Sarge Posted April 10, 2016 Share Posted April 10, 2016 I got mine yesterday and was all excited to tune my mags only to find out my mags won't fit onto the tool because I have spacers installed in the tubes. I'm not taking the spacers out because once you get them to stay in place you don't mess with them. I'm wondering if Dave makes a smaller block to put on the tool for this. I'm going to send him an email and see what others have come up with. Anyone here run into this and found a simple solution? If not I guess I'll have to see if Shooters Connection will take it back. ugh... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
echotango Posted April 10, 2016 Share Posted April 10, 2016 Perhaps you can machine the backside to fit? Mine are loose so never had the issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted April 10, 2016 Author Share Posted April 10, 2016 Perhaps you can machine the backside to fit? Mine are loose so never had the issue. Any "machining" I would do would be with a file. lol Plus, then it would be too short if I ever want to fool with 38's. I reached out to Dawson to see if they could sell me just a block but I wonder if they even make those in house. I was thinking I could trim one and keep the other stock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BostonBullit Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 The kit also will not work with STI 10rnd tubes. This will affect almost no one but just throwing it out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted April 12, 2016 Author Share Posted April 12, 2016 Perhaps you can machine the backside to fit? Mine are loose so never had the issue. Any "machining" I would do would be with a file. lol Plus, then it would be too short if I ever want to fool with 38's. I reached out to Dawson to see if they could sell me just a block but I wonder if they even make those in house. I was thinking I could trim one and keep the other stock. Ordered another block today from Dawson. They got back with me and I had to call sales. $8 plus shipping. $12 for a new block and I'll be set if anybody or me needs to do 38 mags without spacers. Good news is the block is plastic and I'm about half way there on sanding it down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dansedgli Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 The kit also will not work with STI 10rnd tubes. This will affect almost no one but just throwing it out there. It worked with mine? Why didn't it work with yours? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted April 12, 2016 Author Share Posted April 12, 2016 Feed lips are tough! That is all.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ultimo-Hombre Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 Feed lips are tough! That is all.... That's the beauty of a brass hammer. You can beat the hell outta them lips and they just ever so slightly get tighter! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted April 13, 2016 Author Share Posted April 13, 2016 Feed lips are tough! That is all....That's the beauty of a brass hammer. You can beat the hell outta them lips and they just ever so slightly get tighter! That's what I'm using. I'm sure the more I do the easier it will get. Just have to get over love tapping them. lol. I finally started flailing that 4oz hammer and got them to start moving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirtchevy841 Posted April 23, 2016 Share Posted April 23, 2016 Yep it took me a couple of minutes before I beat the hell out of them lol barely moved them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bamboo Posted April 23, 2016 Share Posted April 23, 2016 4 oz? Try a 16 ounce hammer. Works mo' betta! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louu Posted May 11, 2016 Share Posted May 11, 2016 Does it come with anything to shape the body of the mag? Mine are too big front to back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glk21C Posted May 11, 2016 Share Posted May 11, 2016 no, it tells you how to tune feed lips. If you are not mechanically inclined I would suggest option #2 below. place a block of wood no wider than the tube on both sides (sides are defined as the sides that have the control ribs) of the tube and hold in place with clamps. You are not squeezing the sides, just holding them in place. Now place the tube with clamps in a vice and squeeze the front/back sides to bring them in. You might need some kind of strip of something (metal/wood) not as wide as the mags to place against the front and rear face while squeezing in the vice in order to squeeze enough to make a difference. You have to squeeze further than you think in order to re-shape the tube, metal will spring back to original shape. If you don't do the first part with the clamps than you'll make the tube probably too wide in the double stack area, causing rounds to slip past the follower while feeding. If it actually became too narrow then you'll have have too much friction while feeding, being unreliable. Also, if they are STI mags you do have the option of contacting them and indicate they are out of spec. They will probably send you replacement tubes. good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RecoilJunkie Posted May 21, 2016 Share Posted May 21, 2016 Is the tuning kit worth