praetorian97 Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 (edited) First I want to start off with saying that without this ENOS Tang group, I don't feel I could have made any of my Tangs as nice as they run. I do have the Tanfoglio Whisperer Nealio local but hes usually busy driving a soccer mom van on the weekends. This is really just a Large Frame DA Tanfoglio in progress. These principles can be applied across the board for the most part. Think of the work you do on the SA action parts as your starter and if you have a DA, you go the extra mile. I take no credit for any of the ideas I'm about to pass on and you don't have to do all of the upgrades. I simply did because I had the parts laying around from previous Limited Projects. Great resources for parts in the US are: Henning http://henningshop.com/ Bodkin - http://www.shooterready.biz/- Email or call Jim. Carries a lot of parts he doesnt list online LRA AKA Last Round Armament - http://www.lastroundarmament.com/ Numrich - https://www.gunpartscorp.com/ Ben Stoeger Pro Shop - http://www.benstoegerproshop.com/ Hawktech Arms - http://www.hawktecharms.com/- Soon to be an Xtreme Stocking Dealer from what I hear. And Eric Grauffel in France - http://www.ericgrauffelonlineshop.com/en/ Do your part to support all these guys. We are the minority need to keep them in business and in turn helping ourselves out. Edited April 17, 2015 by praetorian97 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praetorian97 Posted April 16, 2015 Author Share Posted April 16, 2015 (edited) Going from top to bottom on my gun. I started with Sights. Here is my .02 on Dawson Vs Henning. I started with a 180Tx100w by Dawson on a couple of Limited/Pro guns with a stock rear. I initially thought 180T was the way to go because its what Henning sold. I didn't like how much I had to raise my rear sight for a bulls-eye zero so I went with a 160Tx100w and now that's all I buy. I tell people if you go with Henning, buy a complete set. The higher your front sight height the higher your rear must go to obtain zero. (Visual of what I mean about rear sight height) Lets focus on the on the slide now. There is no recoil spring that will suit every person. You have a few variables such as the shooters recoil management and the shooters load data that play into this. I will say so far I am happy with a 9lb recoil spring for a 9mm 4.75" barrel. One note worthy item. The Stock III and Limited is a 4.75" gun. Pay attention to that when you order a guide rod and recoil springs. Stock II's are 4.5" barrels and take shorter rods and recoil springs. When ordering from Wolff use the drop down for "Long Slide". I believe Regular is for the 4.5" models. NOTE: I just got off the phone with wolff. He said the standard and long slide springs come from the same box. The only difference is that if you order the long slide model, he ships you a 2# heavier spring. So basically if you order an 8# long slide spring, you are getting the same as a 10# standard size. I went with the Henning Polished Guide Rod. Had an extra laying around. Not necessary but definitely an upgraded part that sits against the barrel much nicer. Eric Grauffel makes an identical looking part as well. Next lets talk about polishing. There are many methods out there but my preferred method is to use 1000 grit sandpaper and then use a dremel polish attachment. Finally I finish it off with a buffing wheel. There are Polishing Compounds and Rubbing Compounds out there to choose from. I tend to prefer the rubbing compound on a low speed. Turtle Wax sells containers on Amazon for $5 that will last longer than your Tanfoglio will. Also note you are not trying to remove material that will change the function of the part to be polished. You are trying to remove surface imperfections to enhance the surface to surface contact. I had a bad experience with a CGW Disco Wing that taught me less is more Also do not worry about machine marks. When I worked on my first Tanfoglio, my OCD kicked in and I was like MUST..REMOVE...IMPERFECTIONS... I started with polishing of the Firing Pin Block. I touched the outer cylinder of the FPB and bottom surface. Don't forget in some circumstances, you should try and touch the surfaces that your polished parts rub on. I took some 1000 grit and rolled it up to touch the inner slide portion shown in the green circle. The edge that the red arrow points to is already rounded and will wear with live fire practice but I took some 1000 grit to it very lightly. Some have had to use the extended FPB and fit it, but I was fortunate enough to get away with the stock one. EDIT: The FPB stopped engaging so I will too have to fit an Extended. Once it arrives I will add that to this. Posting later on the weights and lengths of the firing pins. After installing an after market Firing Pin, I found that these will also not lighten your trigger pull..... (Humor) To test your FPB functionality, Cock hammer all the way back. Push on the back of the firing pin to insure that the firing pin is locked. I also installed the "Light" Xtreme firing pin spring. This should allow you to use lighter Hammer springs. Will explain lighter hammer springs later. That's pretty much it for an upper. I plan on polishing the firing pin channel at another point. I recommend buying a spare extractor. I had one fail at 7500 rounds the weekend before a sectional match. FWIW Wolff XP Extractor springs are a pain to install from what I have read. May require clipping a coil. Edited August 20, 2015 by Corey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praetorian97 Posted April 16, 2015 Author Share Posted April 16, 2015 Lets get down to the lower now. The Stock III comes with a two piece