1911 fails safety check after reassembly

N

Nowhere Man

New member
Oh boy..... :(

I picked up a used SA 1911 SS Loaded in .40S&W. It was dirty and a little scuffed but nothing looked bad. I did notice the trigger had very little overtravel. (I did move the overtravel screw back in. I figured I'd readjust it later.)

As noted in a previous thread, the plunger safety was stuck inside of the tube so, I figured it would give me an excuse to dissassemble the pistol for cleaning. (I'm not an expert but, I own 3 other SA's and have done the same thing before.)

After cleaning, I reassembled.

With the safety on and the grip safety pressed in, I pulled the trigger and felt a slight movement. Releasing the safety causes the hammer to fall.

Did it do it before I dissassembled and cleaned it? I don't know.

Did I reassemble it incorrectly?

Dave
 
I suspect a previous owner has been messing around with the sear or hammer or both. While the safety step or half cock notch (whichever the gun has) should prevent if from firing, the gun is highly dangerous. It needs work before you should even think of loading it.

You might call SA and see if they will fix it (they probably won't do it for free under warranty) or take it to a competent gunsmith familiary with the 1911.

Jim
 
The thumb safety is not fit correctly. If the fire control parts are original Springfield will fix the issue. They may fix a modified gun, any way...It should be fixed.
Joe
 
NM,

Are you sure you didn't turn the overtravel screw in too far? Check that you have the left (from shooter's position) and middle leaf spring fingers in place correctly.
 
I have had the exact problem with one of my frames. I too have 3 other 1911s of which i built 2 myself. I have changed everything on that particular reciever. I have even swapped parts with another and had the same result.

I have to agree that the reciever is out of spec due to a previous owner or wanna be gunsmith trying his hand.

The only solution i can think of in my case would be to have the thumb safety welded so that it is way to big and file down bit by bit until it sits tight and allows no movement on the sear?

The amount of movement i get on the sear with thumb safety engaged is worrying.

The weird thing is i just logged on to ask what i should do and saw that im not alone.

I too would like to fix this.
 
I have had the exact problem with one of my frames. I too have 3 other 1911s of which i built 2 myself. I have changed everything on that particular reciever. I have even swapped parts with another and had the same result.

I have to agree that the reciever is out of spec due to a previous owner or wanna be gunsmith trying his hand.

The only solution i can think of in my case would be to have the thumb safety welded so that it is way to big and file down bit by bit until it sits tight and allows no movement on the sear?

The amount of movement i get on the sear with thumb safety engaged is worrying.

The weird thing is i just logged on to ask what i should do and saw that im not alone.

I too would like to fix this. I have fired this gun a few times and it does not double. It fires normally. I do keep it disassembled though for safety reasons
 
Unclenick,

My posting might have been confusing in regard to trigger overtravel. When I purchased the gun there was minimal, if any, trigger overtravel. I was concerned it may cause light strikes so, I moved the trigger overtravel screw back into the trigger allowing for more overtravel.


Dave
 
I had to reread to the OP. I misunderstood part of your symptom. I'm going to guess that the original owner probably put a healthy rollover (relief) angle on the sear. When you press the trigger with the safety on, the back edge of the sear nose clears the hammer notch which then rests on that relief angle. When you release the safety, the hook pushes the sear forward against that angle, and the forward bounce is enough to prevent it returning fully under the half-cock notch, which then strikes the relief angle, as well, pushing the sear forward instead of capturing it. If there is no rollover angle this could still happen with a sharp sear nose (undesirable from the standpoint of a tendency to bounce out of the hammer hook) on the rounded edge of an improperly shaped hammer hook.

I would be very leery of the quality of the amateur trigger job, assuming that's what it is. Second, the fit of the thumb safety is obviously incorrect. This does not mean the frame is necessarily bad. It should fit a standard safety better, but is is also the case that if someone removes enough material from a sear nose (as in retrying and retrying to get it right), it gradually tips back further to engage, and that moves the feet forward of the thumb safety. A replacement hammer with a pin hole or a strut hole or hook not quite correctly located can do the same thing. Because all these interactive fit elements are involved, there are a number of replacements for the thumb safeties that are oversize and have to be filed to just be able to engage. Look for any aftermarket thumb safety that says it will require some fitting.
 
i think unclenick has it right, but i would also replace the sear and either recut the hammer or replace that as well.
i got over enthusiastic on an action job and my commander went full ato. fun, but not desirable!
 
Here's a picture of the sear nose styles so Nowhere Man can look for it.
searnosestyles.gif
 
Thanks again guys. Anything more than cleaning is beyond something I want to try on my own.

I'll wait until after the holidays and contact SA service dept for assistance.

Merry Christmas,

Dave
 
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