the $$ or is it better to send it off to someone who knows what they are doing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BostonBullit Posted May 21, 2016 Share Posted May 21, 2016 The kit also will not work with STI 10rnd tubes. This will affect almost no one but just throwing it out there. It worked with mine? Why didn't it work with yours? sorry, missed this question earlier. the anvil section that is bolted to the square stock is too wide to pass the deep indents that STI uses to make the mags 10rnd only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted May 21, 2016 Author Share Posted May 21, 2016 Is the tuning kit worth the $$ or is it better to send it off to someone who knows what they are doing?The kit is useful for very basic adjustments such as feed lips. But it's useless for getting more capacity which is what "tuning" really means to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Miles Posted May 21, 2016 Share Posted May 21, 2016 If you need to, beat the lips in with a brass hammer and go a bit further than needed. Now take your 4" (length, not jaw opening) all sixteenth, all metric left handed adjustable spanner wrench (AKA crescent wrench) and massage the lips back out to the desired width. Next up is the DMT fine mini sharpener. Use this to clean up and polish the INSIDE of the lips so the bullets can be pushed out and feel buttery smooth (like that adjective). http://www.ebay.com/bhp/4-adjustable-wrench http://www.homedepot.com/p/DMT-Diamond-Mini-Sharp-Sharpener-with-Fine-Diamond-Sharpening-Surface-F70F/203381320 We're men... we don't need no stinking kit! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Miles Posted May 21, 2016 Share Posted May 21, 2016 If it actually became too narrow then you'll have have too much friction while feeding, If it becomes too narrow, throw the tube away cause you'll spend days trying to save it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanc Posted May 21, 2016 Share Posted May 21, 2016 Feed lips are tough! That is all.... Yeah, I mean. I watch the DVD and dave makes it look SOOO easy. I had to use considerably more love when smashing on my mags to get the to a good dimension... It does work though, kit is money well spent IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanc Posted May 21, 2016 Share Posted May 21, 2016 Is the tuning kit worth the $$ or is it better to send it off to someone who knows what they are doing? I have several mags that were worked on by Beven Grams. They are perfect in every way and worth twice what he charges IMO. Last I spoke to him which was a month or so ago he was quick to remind that he will tune mags for his customers, but its not his primary business, so it does take a long while, 6 month turn around when I talked to him. I could never produce the result he gets without ruining alot of parts and wasting many many hours, but I do have the kit and was able to at least get some factory STi mags to function properly that were constantly having problems... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bamboo Posted May 21, 2016 Share Posted May 21, 2016 The kit is good - but if I just had the option of buying one item out of the kit it would be the forming mandrel. The diamond hone and chain pliers are nice, but are commonly available elsewhere. The forming mandrel is not. I don't use it a lot, but it is handy to have when a mag needs tweaking - and part of competitive shooting is developing the skills to fixand maintain stuff to keep your gun running. The kit has all the stuff in one box to make mags run and for all the items and the DVD it is a fair price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dansedgli Posted May 21, 2016 Share Posted May 21, 2016 The kit also will not work with STI 10rnd tubes. This will affect almost no one but just throwing it out there.It worked with mine? Why didn't it work with yours? sorry, missed this question earlier. the anvil section that is bolted to the square stock is too wide to pass the deep indents that STI uses to make the mags 10rnd only. Were your mags 9mm/38 super? Mine are 357/40 which would make sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armydad Posted May 21, 2016 Share Posted May 21, 2016 I bought the Dawson kit to tune my STI 40 cal mags. Figured it would be fairly straight forward. Perhaps I'm not mechanically inclined as necessary but couldn't get them right. I ended up sending the tubes to Bevin. Haven't received them back yet but for me this was probably the best option. Going to use his guts and base pads. I have the complete kit, video and all. It goes for $99.95. If you're interested in it, how's $80 shipped? It's basically brand new. https://dawsonprecision.com/dawson-precision-sti-2011-hicap-magazine-tuning-kit/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanc Posted May 21, 2016 Share Posted May 21, 2016 I ended up sending the tubes to Bevin. Haven't received them back yet but for me this was probably the best option. Going to use his guts and base pads. You won't be dissapointed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbecker Posted May 24, 2016 Share Posted May 24, 2016 Hey Armydad, I'm interested in the tuning kit, sent you pm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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