1911Tuner
Moderator Emeritus
Little tricky things that I've picked up along the way.
You've installed a shock buffer for frame protection on the range, (I don't recommend using them in a carry gun) and you've got short-cycle malfunctions related to reduced slide travel. You really want to use a buffer, but the number of malfunctions are getting on your nerves...
Get a full-length guide rod and chuck it up in a lathe. Face off the head from the backside to about .045 thickness. Face off the same amount from the butt-end of the rod. Use a Hiett .090 shock buff. The combination will return about a 32nd of an inch of the lost slide travel. Doesn't work every time, but it will for 9 out of 10 pistols. Any machine shop can handle the job in 5 minutes.
---------------------------------------------------------
You've got a pretty good fit on the barrel, and the bushing is a good fit in the slide, but the groups are stringing diagonally, and they could be a little tighter. Could be a some rotation of the barrel (torquing) due to the way the lower lugs are effecting the lockup.
First, check to make sure that the link isn't locking the barrel into the slide. If it is, get a slightly shorter link. Check to see that the slidestop pin is supporting the lower lug evenly from side to side. Color the bottom of the lug with layout fluid or a blue felt-tip marker. A chisel point marker works best. With the link removed, hand-cycle the gun a few times and disassemble. If the dye isn't worn off both sides evenly, the lug isn't
properly supported by the pin.
Get a 6-inch length of quarter-inch cold rolled round stock and turn, file, and sand with emery cloth (lathe operation) down to .195-.196 diameter. Get some fine lapping compound...600-grit garnet lap will do...Put a little on the bottom of the lower lug, and assemble the gun, using the turned rod in place of the slidestop. Using an old recoil spring that has been cut 4 coils shorter than original, let the slide go to battery and turn the rod a few times. A cordless drill on low speed can be used, but be careful.
Put a little light downward pressure on the barrel hood and goose the trigger on the drill a couple of times. Take the gun apart and recheck to fit with more layout fluid. When you get even dye removal on both sides of the lug, you're done. Rinse off all traces of the lap, and apply a little straight J&B Bore Cleaner to the lug and slidestop pin. Shoot the gun about fifty times and remove the bore cleaner. Your groups should improve.
Go slow with this. The objective is to remove metal only from the high spot on the lug, and no more than necessary to get even support. The weakened recoil spring is to prevent reducing the thickness of the feet, or moving the slidestop pin farther back into the feet. If you have access to a 10-pound spring, so much the better. This also helps to eliminate any problem with ths slidestop popping out during the cycle. When the
lug is high on the right side, it tends to push the pin to the left. Kill two birds with one dab of lap, so to speak.
-----------------------------------------------------
Got a little stem bind causing a slight hang-up in returning the slide to battery?
Look at the link in the linkdown position. If the link is the right length in vertical lockup, but the barrel is riding it as it goes around the front of the lower lug, go to Lowes in the Dremel section. Get a set of the little round, blue chain-saw sharpering stones. (3-4 bucks for a pair) The stones are about .200 diameter. Use them in a Dremel to elongate the link's
slidestop pin hole on the end near the smaller hole by .3-4 thousandths. You'll have to follow the radius with a slight rocking motion. Be careful to keep the stone square with the hole. This will slow the barrel rise when the bullet nose hits the throat, and keep it farther down in the bed of the frame for a little longer and eliminate most or all of the stem bind. Don't remove any material from the bottom of the hole. This is the area that the pin uses to unlock the barrel, and elongating it there will delay linkdown timing. This is an expedient method, and will work well. The best way, however, is to get a slightly shorter link. This will make it necessary to measure the link across pins to find out exactly what the center-to-center hole spacing is, and ordering a link that is .003-.005 inch shorter. "Standard" link spacing is .278 inch. Wilson # 1 is .273...#2 is .275...and #3 is .278
-----------------------------------------------
Plunger tube loose, and you don't have a staking tool? (or even if you do)
Remove it and rough up the mating surface with some coarse paper. Scratch the mating surface on the frame where it won't show. Degrease it thoroughly and use a little J B Weld on the surfaces and on the legs. Install the tube, making sure that it's oriented correctly, and LIGHTLY clamp it in a bench vise. Wipe off any excess that squeezes out. Let it cure for 24 hours. A new plunger tube makes for a stronger joint, but the original will do fine if the surface is prepped well. I've installed plunger tubes like this, and haven't had a problem with them in years of use.To remove the tube later, heat it just a little with a propane torch...just barely uncomfortable to the touch. Use a drift and a 4-ounce hammer to bump the tube on the bottom and top along the length. It should pop free with a few taps. Worry it the rest of the way off with a small knife blade by going back and forth on the ends.
---------------------------------------------------------
Slidestop binding on the edges of the slide as it tries to engage?
