Hi all,
Found a nice Winchester wind gauge front sight but the spirit level glass vial in the clip was broken. Any suggestions on how to repair this? What type of oil was used? Thanks.
Spud

I always thought Marvel Mystery Oil would do well in that application, with the low viscosity and the white bubble against the red background.

If you live near a University with a good glass shop and a glass lathe, they would have all sizes of tubing and could scratch the witness marks for you to fill in with black ink.  You’d need some kind of In with the glassblower, of course.  Maybe an Artistic glass works, that makes all those birds and ships, could do it as well, but I’ve never seen any work out of such done to any standard of measurement whatsoever.

My problem with replacement bubble tubes is that they seem to ruthlessly avoid the sizes on the old sights.  And always a fatter size, into the bargain.

I don't think there are any vials for these spirit levels that can be refilled? I think you need to buy a complete new capsule with the liquid in it. Of course you'll need to remove the knurled knob and measure ID and length so you get the right vial.

There are lots available on e-bay, but years ago(pre e-bay) bought them from an instrument repair business (pre lazer) that primarily repaired surveying instruments. They had many in different colors, sizes and configurations,

I have a couple that are .238 or so in diameter and .595 in length.  They are plastic with a single black line in the center.
If you want one I will ship it to you at no charge.

Jack

Note that texasmac's replacement vials are for the modern Winchester.Browning "replicas".  Spud's clip appears to be from an original Winchester wind gauge sight.

Bill Lawrence

McMaster Carr has 21 different sizes. Often replaced part levels etc. screen shot one of several pages 

Boats