sear. However most recommend the one piece. I happen to have one on hand and it was much easier to install. An important thing when considering you have to fit the safety. Two piece sear I touched up. One piece sear I actually installed. Dont worry about fitting the safety at this point since you will doing a lot of disassembling. In fact take your right side safety lever off and put it to the side. On the sear and sear cage I polished the following surfaces. Some have used a lightened Sear Spring but for now I'm staying with stock and that's a personal preference. I've found that lighter springs wear out sooner. Henning makes an aftermarket Hammer Pin Kit. I chose to keep mine and polish it as well as the channel it fits in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praetorian97 Posted April 16, 2015 Author Share Posted April 16, 2015 (edited) I went with the Xtreme DA Delta Hammer and later the Titan. I polished the lower surface lightly with 1000 grit and the hammer strut that contacts the hammer spring. Suggest doing the channel as well. I installed an Xtreme "Light" Hammer spring that functions flawlessy in SA pull but I had about 2 light primer strikes out of every 12-15 w/ Remington Primers. Apparently Federal Primers are the heat to use. This is rated at 13.8 lbs. I may go heavier. TBD. Left to Right. Wolff 13lb Hammer Spring EG Xtreme Light (13.8lb) Hammer Spring Wolff 14 Hammer Spring Appears the Wolff 13 is one coil smaller than the EG Light 13.8. I fit a custom Cajun Gun Works Disconnector in mine. This took about 1.5 hours of work but the results were worth it. Experiences have varied from this mod but this is mine. First make sure you purchase the T3 disconnector. http://cajungunworks...stem_-_srs.html This mod affects the post reset take up (over travel) and reset. In an SA gun you don't have the disconnector part and you adjust over travel with a trigger screw. I used a DIAMOND Nail File set from Harbor Freight. Roughly $8. The hole diameter needs to be enlarged to .105. I suggest filing both sides off and on. File one side then go back and forth etc....Sit down and watch some TV with the Micrometer handy while doing this makes the task go by faster. Once I had this fitted I had to to file some of the surface in the red box down so it will clear the trigger bar. The sign is the hammer will not drop. It will drop the hammer once you move enough material. I suggest getting it to drop then stop. Live fire it until/if you have issues and potentially take off a little more more. Mic the stock disco and you will see the difference. I didn't have to go quite down to match stock thickness. REMEMBER LESS IS MORE and you are removing material from the underside of the wing. I used a small file set from Harbor Freight. Not the best but worked out for me. Results I obtained. I was very nervous about not achieving reset with how tight/crisp this is but after live fire its good so far. Tanfoglio sears/cage move during live fire. Something you cannot simulate in a dry fire scenario. So you may adjust your trigger on the bench to feel sweet and crisp but when you get to the range it can act just differently enough to prevent reset. I learned with SA guns, to get it crisp then back it off just a smidge. Edited August 20, 2015 by Corey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praetorian97 Posted April 16, 2015 Author Share Posted April 16, 2015 Next step is the trigger bar. I went a little crazy and polished everything but it wont hurt anything. Make sure you pay close attention to these two parts. The underside that contacts the plunger. (These are the machine marks that you should not be overly concerned about) And the rear. I found jamming a dremel polish tip will cover these crevices well. (Borrowed Photo) I installed the CGW Reduce Power Trigger Return Spring. http://cajungunworks...pring_kits.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praetorian97 Posted April 16, 2015 Author Share Posted April 16, 2015 (edited) I next will polish the plunger. And everything on the plunger. (I lube the top of this part after regular cleaning just makes the trigger pull a little smoother) Even polish the inner cylinder. I clipped one coil on the plunger spring. Some knowledge from Nealio.... After everything is polished up the SA pull weight is mostly controlled by the sear and hammer hook engagement, while the DA is mostly controlled by the hammer spring. The weight of the hammer spring, its length, and how many coils can all change the characteristics. A "clipped" spring provides less force at the beginning of the DA pull than a non-clipped, and also prevents stacking. A full length spring at a lighter rated weight may feel more "linear" but may stack more near the end. Be careful when removing the plunger from the mag catch. Two parts that will go flying and cause you to lose hours searching for it. Not another bad item to have in your parts kit. I even polished the path the mag release travels. Some like to clip the mag release spring to lighten the force required to release the mag but I dont. It will break in over time and I dont want to have any accidental mag releases. Not saying others have this happen to them. And I believe that's all folks. Ill edit/add if I remember anything. Once again. My .02 and not saying this is what you have to do. Just what I did with my Stock III. This is my 4th Tanfoglio and 5th CZ75 variant. Obligatory Cat Tax Edited August 20, 2015 by Corey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbarker13 Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 Awesome. Did most of this last night (though not the T3 yet.) I missed a couple of the things you mentioned. Might as well tear it down