Tight slide on new 1911.....please help!

I

imq707s

New member
Well, I finally got to take my new Dan Wesson CBOB.45 to the range today. It came in yesterday, and I spend some time last night taking it apart, cleaning it, lubricating it, and putting it back together. I was so happy with the gun, the fit and finish was excellent. The slide was smooth, and tight when I cycled it by hand…………..

Fast forward to this afternoon.

So I’m at the range….with a full magazine of Blazer Brass FMJ ammo. I pull the trigger, (POP), I pull the trigger (POP), I pull the trigger (POP)………WTF??? The slide is stuck about half way back!! I push and pull on it a little bit, and it finally comes undone. I decided to pull the gun apart, reclean it in the hopes that maybe there was a piece of junk stuck in the rail joint, and relube the rails. 5 minutes later when I’m finished, I cycle the gun at least 20 times to make sure the slide is not binding. I cycled it HARD….and it was smooth as a whistle.

Back to the shooting…….I pull the trigger (POP)……WTF?? The slide is stuck back again….except this time, I can’t even budge it. I was so pi$$ed off that I just packed up and went home. Once I got home, after about 20min. I managed to free the slide. It is definitely binding now, and is pretty gritty when I try to slide it back and forth. I get metallic shiny stuff on my finger when I wipe it across the top of the rail.

So I think it’s obvious that the slide to frame fit is way to tight. Besides sending it back to Dan Wesson and waiting several weeks……is there anything I can do? Can I take some very find sandpaper (like 1000, 1500, 2000) and try smoothing out the rails??

Just when I thought the whole (no 1911 runs good out of the box) stuff was a bunch of BS……this happens to my first 1911. I’m so disappointed…….

Any help would be great.

Thanks
 
Here are some pics. Something was definitly machined wrong. I cycled the thing 30-40 times before I ever even shot the thing and it felt smooth as can be. Then 3 shots....and it's screwed!! I guess you don't always get what you pay for :(

You can see that there was quite a bit of damage done by only a few shots. I guess it's going back to DW.......I'm so pi$$ed that I spent so much money on this thing, and it's a turd!

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That looks like stainless steel galling, really bad. Looks as if it were fired alot without lubrication or something. Get your money back. A tight slide fit is a good thing in alot of cases, like on target pistols, not so important on SD guns and only needed for the last little bit of accuracy potential in a target grade gun. You are not supposed to be a gunsmith and fix your new gun to that extent. Get your money back! If they give you any grief or stall flame them all over the net for turning out a crap product.
 
Look, you might be able to stone down the rails till it does not bind, but you are altering the gun, then if you have other problems with it, or the problem reoccurs, you might have warranty issues. IF it was something like a used gun or some old milsurp or the like, I would not have much heartache about doing a little slicking up myself but they need the feedback at the factory that they are screwing up. If they are a good company, they will make it right and maybe you will end up with a better than new gun perhaps. Like a new car. If your new car kept stalling every 5 miles, right off the lot, would you just shrug and take to the corner garage on your nickel, or spend alot of time in your garage in the evening taking it apart trying to fix it?
 
I doubt oil has anything to do with that. Some part of the slide or something caught between the slide and frame is scoring the frame rails very badly. I am also puzzled about another thing. That pistol looks like the slide rails are narrower than the frame, which is definitely odd. I don't have a DW pistol, but I thought that they were basically standard M1911s, which have the edge of the rail the same width as the frame.

Anyway, I agree with those who say to send it back. There is no reason to try and fix a new gun, and doing so will void the warranty.

Jim
 
Looks like something is burred on the slide itself. My guess would be the slide stop cutout, but it could be just a burr on the rail itself. I would pack it up and send it off to the factory.
 
Well, Dan Wesson was fast at getting back to me. They told me to send it in ASAP and they will get on it. The only problem is that it's probably going to cost me $40+ to send it back using UPS next day air. Oh well.....

Also, here is the explination I got back......can someone please explain this to me. It doesn't make sense to me.

"Your ejector rode up causing the galling in the pictures."
 
ejector

Sir:
On 1911s. the ejector is on the left rear of the frame. It is normally pinned in with a pin through the frame. For it to have "rode up" there was no pin! I know, some smiths do not pin these in - I don't believe in that - most ejectors come with a pin groove already there. Plus, if it is "riding up" it's an elementary job to refit it. It could be that it's not pinned and when the gun is fired it is pressed up by ejecting the case - but I don't buy it! The ejector could be loose! I've also seen some that the pin groove is not positioned properly and the bottom of the ejector when pinned is above the frame - in which case it needs refit (or a new ejector),
There would be no harm in inspecting the ejector - see if it's pinned - see if it's causing what they're talking about. If the rails are damaged they should replace the pistol - if it's not pinned they should fit it and pin it.
I know about warranty and I handled a Dan Wesson 45 and it appeared to be fit up right (tight) - you could, if it's pinned, take a pass over the top with a fine mill file until it fits - this is done all the time. But, I agree the best would be to send it back! Sorry for your trouble.
You could measure the rails and slide grooves - if they're O.K. you could fit the ejector! You could use some fine laping compound, if the rails are just rough and with good lube re-fit the slide to frame - but I concur - send it back.
Harry B.
 
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I looked at the ejector. It's tight, and is fit flat to the frame. I don't see any place where the ejector was rubbing against the slide. I'm sure they couldn't really tell much by looking at a few pictures. I'm sure once they get their hands on it, they will be able to see what's wrong.


