Strange 1911 Malfunction...

[MAXM]

70 collet in an 80 pistol

The 45 HP (45 ACP but 1 millimeter shorter) Colt 1911 pistols imported here in Italy in the first '80 years were MK IV Series 80 guns with collet bushing. They were unusually bad finished too, especially internally.

 

[BigG]

Series 80 w/ collet bushings...

Dang! Can't believe I knew sumpin that Der Tuner didn't!

 

[1911Tuner]

Collets in a Series 80

BigG said:

I guess if you had one of the fingers break off you might have to but...

If a finger breaks off and gets wedged between the barrel and the dust
cover...well...You'd just hafta see it to believe it. Makes a helluva mess!
______________________

And:

Dang! Can't believe I knew sumpin that Der Tuner didn't!



Right back atcha!

 

[Edward429451]

I had two different guys in two different shops tell me today that they never heard of a collet bushing in any 45...

Neither had a bushing in stock either, hmm.

I guess its gonna be a Bulldog week though I'm *slightly* tempted to carry the Colt anyway. Heck we ran almost another 100 rounds through it with it broken and didn't even notice a difference in accuracy. I wont though...

 

[Dave Sample]

Irv Barstow invented the Collet Bushing and his had three fingers and worked quite well. It was tempered right and did not tend to break. Colt, in all of their wisdom, elected to use the four fingered one so they would not have do fit a bushing right. This made the fingers narrower and less strong. I used to have a drawer full of them but I gave them to a pal who likes them and can live with the risk of faliure. I hate telling widows why their husband died in a gunfight with a gun I built. So far, I have not had to do that. I would never leave home with one in any of my guns, but that is just my opinion. I insist that my 1911's be the best they can be.

 

[Edward429451]

I got another bushing for mine. First try was a Kings that was supposedly drop in. It wouldn't go into the slide or on the barrel. Came with instructions to chuck it up in a lathe and turn the barrel down. I traded that one back to him for an unidentified one in an unlabled baggie that slipped right in place, solid type.

He had real short ones, medium length ones (which is what I got), and long ones. Whats up with all the different lengths? They all said for Colt Govt's. (Paradise Sales, btw.)

 

[gyp_c2]

hello...

...5",4.25",3"...

Don't change yer' barrel out 'til you get a properly fitted bushing in that bad boy...You might be surprised at what shows on the paper...

 

[Dave Sample]

Government, Commander, Officers size bushings are all very different. If you have the middle size, you will need to get a long one. I also think you need to find another gunstore. The Commander size will probably not hurt anything, but it is not the right one for the job. At least you didn't put a Government size into a Commander which turns it into a single shot right now. Let us know how it works.

 

[Edward429451]

Really. You guys are tops in my book. It never occured to me that the lengths were for different slide lengths. Colt Government was on labling for all the different lengths sans mine which was unlabled. Snapped it up just cause it fit and got it fixed even if stopgap until I get it together to be gone over. I think I thought that the different lengths were just proprietary to brand or for race gun type stuff. Duh.

Lots of little stuff to know for you smithy types, eh?

 

[1911Tuner]

Bushing Lengths

Dave nailed it. The one that you have will work, but it's not right.

The short pistols have shorter bushings for a very good reason. When the slide recoils, the bushing skirt gets pretty close to the front locking lug.
If it makes contact before the slide is stopped by the guide rod head and frame, all the impact is absorbed by the bushing....and that can break the bushing and has been known to break the slide. <---Seen that happen twice. Not pretty.

Moreover, the Commander barrels are slightly modified at the front of the lug to allow the longest bushing possible without as crash between lug and skirt. Due to tolerances sometimes not being in agreement, I check
for this on any Commander that I retrofit with a different bushing. No
such thing as a Drop-In part, I'm afraid. I've found a few instances where
a "Drop-In Commander Replacement Bushing" made light contact in Commanders or their clones. Quick-fix on a lathe with a mandrel...but
one does need a lathe. Gunsmith cost? Maybe 5 bucks. Government models don't share that particular quirk. They have ample clearance that
a slight variation in length won't let'em crash.

 

[Dave Sample]

Tuner is De Man here. He is right about the damage a wrong bushing fit can do. Commanders are different in many ways and this is just one of them. I paid a lot of dues trying to figure out how to make Commanders run and it wasn't a pretty sight. The shorter slide and the quick cycle create problems, also the high port on the older ones, amd the extractor and ejectors were a lot of fun, too. The bushing rides over the barrel lugs as Tuner mentioned and all sorts of weird things go on inside these babies. Pardon me for straying off topic. We make a Captain Eagle Cheap Tool for turning bushing OD down for about $2.00 at your local hardware store using your hand drill as a lathe. The EZ Fit Kart barrels have the ID already fit by Fred and Conrad. Makes for nice groups.