Got a 1911 problemo......

E

Eghad

New member
I have had this SA 1911A! that started life as a GI Model went back to the Custom Shop about for some work, trigger, feed ramp, port ect. Shot with it for a while then she sat up for a while because I had some knee surgeries and got out of shooting for a while.. then I was deployed about 16 months for the military. When I got back I started taking some course in Homeland Security at the local college. Texas pays post of my fees and tution. One of the reequired courses was a firearms qualification and police tactics course. As part of the qualification course you could apply for your concealed handgun permit. The shooting bug bit me again. We used the Sherriffs Dept Model 10s for the first 10 weeks. After that we were allowed to bring the weapon of our choice and have it inspected. I chose my SA Custom 1911. I had cleaned it when I got back from my deployment . I remember that the magazine was sticking upon release.... and had a jam or two.
which bugged me. However, I qaulified with a perfect score using it.

This bugged me so I started to dissassemble it. when I took the grips off the bushing screws were stuck to the grip screws! :eek: when I tightened them down they would kick the magazine over and make the magazine hard to eject. It seems that the collar on those would stop the bushing at a certain point to ensure this wouldnt happen??? are they loctited in when flush with the inside of the magazine? I can break the bushings and the grip screws apart. di I need to gently file the excess of the bushing so that when it screws in it will stop flush with the magazine well or simply get them flush with the magazine and let some loctite set up?

I have had this pistol over 13 years I think, it still funtions flawlessly except for this little hiccup and has not been abused and given TLC. Once I get the bushing dilemma solved it I should not have any more problems
 
Have a smith pop out the bushings and put in new ones that don't mess with your magazine. It could also be that the screws are too long. Maybe try shorter grip screws first. Did you swap the grips for a thinner version or something?
 
Yeh I changed out the wood grips for some Pachmyr Rubber grips. I will have to check again but I believe I checked the screws and they didnt stick out of the bushings.......... :confused:
 
If the custom shop thinned the grip frame any (a modificaiton made popular by Jeff Cooper) but didn't shorten the bushings to match, that would do it. It is easy to tell: just take the slide off the frame and look up through the magazine well with grips in place to see whether busings or secrews are intruding? If so, I would use a diamond hone to reduce them (this isn't as likely to upset the threads and make them hard to put back). If you are planning to refinish the gun or if losing finish inside the mag well just doesn't matter to you (unlikely on a piece of custom work), leave them in place and hone them flush.

Sending it back to the custom shop to let them correct their own errors is always a good plan, too.

Nick
 
Grip screw bushings need to be fit like all the other parts. We use a flat bastard file to smooth out the inside of the mag well when we build the PATRIOTS. Take the top end off and smooth out the bushings with what Nick advised or any big file. We also smooth oput the inside round of the front strap with a sanding stick. This is a common problem with people who work on 1911's but do not check all of the functions. A smooth magazine entry and exit is very important.
 
Thanks Nick & Dave for the help...

the bushing does go inside the magazine well because it actually kicks the magazine over to the left a tad. So the diamond hone it is. The finish doesnt matter this what I call my pistol for serious social work. It could be in the gateway cow scheme as long at it works. Ill just break out the cold blue.

roger on the smooth magazine function :D

I am tempted to call the custom shop....I called to see about getting a pistol from SA and then sending it to the SA custom shop...price was great...
but then they said a 6-8 month backlog for some pretty simple work imo.
I wonder what the wait would be for mine :confused: Well I wont be using it because it doesnt function properly 100% of the time...

think on it overnite....would feel good to do the work myself. Do you loctite em(bushings) down once you have em fit or just had tighten?
 
I install the grip screw bushings with Red Loctite. I clean them and the hole with acetone first, and then use a drop of red on the threads. After they are in tight, I clean up the area around the bushing with a Q tip and make it look like I cared.
 
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I have a tool to stake the things in, but it was not satisfactory.
Now I cheat and sweat them.

Sam
 
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