Get a small, triangular file and make a few light strokes in the top of the slot to bevel it will usually reduce the binding and allow the stop to move upward smoothly. Bias the cutting pressure to the outside so that the stop won't try to walk out of the frame. This is trial and error, and should be done carefully. One stroke and check...Repeat. If it's still binding deeper in the slot, use a flat file to remove just a tiny bit from the outer wall in the slot. (left side) Again...take the cuts on the side that won't let the slidestop "walk".
------------------------------------------------
Rear sight loose in its dovetail?
Drift the sight out, and get a prick punch and a small hammer. Use the punch at an angle to kick up several tiny burrs in the bottom of the dovetail. Go in both directions, starting at the outer edge and working your way in. Several small burrs are better than a few large ones. Reinstall the sight and return it to zero. Unless you drift the sight a lot,
this will last for a long time.
-----------------------------------------------
Need a recoil spring plug for a Commander, and all you have is a spare for a 5-inch gun?
Chuck the long plug up in a lathe and face it off to length. Deburr the edge with a smooth mill file. Works fine. Works for the barrel bushing too, but you'll need to mount it on a mandrel. Machine shop job...5 minutes, tops. Chuck lightly on the plug. They're pretty easy to crush.
2-piece guide rod giving you fits? Turn it into a one-piece.
Take it apart and degrease the threads. Apply 24-hour epoxy or good old J B Weld, and screw it together tightly. Allow to cure for 24 hours. Chuck the rod in a lathe and face off .135 from the end. Check the fit to make sure that the bushing will swing past it. Adjust as necessary. Remember to bevel the end with a file while it's in the lathe. Most work with about .150-.155 off the end in case the machine shop doesn't want the gun there for final fit.
---------------------------------------------------
Files clogging up and "pinning"? (cutting little gouges in the workpiece)
Use a file card to remove the clogged chips and fill the teeth with plain chalk. Repeat as necessary. NEVER oil a file or use aerosol solvents to clean it. A very good scrape can be made from an old triangular file. Lay each side flat on a belt sander to remove the cutting teeth and leave knife edges. Be careful to not allow the file to overheat. When it starts to get hot to the touch, lift it and let it cool. If it overheats, the temper will
be destroyed. Quenching it in cold water will preserve the temper. Resharpen as necessary. When filing flat surfaces that need to be kept flat, it's better to lay the file on the bench and draw the workpiece along the length. Turn the file so that you will need to draw toward you to make the cut. Draw straight back with even pressure, stop, and lift the piece straight up. Never use a file in both directions. Certain Swiss-pattern files will cut in both directions, but unless you're sure of the design, be safe and cut unidirectionally.
--------------------------------------------------
Getting hit in the face with hot brass?
Most extractor hooks are square on the bottom corner. Use a medium India stone to radius that corner a little by swiping the hook on the stone with a rocking motion. This will let the case twist off the extractor at a slightly different point, and kick it out at more of an angle. It also works to relieve any contact with the case as the round climbs the hill to enter the chamber. If you have lazy return to battery, and notice gouge marks in the extractor groove, look to that corner.
---------------------------------------
Follower riding over the slidestop lug and tying the magazine up in the gun? (Remove magazine by popping the slidestop out slightly instead of ripping the magazine out. This can be done easily without disassembling the gun. A little practice will get the whole procedure down to 3-5 seconds)
Remove the follower and turn it facing you. Grasp the top with a wide pair of pliers as close to the shelf as you can.(in your left hand) With your right hand, wedge a flat screwdriver between the top of the follower and the shelf and pry it outward LIGHTLY just a bit. This moves the elevator shelf farther into engagement and puts a slight upward angle to the outside. This forms a better captive angle so that upward pressure from the magazine spring draws the shelf toward the lug instead of pushing it away. Careful now. The shelf will snap off easily if too much force is used. It only takes a little.
----------------------------------------
Plunger assembly flies out when the thumb safety is removed?
Remove the assembly and take the pins out of the spring. Use two small nails in the ends of the spring and pull in opposite directions to stretch the spring a bit in the center.Recoil spring plug getting loose from the spring on disassembly? Heat about a quarter inch from the front of the open end of the spring, and put a slight outward kink there. If done right, it will make a friction fit between the end of the spring and the plug. When time comes to remove the plug, pull and twist it off.
------------------------------------
Nose-diving top round from slidelock?
Remove the follower and spring, and use needle-nosed pliers to put a slight upward bend in the top coil. Don't bend from the turn, but on the straight part. This gets a little extra upward tension on the front of the follower to help keep the round moving in a straighter line. Never stretch a spring to get more tension. Stretching a spring exceeds the elastic limit and will work for a very short time.When the stretched part collapses, the spring will be weaker than before the stretch.
----------------------------------------
I'll check back to edit any typos and/or errors, and add to it if I come up with any more.
