My switch from plastic to Tanfo

[Nathanb]

Im waiting on basically everything you showed too except the guide rod and recoils prints which I have already. Guess I need to break down and buy anew Drexel finally so I can polish 

[johnbu]

1 hour ago, Nathanb said:

Im waiting on basically everything you showed too except the guide rod and recoils prints which I have already. Guess I need to break down and buy anew Drexel finally so I can polish 

Autocorrect makes posts soooo entertaining! 

[PatriotDefense]

On November 14, 2016 at 3:22 PM, MemphisMechanic said:

Orders which shipped today:

 

CGW:

canik trigger pin

 

Patriot Defense:

Extractor, Firing Pin, Sear, Trigger springs.

8lb longslide (10lb) recoil spring

13 & 14 lb PD Hammer Springs

Bolo, Titan hammer, Xtreme Sear & F.P. Block

Henning guide rod

 

Going to see what happens when it's time to fit and install all of this on Wed or Thurs. I've already teamed my barrel to take my pet load out to 1.160 long, so I won't have to worry about those teething issues on my new gun. 

Thursday or Friday, I'll run a couple hundred rounds through it at an indoor range.

Then, like a fool, I'm going to drive two hours to a match I haven't attended before and shoot it for the very first time under stress.

(I'll be bringing my M&P along as a backup and I'll be surprised if I don't have to switch to it!)

As nice as it is to have the canik trigger pin it will induce some play into the trigger  when using the BOLO. Just know that you will not have a zero pre-travel SA if using that. 

[Polymer]

2 hours ago, PatriotDefense said:

As nice as it is to have the canik trigger pin it will induce some play into the trigger  when using the BOLO. Just know that you will not have a zero pre-travel SA if using that. 

Why does the canik trigger pin induce play over the factory roll pin?

[MemphisMechanic]

What little pretravel remains after you stick a bolo/titan/Xtreme Sear into a Tanfo is found up front in the trigger mechanism. Pull your slide off and you'll see that your trigger pivots on one roll pin, and the trigger bar pivots on a second one installed lower in the trigger.

Those two pin-fits have a small amount of clearance, which as you work your trigger through it's pre-travel, is possible to see.

The CGW Canik free-floating pin will amplify the slop at the upper trigger pivot, and thus you'll get a bit more movement out of the trigger before the slop has all been taken out and you're working on the Sear with your trigger press.

Edited November 17, 2016 by MemphisMechanic

[ryridesmotox]

40 minutes ago, Polymer said:

Why does the canik trigger pin induce play over the factory roll pin?

It doesn't fit as tight as the fsctory roll pin. But that's to be expected when you can push it in with your thumb rather than beat a factory pin in with a hammer. I still use them on my guns though. Still the best trugger I have in the safe. And I have plenty in the safe, revolvers, 1911s, ARs with match triggers. None of my guns are factory original really. They all have some work. Except for my duty gun. 

[MemphisMechanic]

The Bolo and Titan were indeed a drop-in combination with no fitting needed at all! I did have to fit the 1-piece sear but that's actually very simple.

Here comes the most misleading pair of numbers I've dealt with in a long time, in the photos below. Recall that I'm not chasing a 4 pound double action with federal primers, or the magic 5.1 pound combination that will pop CCIs after months of experimentation.

I wanted the trigger smooth, short, shootable, and I want it to run when it's dirty as hell on any ammo it's fed. So I polished for smoothness, not mirror perfection. I'm also running the 14 lb PD hammer spring.

I am thrilled. It's short and crisp and smoooooth so it feels like half the weight it actually measures.

Also, guys. Seriously. Tanfo's are simple to work on. Don't be afraid to tear yours down. Tomorrow I'll be posting a "fitting a 1-piece sear step by step guide" since that is the most intimidating part.

Edited November 17, 2016 by MemphisMechanic

[MemphisMechanic]

The obligatory dryfire video:

 

[johnbu]

Nice job MM!

 

But your gun is way too clean.  go shoot a couple thousand rounds already. I bet it settles down another 1/4 - 1/2 pound after a 500-1000 rounds.

