removing thumb safety on STI Eagle

[FinishGuy]

I have an STI Eagle in 9mm. I have bought an Ed Brown wide thumb saftey as an upgrade. I am having a hard time removing the old thumb safety, it will barely start to come out then won't move anymore. Any tips on removing it without damaging the gun?

[StraightUp_OG]

I needs to be half way between on and off then pull straight up. You can also use a small, thin flat head to help lift it out.

The Ed Brown will need to be fitted to your gun.

Oh yeah watch out for the plunger. It is spring loaded and you need to block its exit when removing the safety.

Edited August 18, 2013 by StraightUp_OG

[v1911]

Kinda ghetto, but I didn't want to mar my finish with a screwdriver. So I used a Gatorade cap to pry it off once I was able to wiggle enough room.

[Pat Miles]

Does your gun have an ambidextrous safety or a left side safety only?

Pat

[FinishGuy]

Hi Pat. It has an ambi safty. I actually bought a dvd from Dawson to learn how to completly break down a 2011. He shows using a Exacto knife that has the sharp edges ground off as a pry tool. Even when I did that I could just barely see a space between the frame and the safety.

Thanks for all the replies Guys!

[Bassinvan]

Viewed from the back of the gun the left side comes off first.

[Rob01]

About 4:15 into the video he touches on safety.

[Pat Miles]

First time off for a factory ambi-safety is a bit of a battle. First off, the hammer must be cocked, then flip the safety up into the safe position. Bring the safety down about 3/16" - 1/4". I use a putty knife with masking tape on both side to start lifting the safety away from the frame WHILE wiggling it up and down. You will eventually find a position where the safety will be allowed to wiggle just a bit, this is where you just start leveraging the safety up and off. When you have the left side off you will have to take the slide off to get the right side off by rotating it upward so the "wing" comes out from under the grip.

The right side safety will probably need the "wing" filed back a bit so it will rotate back under the grip. Go slowly. If you file too much off the right side will not be captured by the grip and can come out at any time. Now take the right side out and press the two halves og the safety together. If they go together hard and have to be pulled apart hard you have two choices to fix this. You can GENTLY spread the female side with a small screwdriver so the male side goes in easier or you can file the male side so the two sides go together easier. Be very cautious spreading or filing as the spreading can break the female side or filing too much will make the fit of the two sides sloppy. You are looking for a snug fir so the left side will come out a bit easier next time. Again... go slow with which ever fitting choice you decide to go with.

Pat