Cheers!
Tuner
You've installed a shock buffer for frame protection on the range, (I don't recommend using them in a carry gun) and you've got short-cycle malfunctions related to reduced slide travel. You really want to use a buffer, but the number of malfunctions are getting on your nerves...
Get a full-length guide rod and chuck it up in a lathe. Face off the head from the backside to about .045 thickness. Face off the same amount from the butt-end of the rod. Use a Hiett .090 shock buff. The combination will return about a 32nd of an inch of the lost slide travel. Doesn't work every time, but it will for 9 out of 10 pistols. Any machine shop can handle the job in 5 minutes.
---------------------------------------------------------
You've got a pretty good fit on the barrel, and the bushing is a good fit in the slide, but the groups are stringing diagonally, and they could be a little tighter. Could be a some rotation of the barrel (torquing) due to the way the lower lugs are effecting the lockup.
First, check to make sure that the link isn't locking the barrel into the slide. If it is, get a slightly shorter link. Check to see that the slidestop pin is supporting the lower lug evenly from side to side. Color the bottom of the lug with layout fluid or a blue felt-tip marker. A chisel point marker works best. With the link removed, hand-cycle the gun a few times and disassemble. If the dye isn't worn off both sides evenly, the lug isn't
properly supported by the pin.
Get a 6-inch length of quarter-inch cold rolled round stock and turn, file, and sand with emery cloth (lathe operation) down to .195-.196 diameter. Get some fine lapping compound...600-grit garnet lap will do...Put a little on the bottom of the lower lug, and assemble the gun, using the turned rod in place of the slidestop. Using an old recoil spring that has been cut 4 coils shorter than original, let the slide go to battery and turn the rod a few times. A cordless drill on low speed can be used, but be careful.
Put a little light downward pressure on the barrel hood and goose the trigger on the drill a couple of times. Take the gun apart and recheck to fit with more layout fluid. When you get even dye removal on both sides of the lug, you're done. Rinse off all traces of the lap, and apply a little straight J&B Bore Cleaner to the lug and slidestop pin. Shoot the gun about fifty times and remove the bore cleaner. Your groups should improve.
Go slow with this. The objective is to remove metal only from the high spot on the lug, and no more than necessary to get even support. The weakened recoil spring is to prevent reducing the thickness of the feet, or moving the slidestop pin farther back into the feet. If you have access to a 10-pound spring, so much the better. This also helps to eliminate any problem with ths slidestop popping out during the cycle. When the
lug is high on the right side, it tends to push the pin to the left. Kill two birds with one dab of lap, so to speak.
-----------------------------------------------------
Got a little stem bind causing a slight hang-up in returning the slide to battery?
Look at the link in the linkdown position. If the link is the right length in vertical lockup, but the barrel is riding it as it goes around the front of the lower lug, go to Lowes in the Dremel section. Get a set of the little round, blue chain-saw sharpering stones. (3-4 bucks for a pair) The stones are about .200 diameter. Use them in a Dremel to elongate the link's
slidestop pin hole on the end near the smaller hole by .3-4 thousandths. You'll have to follow the radius with a slight rocking motion. Be careful to keep the stone square with the hole. This will slow the barrel rise when the bullet nose hits the throat, and keep it farther down in the bed of the frame for a little longer and eliminate most or all of the stem bind. Don't remove any material from the bottom of the hole. This is the area that the pin uses to unlock the barrel, and elongating it there will delay linkdown timing. This is an expedient method, and will work well. The best way, however, is to get a slightly shorter link. This will make it necessary to measure the link across pins to find out exactly what the center-to-center hole spacing is, and ordering a link that is .003-.005 inch shorter. "Standard" link spacing is .278 inch. Wilson # 1 is .273...#2 is .275...and #3 is .278
-----------------------------------------------
Plunger tube loose, and you don't have a staking tool? (or even if you do)
Remove it and rough up the mating surface with some coarse paper. Scratch the mating surface on the frame where it won't show. Degrease it thoroughly and use a little J B Weld on the surfaces and on the legs. Install the tube, making sure that it's oriented correctly, and LIGHTLY clamp it in a bench vise. Wipe off any excess that squeezes out. Let it cure for 24 hours. A new plunger tube makes for a stronger joint, but the original will do fine if the surface is prepped well. I've installed plunger tubes like this, and haven't had a problem with them in years of use.To remove the tube later, heat it just a little with a propane torch...just barely uncomfortable to the touch. Use a drift and a 4-ounce hammer to bump the tube on the bottom and top along the length. It should pop free with a few taps. Worry it the rest of the way off with a small knife blade by going back and forth on the ends.
---------------------------------------------------------
Slidestop binding on the edges of the slide as it tries to engage?
