Need Help: Stripped Bushings on Colt 45

A

Aristides

New member
I just bought a nice, new Colt 45 and was installing some custom grips on it. The new grips came with their own bushings and screws, so I proceeded to remove the bushings from the frame of the Colt. The top bushings on both sides of the frame came out ok, but the bottom bushings on both sides wouldn't budge. The metal is quite soft, and now I have striped the little slots where the screwdriver is supposed to grip the head of the bushing. So, how do I get those stripped bushings out...???

Help?
 
Well... they are ruined anyhow... so hurting them more won't hurt them.. ;)


They are either staked in (original Colt style) or are locktited in. First thing to do is to figure out which methind they used.

Loctite: Heat with a torch to soften, and unscrew them with a (hate to say it) set of vise grips, if you do not have the correct size EZ-Out to use.


Staked in: This will be tougher, you will end up drilling them out.

Before we go there, figure out how they are attached to the frame. The others you removed ought to give you some clues.


Willie

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How would I figure out whether they are staked in? I don't even know what this means.

The tops ones came out fairly easily. Nothing too unusual, they just came loose as they should, after some firm turning.
 
The starting end will show signs of deformation where the staking tool
worked the metal if it is intact then it was not staked.
 
If you have to drill them out, grind off the top where the screwdriver slot is because the slot edges could throw the drill off center. And make sure you use a good drill press and the right size drill; if you cut into the frame threads you will have to buy extra large bushings and you might not be able to get those in the size your grips call for.

Jim
 
Aristides said:
How would I figure out whether they are staked in?
I don't even know what this means.
Click to expand...

FWIW, "staking" is the fixing of two adjoining parts from moving past each other via placing a small, sharp-edged tool at the juncture of the two parts and delivering a heavy enough hammer blow or press pressure to displace a small bit of metal from each part into the other part.

The "stake" mark looks like a small punch prick or squared divot in the metal at the seam/juncture (there may be more than a single stake for each set of parts).



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Well, thanks for the help, everyone. Try as I might, I couldn't get the bushings out. So I took it to a local gunsmith. It took him more than half an hour, but he finally figured out a way to do it. He created a new slot in the soft metal by hitting a flathead screwdriver with a mallet into the soft metal of the bushing head. With that new slot, he muscled the bushing out of the hole.
 
Making a new slot is OK if there is enough "meat" left, but I would have used the faithful Dremel tool, not a screwdriver and a hammer. I can't think of a better way to bend the frame, but if no damage was done, OK.

Jim
 
"He created a new slot in the soft metal by hitting a flathead screwdriver with a mallet into the soft metal of the bushing head. With that new slot, he muscled the bushing out of the hole."
This is one for the story collection,Mr Sutton up there indicated heating it up
( Iwould've used a heat gun) and extracting it with an EZout,elegant yet simple.
I bet your tradesman did it as a favor and he didn't charge you,did he?
 
Charged me 20 bucks. The "head" gunsmith of this little shop was out for the day, the two guys that helped me were enthusiastic and determined to fix my problem. The main guy doing the work did keep looking for a tool that he couldn't find. Maybe that was the Dremel, or maybe it was something else. I can't fault him for his effort. He seemed like he had experience around guns. I haven't shot the gun yet, we'll see if he bent the frame or did anything else damaging to the weapon. If the gun runs good, I'll be ok with it.
 
Well the symptom of a problem in that area would be that the magazine won't go in. If the mag fits OK, you probably don't have any problem.

Jim
 
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