again and give it another go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praetorian97 Posted April 16, 2015 Author Share Posted April 16, 2015 (edited) When Fitting a Sear for the safety... This is the leg that contacts the safety lever nub. To insure that you dont take too much material off, work front to back. Dont try to fit the sear in one go. Gradually the safety lever will hit a stop point and then progress further. A sear slave pin will make light work of the needed install and removal during trial and error. Rivot pins work great once clipped down. Edited August 20, 2015 by Corey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhjeffs Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 I'm waiting on the 1 piece sear. Once that comes in, I'm going to give it a go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e-mishka Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 Great stuff btw, did you guys see that Henning released new firing pin. Its lighter then his current one and in theory should ignite primers with lighter hammer spring Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praetorian97 Posted April 16, 2015 Author Share Posted April 16, 2015 (edited) Great stuff btw, did you guys see that Henning released new firing pin. Its lighter then his current one and in theory should ignite primers with lighter hammer spring I'm going to give it a go. Per his FB page My new Gen4 Firing Pin for Tanfoglio (EAA Witness) Large Frame pistols. This golden colored Xtra-Long, Super-Light, Super-Strong firing pin that works with the firing pin safety is hollow, fluted and 27% lighter than the factory firing pin. It provides a pre-compression on the firing pin spring, offers a longer push surface on the back for the hammer to push it forward and maximizes the length while being 100% safe in all conditions. We're shipping these as of now onwww.henningshop.com. pictures to follow on the website, but rest assured you're getting this one!!! I can't think of any more improvements we could possibly do beyond this (within some form of reason smile emoticon ). Hardened to Rockwell 50. Edited April 16, 2015 by praetorian97 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAYZER Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 Really nice round-up. Please be advised that some images cannot be seen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EngineerEli Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 Awesome wright up, great explanations, and great pictures, all in one place! Couldn't have asked for more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandflea Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 Totally agree, great write up! If I ever pick up a Stock 3 in the future, I'll be revisiting this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praetorian97 Posted April 17, 2015 Author Share Posted April 17, 2015 (edited) FYI I have a Gen IV Henning FP coming. I am going to see if its drop in with a stock FPB and one piece sear. If not I hopefully have an Extended FPB coming as well that I will fit. Edited April 17, 2015 by praetorian97 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrazeauRacing Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 FYI I have a Gen IV Henning FP coming. I am going to see if its drop in with a stock FPB. If not I hopefully have an Extended FPB coming as well that I will fit. I just ordered one for my LimPro as well! Stop the cat pix! My wife is already hounding me to get a cat now! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nealio Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 Nice work Panda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
himurax13 Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 Nice writeup. I wonder how much of this can be done to an Elite Match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yzman Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 Great work!!!,,,Thank You for all this INFO!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jom Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 This is great info well done. Ill post a reveiw soon on a new firing pin from henning i got one coming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAYZER Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Not trying to hack this tread, but would it be nice to have some sticky post regarding standard impovements per type of Tanfoglio? Stock 2, stock 3 and the SAO limiteds? I have already documented most of my own tinkering on a limited. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nealio Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 I've tried to get admin access and the ability to make threads sticky, and I was told by the admins that they don't like sticky threads.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praetorian97 Posted April 20, 2015 Author Share Posted April 20, 2015 I hate how I cant edit the original post. I learned something from Henning Id like to add above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jom Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Just got the new henning pin and its lighter it weighs 74.2gr. While the XL henning pin is 85.6gr. ill try this tomorrow and see how it goes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpipe95 Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 Just got the new henning pin and its lighter it weighs 74.2gr. While the XL henning pin is 85.6gr. ill try this tomorrow and see how it goes Was just going to post this. Also something worth noting the surface finish on the new pin seems to be a bit slicker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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