Get a small, triangular file and make a few light strokes in the top of the slot to bevel it will usually reduce the binding and allow the stop to move upward smoothly. Bias the cutting pressure to the outside so that the stop won't try to walk out of the frame. This is trial and error, and should be done carefully. One stroke and check...Repeat. If it's still binding deeper in the slot, use a flat file to remove just a tiny bit from the outer wall in the slot. (left side) Again...take the cuts on the side that won't let the slidestop "walk".
------------------------------------------------
Rear sight loose in its dovetail?
Drift the sight out, and get a prick punch and a small hammer. Use the punch at an angle to kick up several tiny burrs in the bottom of the dovetail. Go in both directions, starting at the outer edge and working your way in. Several small burrs are better than a few large ones. Reinstall the sight and return it to zero. Unless you drift the sight a lot,
this will last for a long time.
-----------------------------------------------
Need a recoil spring plug for a Commander, and all you have is a spare for a 5-inch gun?
Chuck the long plug up in a lathe and face it off to length. Deburr the edge with a smooth mill file. Works fine. Works for the barrel bushing too, but you'll need to mount it on a mandrel. Machine shop job...5 minutes, tops. Chuck lightly on the plug. They're pretty easy to crush.
2-piece guide rod giving you fits? Turn it into a one-piece.
Take it apart and degrease the threads. Apply 24-hour epoxy or good old J B Weld, and screw it together tightly. Allow to cure for 24 hours. Chuck the rod in a lathe and face off .135 from the end. Check the fit to make sure that the bushing will swing past it. Adjust as necessary. Remember to bevel the end with a file while it's in the lathe. Most work with about .150-.155 off the end in case the machine shop doesn't want the gun there for final fit.
---------------------------------------------------
Files clogging up and "pinning"? (cutting little gouges in the workpiece)
Use a file card to remove the clogged chips and fill the teeth with plain chalk. Repeat as necessary. NEVER oil a file or use aerosol solvents to clean it. A very good scrape can be made from an old triangular file. Lay each side flat on a belt sander to remove the cutting teeth and leave knife edges. Be careful to not allow the file to overheat. When it starts to get hot to the touch, lift it and let it cool. If it overheats, the temper will
be destroyed. Quenching it in cold water will preserve the temper. Resharpen as necessary. When filing flat surfaces that need to be kept flat, it's better to lay the file on the bench and draw the workpiece along the length. Turn the file so that you will need to draw toward you to make the cut. Draw straight back with even pressure, stop, and lift the piece straight up. Never use a file in both directions. Certain Swiss-pattern files will cut in both directions, but unless you're sure of the design, be safe and cut unidirectionally.
--------------------------------------------------
Getting hit in the face with hot brass?
Most extractor hooks are square on the bottom corner. Use a medium India stone to radius that corner a little by swiping the hook on the stone with a rocking motion. This will let the case twist off the extractor at a slightly different point, and kick it out at more of an angle. It also works to relieve any contact with the case as the round climbs the hill to enter the chamber. If you have lazy return to battery, and notice gouge marks in the extractor groove, look to that corner.
---------------------------------------
Follower riding over the slidestop lug and tying the magazine up in the gun? (Remove magazine by popping the slidestop out slightly instead of ripping the magazine out. This can be done easily without disassembling the gun. A little practice will get the whole procedure down to 3-5 seconds)
Remove the follower and turn it facing you. Grasp the top with a wide pair of pliers as close to the shelf as you can.(in your left hand) With your right hand, wedge a flat screwdriver between the top of the follower and the shelf and pry it outward LIGHTLY just a bit. This moves the elevator shelf farther into engagement and puts a slight upward angle to the outside. This forms a better captive angle so that upward pressure from the magazine spring draws the shelf toward the lug instead of pushing it away. Careful now. The shelf will snap off easily if too much force is used. It only takes a little.
----------------------------------------
Plunger assembly flies out when the thumb safety is removed?
Remove the assembly and take the pins out of the spring. Use two small nails in the ends of the spring and pull in opposite directions to stretch the spring a bit in the center.Recoil spring plug getting loose from the spring on disassembly? Heat about a quarter inch from the front of the open end of the spring, and put a slight outward kink there. If done right, it will make a friction fit between the end of the spring and the plug. When time comes to remove the plug, pull and twist it off.
------------------------------------
Nose-diving top round from slidelock?
Remove the follower and spring, and use needle-nosed pliers to put a slight upward bend in the top coil. Don't bend from the turn, but on the straight part. This gets a little extra upward tension on the front of the follower to help keep the round moving in a straighter line. Never stretch a spring to get more tension. Stretching a spring exceeds the elastic limit and will work for a very short time.When the stretched part collapses, the spring will be weaker than before the stretch.
----------------------------------------
I'll check back to edit any typos and/or errors, and add to it if I come up with any more.
Cheers!
Tuner
Last edited:
