Tuner-1911

Smith produced a K-frame revolver in 9mm for a while. It was a 3-inch, round butt like the M-13. They may have enough service parts lying around to make it a simple swap...Though you may not want a 3-inch barrel, it would likely be just a matter of boring and rifling a longer blank and mating it to the frame. Give'em a call...Might work out. Tuner

After reading this one and studying it a while, it sounds like a magazine issue. First...Does it happen on all rounds or just the top two or three in the magazine? OR...does it happen more frequently on the lower rounds when spring tension lessens? Second. What type magazines/ followers are you using? Top rounds...when the spring tension is high...sometimes causes the drag on the upper rounds to be at a point that the follower rocks downward at the front. The reduced slide travel eliminates just enough slide momentum to force the round up the ramp and into battery....and the reason that it doesn't happen with the other pistol is a slight difference in feed ramp angles between the two guns...The jammer has a steeper angle. One degree can make a difference. If it happens on the lower rounds, when spring tension is lowest, may be due to the slide timing...it begins the trip back toward battery earlier, before the magazine spring has enough time to get the upcoming round nailed to the feed lips. Removing the buff gives the magazine a split-second longer to get the round stable. I'm assuming that you have a ramped barrel. Maybe your smith can do a good polish job toward the top of the ramp beginning at the point that the bullet nose first makes contact with it with the goal of lowering that angle just a fractional amount. Hope this squashes your bug... Tuner

Check to see if the lug on the slidestop broke off. They do that sometimes, and it can be hard to spot unless you take it out. Chee *coff coff* Cheers! T

One inch per 100 yards is a close estimate...The actual figure is 1.0471 inch...if you want to get nitpicky. Geometry! Tuner

Update pertainig to this thread: I talked to the folks who supply Dan Wesson Arms with slides and frames. I was told that the Commander-sized DW 1911's have GM-length rails and shortened dust covers. They shorten the rails only when a customer specifies Colt spec Commander frames. Just FYI Tuner

Why not go at it full speed and mould your own? The Lyman 225-grain mold will throw about a 230-grain bullet cast of wheelweights with a half-pound of 50/50 solder added to 9.5 pounds of WW alloy. It's more forgiving when OAL is adjusted due to the lack of a shoulder, and the ogive profile makes for reliable feeding. If you buy your components in bulk, you can get the cost of .45 ACP down to less than 4 cents per loaded round. Cheers! Tuner

Roger, Check-drilling is simple to do provided that your eyesight is sharp enough to see the end of the crack. Mine is starting to fail up close, so I have to use a jeweler's loop. Locate the end of the crack and lightly center punch it at that point to keep your drill from wandering. Drill a small hole all the way through the slide or frame. I use a 1/32nd bit. With a drill bit this small, you will need to spin it very fast to prevent breaking it. be sure to use some light oil during the process to keep from burning your bit. You will also need to be very careful to keep the bit straight, as they are easy to break. I use a Dremel at about half speed. If you've never used a bit this small, I recommend a few practice runs on a piece of scrap, and use a new bit when you go at the gun. I had an alloy Colt Commander frame to crack at the bottom of the slide stop pin hole and on both sides at the rear of the dust cover right at the end of the rails. I check-drilled them, and continued to shoot the gun another 30,000 rounds before the cracks reappeared. Steel frames that are drilled and tigged would probably wear out before more cracks show up. Hope this helps, Tuner

I vote for bad fit on A...Ejection port too low on B...Bad slide on C. A could be check-drilled to stop the crack. A crack through to the rail can be tigged up and used a while longer. I had an A crack on a .45, check-drilled it and had it tigged. Then I draw-filed the weld and touched it up with cold bluing. You had to look close to see it, and the pistol has seen another 10,000 rounds without a problem. Don't know how well it would hold up in .38 Soop or 9X23 as I don't use either of them. Opt for a new slide if money permits, but repairing the slides can save some bucks. I've also check-drilled and tigged frame cracks, and returned the pistol to service, although not as heavy as before the repairs. Cheers! Tuner

Mr. Sweeny wrote: Another gun is fun to build (and there is always one in the safe, or parts in the drawers) but the technical challenge of making something into something else is always attractive. Exactly why I gave it a go. A local pistolsmith said that it would work, but that the pistol would never run reliably...Malfunctions related to short-cycling, and things of that ilk. After some measuring, I saw that the slide travel could be adjusted to the point that the breechface would clear the disconnect, which would get it very close to Officer's Model specs, but with a heavier, slower slide. Should work...DID work very well, and without complicated machining in the frame's spring tunnel area. As of Monday, I'm 3 for 3 on this mod. I did the first one on an Auto-Ordnance frame,(JEEZ!) and cut the dust cover to make it look right. The second one was done on an old GI Colt (1942) frame, and the dust cover left intact. Now I have the option of either slide length with just a top-end swap. My neighbor and sometimes range pard checked out the job, and wanted one for himself. I got the slide from Brownell's Monday morning, finished the project Monday afternoon, and ran 500 rounds through the pistol Tuesday. Other than an occasional premature slidelock, (inertia bounce) there were zero function problems. A small dimple in the slidestop cured the glitch, and a little reshaping on the ejector face got the brass out at 2 O'Clock and slightly to the rear. Since he elected to go with a Commander barrel, rather than cutting a 5-inch barrel to fit, the operation took all of an hour, including fitting a match bushing. Cheers! Tuner

Will a 1911 ms housing fit a HK? Whoops! Part of my problem is that I read these things in the wee hours before I get enough coffee down my neck to get the brain online... The other part is that I've got this one track 1911 mind... Cheers! Tuner

Might be better to just swap it out. They're pretty cheap. Brownell's has Masen housings for about 18 bucks, and while I know that Masen puts out some pretty shoddy parts, their mainspring housings seem to be okay...At least the 4 that I have are. They can be had in blue or stainless...Arched or flat...Checkered or serrated, or any combination thereof. Cheers! Tuner

Re-greetings all... Since my post got lost in the transformation, You will need: A full-length guide rod for a 5-inch pistol. An extended ejector A 16 pound recoil spring for a 5-inch gun, cut to fit...usually 23-25 coils. Some guns will work with 18# springs, but 16 seems to give the best function. You can't use a shock buffer with this set-up. Patience. In a lathe, reduce the thickness of the guide rod head to .065 and face the butt-end of the guide rod to clear the link and lug. Part off the front end of the guide rod to match a Commander full- length rod. Shorten the ejector just enough to allow for live-round ejection. You may need to reshape the front of the ejector to get the brass out in the right direction. Extractor tweaking may also be required if you occasionally get beaned between the eyes. You may need to shorten the recoil spring plug about .010 inch, and adjust recoil spring to prevent stacking or binding. Some need to go as low as 21 coils, but 23 to 25 have been the norm for me. Check slide travel with witness marks on frame and slide, and cut a half-coil at a time until they align...Then cut another half-coil to make sure. I can provide dimensions if you elect to go to a machine shop, but the machinist will need to pistol on hand to do the final length on the guide rod. Good luck, Tuner