Did you chamfer the leading edge of the bottom of the breech face? Can get rounds dragged forward  by the sharp edge. I also like to polish the breech face and extractor.  but I like to polish everything...

[MemphisMechanic]

Bottom of breechface: chamfered and polished

slide rails: polished

chamber: polished like mad

feedramp and back of barrel hood: polished

extractor and pin: polished

breechface: polished

 

I didn't mirror polish the action's contact points specifically to avoid having a flyweight trigger. This gun is right where I want it. I always do, however, polish the f**k out of everything else. Why? Because it makes the gun so much easier to clean! Carbon wipes right off a glass-like surface without scrubbing, and I hate cleaning guns.

[ryridesmotox]

You won't get into flyweight triggers until you are like 10lbs hammer spring. That is LIGHT. If you notice some grittiness later, you might want to polish the trigger group some more. Specifically the plunger spring rod. That thing was a culprit in mine. 

[MemphisMechanic]

Clarifying: The engagment surfaces didn't get a mirror polish but everything like that did. All of the pins are chrome-dipped now and the holes got 1,000 then 2,000 grit wet-sanded with Flitz polish as the lube.

The trigger is smooth as glass. And short. It's just not light.

So ... it's perfect. For me.

I did have to fit the FP Block to the sear, by the way. Johnbu walked me through that too - filing a few thousandths off the tab on the block.

Edited November 17, 2016 by MemphisMechanic

[MemphisMechanic]

So. Discoveries in it's very first match

Half my DA first shots went click on the first hit. More hammer and spring polishing in store. Then I'll examine primer seating. (The barrel will be reamed after next weekend's match.)

Stage 1 featured lots of makeups induced by my longtime habit of prepping the trigger while cleaning up my sight picture. This would be the reason for so many makeups. I was firing shots I couldn't call, so I fired extras.

This is the first gun where my (lefty here) trigger finger has issues reaching the mag catch. Which means the mags wouldn't come out of the gun when I wanted.

This is the first gun where my ring finger can occasionally bump the mag catch. So I'm also offering a yard sale on half-emptied Tanfo mags while shooting stages.

Both of these were remedied by flipping the mag catch back to the lefty side. But mag changes still stunk because I couldn't reach it and I'm not used to flipping the gun.

Henning grips are on order to thin the grip just enough to get my thumb easy access to the button, then it's time for dryfire like whoa.

Edited November 20, 2016 by MemphisMechanic

[ryridesmotox]

Reaming the barrel will be the answer I bet. It was the last little thing for me. I have to remind myself not to prep the trigger too. My HK P2000 has the LEM trigger or whatever, it's no weight pull until it hits the wall then it's a 7-8lbs break. Sucks

Edited November 20, 2016 by ryridesmotox

[MemphisMechanic]

I believe you're right. It seems like the chamber is also noticeably tighter than other 9mm guns that I own, so that won't help issues either with regard to 100% reliability.

I'm going to spend a full week of evening dryfires doing nothing but static and small-movement reloads. Those are absolutely destroying my ability to navigate a stage with this gun.

As soon as the Henning grips arrive I'll see how things feel as far as mag button access. After I carve up my brand new $130 grips with a dremel, since I discovered there's no lefty-side groove for your thumb after I placed my order.

Edited November 20, 2016 by MemphisMechanic

[MemphisMechanic]

Threw more dollars at the new money pit object of my affection.

Henning's grips are pure sexiness. Not cheap. Totally worth it. I miss about 50% of the palm swell the wood ones had, but at least now I can drop a magazine faster than Tiger Woods lost endorsement deals. I can reach the button again! (Verified with 200rds of life fire)

I'll need to add the missing "lefty" thumb groove on the right panel, but that can wait. I have plans.

Also? Splurged on some Henning basepads to go with. The machining on his parts is just plain excellent. I can't believe how much better the mags feel in my plam now. It sounds ridiculous - it's just a basepad! - but is true.

