, it's not just the terminations on a fiber optic rod that helps it gather light. If you could attach the fiber optic kind of on top of the wood so as much light as possible could get to the outside of the cylinder, it would glow better. maybe just a couple of dab of superglue, or possibly a blob of JB weld to hold it in place.


Yep, very good ideas and the one about attaching the fiber optic to the top of the fork frame was what I was actually going to try next, I think that will work better. 


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## Bimbo (Oct 20, 2019)

Here is the one i told you about, really small piece of fiber, but works great!!


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## Palmettoflyer (Nov 15, 2019)

Interesting topic and discussion. Back in the day when I was thinking I needed sights, (now it would be just a cool thing to try), I was having thoughts of using a small ID brass tube in place of the fiber optic concept. 

Is the goal to just have a bright dot as the aim point, or is the goal to have an aim point AND the frame in perpendicular alignment to the target? With a brass tube hole correctly positioned at the aim point, vision through the small hole would correlate to frame position and aim point. 

Never tried it, only thought about it. There may be flaws in that thinking, but still think of trying it some day. These days, I just aim down the band.


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## SLING-N-SHOT (Jun 5, 2018)

Sandstorm said:


> Ahh crap my order came in and I must have left off the darned FO tubes. Darrell that Glow-on stuff is pretty handy. I used it on the front sight on my Ruger Wrangler and it works well. I like it because it’s not necessarily glowy in the daytime but it still has pigment unlike a lot of the glow in the dark paints. I’ve found a lot of uses for it off-label too.


Yep Ryan, like that stuff.
I put it in the front and rear sights on my Ruger LC9, and even filled the Ruger lettering on the handle with it ( each grip ) 


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