With the damage to the rails as seen in the above pictures, should I settle for anything but a new gun? What if they say they can lap the rails and smooth it out??

Hopefully they will do the right thing.....but I know that many times, a company will do the least (cheapest) thing possible.
 
45

Sir:
I would think they will make it right. I'm like you, I think something else is wrong. I don't think it's the ejector.
Lapping the rails is not a bad thing to do. Stainless (I assume it is) is prone to it but with some good lube it's not a problem - keep us advised as to their corrective action - now, if the do determine that the slide to frame was initially too tight lapping is O.K. It'll be O.K.
Harry B.
 
I don't know DW's policy, but most companies will send a UPS label when an item is being returned under warranty, so the shipping is at no cost to the customer. I would certainly ask them to do that if they have not offered.

If DW refuses to send a label, I would have the store where I got it send it back; as an FFL dealer, they can mail it using USPS at a lot less cost.

Jim
 
It's already on it's way, they should have it tomorrow afternoon. I'm going to try to get them to pay me back for the shipping once everything is all taken care of. I want to see what they say the problem is first....that should give me more leverage if they throw a fit about paying for the shipping.

I don't think I should have to pay $65 in shipping in order to send my brand new gun back to the shop for repairs after 3 rounds. I know it's not a "custom" gun, but it's not bottom of the barrel either. After buying a gun with a $1200 MSRP, I expect to be taken care of.....than mean not paying an extra $65 to have them fix their own mistake(s).
 
Slide

I have a SA MIL-SPEC funny I ran into a problem after sending 1100 rounds threw the barrel.I did find one range day my slide was starting to stick it would fire the rounds in the clip but when I walking the slide down I noticed the 1/16" the slide would not fully close.
make a long story short I did have a a little problem trying to remove the slide to field strip but did get it off the frame:I cleaned and oiled and starting to work the slide by have and did notice as soon as the slide entered the rear ejector my problems started and the slide started to stick/\.I did use some j@B bore paste and work the slide by hand also used a black marker and seen a few high spots that I took care of with 1500 wet@dry paper @ yes my ejector is not pinned also.
 
****** UPDATE *****

Well I got a call from Scott at Dan Wesson today. I’m very impressed with their customer service and extremely fast turn-around time……especially since they had the gun over the holidays. They received the gun late in the afternoon on Thursday the 20th, and they said I will have it in my hands tomorrow (27th). That means they must have jumped on it as soon as it came in…I’m very impressed in that aspect.

Scott said that the problem was not the ejector like originally thought (I didn’t think it was). He said they couldn’t really find a good reason why it galled up, there must have been a small burr in the slide grooves that caused it. He said they smoothed everything out, polished the frame rails, ran two mags through it, and it appears to be running great. He said the slide to frame fit is as tight as it was before, but you can still see a few marks on the frame where some of the galling was. I was a little disappointed when I heard that, but I will have to see how bad it actually is when it shows up tomorrow. It may be nothing to worry about. I would have been happier with a new frame and slide, but if this fixes the problem…I’ll be happy. This isn’t a safe queen, it’s a gun that’s going to be shot a lot, and carried every now and then.

I’ll post up some pictures as soon as the gun comes in tomorrow. I’ll make sure to post up a range report also.

What are your thoughts?
 
i don't have a horse in this race but if that were my gun,, and they just told me that they slicked up the big ditches in the rails of my $1000+ gun and sent it back i would be pissed off


oh i guess you could look at it as ,,,,well there is more places for the oil to be for better lubrication,,,,,,it is also a place where other stuff can hide and cause more problems,,,,,,,if you plan on carrying it there is no room for a possible future failure......i would never trust it,,,,,,,,especially if my arse were on fire

don't be surprised if it doesn't happen again

after 3 rounds and it galled and locked up and with the ditches in the rails,,,i think i would want it replaced or my money back

sorry imq i don't mean anything by this little rant but i would be hard to deal with on this..............i think they should replace this gun

but that's just me


YMMV

ocharry
 
45

Sir:
I used to work at Novaks' 45 shop with my late son - we were the "Colt Division" and did all Novaks 45 auto work. We would have done what DW has done. I would judge from their answer to you that the frame/slide assy was too tight to begin with! This can happen. If the pistol still is tight I see nothing wrong. As a matter of fact, very little of your accuracy potential is with the slide to frame fit! Most of what we found on new guns was barrel/bushing fit and bbl. fit.
I'd try it and see how it functions and if O.K. I'd forget it. The DW I looked at was very tight too. Many times, after we fit a new bbl. like a Bar-Sto or Kart was that it "took=up" slide to frame play. The DW I looked at was very tight and well made.
Stainless steel will gall and if there is not enough clearance it will gall very bad! In a "Combat" gun, of which was our forte, we did not want a precision fit, although we wanted them tight - I think yours was too tight to begin with and under heat it galled.
Now, if it galls again then I'd expect my money back from the dealer who sold it to me! And DW would have a production problem to resolve!
Then, although I like DW I'd buy a Springfield Armory or Colt.
I'm like Jim Keenan, I doubt lubrication has much to do with this the lube goes of the rails very quickly.
I hope you're happy with the pistol - good shooting. We seldom found this problem though. It has much to do with the hardness of the material.
Harry B.
 
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