Hornady One Shot is a gamechanger for smooth operating even with pistol cases. It isn't going to leave a greasy film like dillon lube. You don't have to worry about it contaminating the powder. You actually WANT it to get in the case mouth. I picked up an old baking pan from a thrift shop. Put a bunch of cases in and shake it until most of them are facing up. Spray, shake around some more and your'e done.
I use a rubber mallet and moderately tap on the bottom of the barrel lugs. You'll hear it ping each time because the barrel lugs are slapping the slide lugs. You'll also easily see the marks left and the top of the muzzle end. As you get closer to fitting you'll notice this "ping" goes away because the springing is no longer pushing the barrel out of lockup. Measure your lockup at the top of the slide to the top of the barrel hood. If your dimension changes when you are pushing it into lockup and releasing the pressure you know it's still springing.
Do they still make the standard? Or was that replaced with the practical? I kind of wonder if the fat ring in the middle of the extractor for lack of a better term keeps the pad from getting close enough to the rim. I spent some time last night playing around with one and it took a lot of time and material removal to get it close enough to press against the rim. Once I put a pretty good bevel aft of the hook the pad was close enough. It didn't matter how much tension was on it because it couldn't move toward the case any closer. Maybe Its the practical that makes it more difficult. Anyone care to post a picture of one they have done? Out of the slide.
Those are all good points. I also remember having to remove a LOT of material off the tensioning pad for proper tension. At the end of the day it seemed like a lot of extra work for no gain. Maybe I'll try another one the "right" way and see if I can tell a difference. I wonder why EGW doesn't make the 9mm extractor set up that way if that's the way it's "supposed" to be done?
I've fit 9mm extractors with rim contact and didn't like it because you have to remove so much off the hook. I do them all with the hook in the groove now. You do need to bevel the hook to match the bevel on the case.
I can vouch for Precision Plating & Engraving. They've done a few for me and have another one or two heading that way soon. VERY happy with the end result.
How high is your sight elevated? If there is a gap this can cause the sight to bounce when it's fired creating force on that screw. You can try to fit a small piece of rubber under the leaf to fill this gap. That small spring may be worn out.
You aren't going to be wrong with the LSI. If you measure your frame, he will machine the grip to be almost a perfect fit without additional fitting. I use Black Nitride. I think you'll find that to be your best bet for durability and economically.
I've built two with that frame. The 9 especially is very flat shooting. The first shooter I built a 40 sight tracker for is going to have me do another one with the xwf.