Edited November 23, 2016 by MemphisMechanic

[MemphisMechanic]

Side note: picked up a new pair of trail shoes (since real men don't wear rainbow Salomon's that fall apart in 7 months) for $40 at Academy. 

In case you need a pair. My last pair of Adidas survived seven Tough Mudder races and a full season of USPSA without much wear, so I snapped these up as soon as I saw them in mature colors!

Edited November 23, 2016 by MemphisMechanic

[GARD72977]

You shoot with me one time then go out and buy my shoes!

 

 

Just giving you a hard time. Look forward to shooting with you Friday.

[MemphisMechanic]

I sure hope you mean Saturday, unless you're showing up really early for our match!

 

[Gcarr]

Thought we were having a practice day on Friday...???

[MemphisMechanic]

We can handle that via text

[bulm540]

LOve the Henning grips . Got my grips last year when he was having a sale. He is having a sale again this Cyber Monday (20% off).

Edited November 26, 2016 by bulm540

[MemphisMechanic]

Second match with new gun:

Draws to open targets are 0.2 behind where they were with the M&P. Also 0.4 behind the .90 time I want them to be, longterm, in match conditions.

I hold myself back because I'm adapting to the pronounced beavertail (have to come in behind it and not just straight downward) and the weak hand grip is just different enough to make me miss at full speed. Right now I have a deliberate pause at the holster to hit the safety and beavertail the way I like, until I dryfire enough to burn that in.

Reloads are definitely harder than plastic guns. Dryfire dryfire dryfire. Metal on metal binds where metal on plastic could glide a little.

The greatest challenge for me is going to be the SA trigger. I'm used to prepping a trigger then rolling through the sear. The first round out of the holster isn't too bad now. The transition to SA isn't much of an issue. But a SA first shot entering an array or after a wide transition? I find myself breaking the shot while prepping the trigger and still refining the sight picture. Just have to learn to shoot a SA gun. It'll come with practice.

I also had two malfunctions in the match. One just required a cycling of the slide. The other took nearly eight seconds.

 I'd estimate I would have shot this match 5% faster if I was using my M&P. That would have put me at 1st Production in our local match, instead of at 98% of the winner (an M shooter who didn't have a stellar day.)

The classifier puts me at 74.98%. As close to an A as it's possible to be, without going in. This gun just sings across steel arrays - I'll give it that. The lack of recoil and beautiful trigger make rows of plates/poppers far less work to engage quickly.

Short video of classifier from the match:

 

Edited November 28, 2016 by MemphisMechanic

[MemphisMechanic]

Okay. The barrel is back from Grams and I can't say enough good things about them. Answered my voicemail within a could of hours before I shipped, then called my cell (I left my number on the note in the package) to tell me it was ready. One day turnaround.

Note: I sent him a 4.25" M&P barrel too and he wasn't able to ream that. They are hardened just like Springy XD barrels.

Love his return packaging:

Not only will those long (1.160") dummy rounds I sent along with the barrel plunk and spin, but they have a few thousandths more play in the chamber. Gauged-good rounds barely slid into the chamber before. Now they fall in and rattle like it's a Glock barrel.

I reinstalled the 8lb recoil spring to see if it'll feed ammo into the more generous chamber next time I shoot it. I shot my last match with the factory recoil spring minus a couple of coils because the 8 pounder would sometimes fail to chamber ammo I that had checked in the gun's barrel.

Edited December 8, 2016 by MemphisMechanic

[MemphisMechanic]

Tore it down and went crazy with the polishing tonight. No parts changes.

Before - light polish on everything except the plunger head the first time:

 

Rolling 2,000 grit sandpaper, coating it with Flitz polish, then running it through the inside of the springs and the holes in the hammer and sear works really well, when you use a drill. Thanks for that tip.

Seen below: That tip plus trigger bow with a "light" polishing...

Finished chrome-like products:

I deliberately didn't polish everything like crazy on the first pass. I didn't want the trigger terribly light while getting used to running around with a SA trigger, plus the first time you tear one down it takes the whole evening just to swap parts and learn how thing fit together.

Edited December 8, 2016 by MemphisMechanic