Need help with figuring out my next steps for a project 1911.
I took a 1911 build class and I am working towards finalizing all of the various aspects of the gun prior to getting it sent out for finishing. Overall I am both satisfied and disappointed with the gun, the class and the instruction that I received. I realize that there is so much to learn that no mater what one is likely to see imperfections in their finished product however I feel like there could have been much better coverage of many things, mentorship and such from the instructor. I fully intend to finish this gun up and then do 2-3 more and then consider doing another build class with a pistol smith school to finally get to a point where I feel confidant and competent with what I am doing. No career change here, I just like to build things and develop skills.
Gun has approximately 200 rounds through it currently with no significant issues or problems and passes the various 10-8 function and extraction tests. However when I began a more detailed inspection and cleaning I noticed a severe degree of barrel bump occurring as evidenced by flattening of the barrel feet immediately in front of the flat "in battery" lock up area of the feet.
Gun is a Caspian frame / slide 5 inch with Kart barrel, GI recoil system that I fit and cut the barrel feet for with a Brownells cutter kit. Currently gun is running a number 5 (.288 center to center) link that has been "egged out" as we were encouraged to do to assure that the feet were riding on the slide stop pin when in battery. Looking at the current set up it is clear that I can not solve this problem with the current parts as they are for even with minor smoothing of the flattened impact area in the transition region it would appear that this will simply re-occur with the very much egg shaped slide stop pin hole in the link. I have number 1-4 links that have not been modified and they would appear to not be long enough to function, in other words if even a number 4 link were installed then the slide stop pin could not be inserted.
I have read at this point copious amounts of opinions as to what this does or could indicate. The best explanation that I have found comes from Ed Brown who indicated that while when in battery the barrel feet should ride that slide stop not the link (link riding the slide stop is bad for repeatability hence our "egging it out"), but the link should ride that slide stop pin in the transition zone up into battery, i.e. that slide stop pin should not crash into the barrel feet rather there should be a rotating motion around the slide stop pin / link hole as the barrel transitions up into battery with the barrel feet making their way onto the slide stop pin. This would appear to be the design intent of JMB and is counter to those whom state that the single function of the link is to pull the barrel down and out of battery. Examining a number of well put together 1911's and even messing with some dyekem on them to see where things ride in the link it appears to me that Mr. Brown is correct, the smooth guns without this "barrel bump syndrome" are experiencing rotation at the barrel link for this transition. The ones that do not have a pronounced bump at times as my class gun did and that I was blaming on break in or that the barrel was "hard fit".
Now the questions I have are as follows:
1. Ed Brown advises against longer links however in my gun it would appear I have no other option other than starting over a new barrel and fitting that? We were taught that using a longer link delays unlocking and lightens recoil. True / false or what is the trade off here?
2. What exactly would be the cause of needing a longer link in a build? Tolerance stacking from all of the hand fit / file parts vs. a blueprinted gun such as the semi-custom houses build?
3. What direction to go in? My thought is to obtain an unmolested #5 link and see if that will provide the needed motion in the transition zone and still not ride the link when in battery. If it does I will modify it in a much more judicious manner to slightly relieve the upper most dimension as opposed to the wholesale egging we were seemingly encouraged to do since the link's only function is to pull the barrel out of battery.
Any and all thoughts on this would be most welcome.
I took a 1911 build class and I am working towards finalizing all of the various aspects of the gun prior to getting it sent out for finishing. Overall I am both satisfied and disappointed with the gun, the class and the instruction that I received. I realize that there is so much to learn that no mater what one is likely to see imperfections in their finished product however I feel like there could have been much better coverage of many things, mentorship and such from the instructor. I fully intend to finish this gun up and then do 2-3 more and then consider doing another build class with a pistol smith school to finally get to a point where I feel confidant and competent with what I am doing. No career change here, I just like to build things and develop skills.
Gun has approximately 200 rounds through it currently with no significant issues or problems and passes the various 10-8 function and extraction tests. However when I began a more detailed inspection and cleaning I noticed a severe degree of barrel bump occurring as evidenced by flattening of the barrel feet immediately in front of the flat "in battery" lock up area of the feet.
Gun is a Caspian frame / slide 5 inch with Kart barrel, GI recoil system that I fit and cut the barrel feet for with a Brownells cutter kit. Currently gun is running a number 5 (.288 center to center) link that has been "egged out" as we were encouraged to do to assure that the feet were riding on the slide stop pin when in battery. Looking at the current set up it is clear that I can not solve this problem with the current parts as they are for even with minor smoothing of the flattened impact area in the transition region it would appear that this will simply re-occur with the very much egg shaped slide stop pin hole in the link. I have number 1-4 links that have not been modified and they would appear to not be long enough to function, in other words if even a number 4 link were installed then the slide stop pin could not be inserted.
I have read at this point copious amounts of opinions as to what this does or could indicate. The best explanation that I have found comes from Ed Brown who indicated that while when in battery the barrel feet should ride that slide stop not the link (link riding the slide stop is bad for repeatability hence our "egging it out"), but the link should ride that slide stop pin in the transition zone up into battery, i.e. that slide stop pin should not crash into the barrel feet rather there should be a rotating motion around the slide stop pin / link hole as the barrel transitions up into battery with the barrel feet making their way onto the slide stop pin. This would appear to be the design intent of JMB and is counter to those whom state that the single function of the link is to pull the barrel down and out of battery. Examining a number of well put together 1911's and even messing with some dyekem on them to see where things ride in the link it appears to me that Mr. Brown is correct, the smooth guns without this "barrel bump syndrome" are experiencing rotation at the barrel link for this transition. The ones that do not have a pronounced bump at times as my class gun did and that I was blaming on break in or that the barrel was "hard fit".
Now the questions I have are as follows:
1. Ed Brown advises against longer links however in my gun it would appear I have no other option other than starting over a new barrel and fitting that? We were taught that using a longer link delays unlocking and lightens recoil. True / false or what is the trade off here?
2. What exactly would be the cause of needing a longer link in a build? Tolerance stacking from all of the hand fit / file parts vs. a blueprinted gun such as the semi-custom houses build?
3. What direction to go in? My thought is to obtain an unmolested #5 link and see if that will provide the needed motion in the transition zone and still not ride the link when in battery. If it does I will modify it in a much more judicious manner to slightly relieve the upper most dimension as opposed to the wholesale egging we were seemingly encouraged to do since the link's only function is to pull the barrel out of battery.
Any and all thoughts on this would be most welcome.