Kimberkid Posted December 20, 2004 Share Posted December 20, 2004 The slide to frame fit on my new STI Trojan feels very chunky, and not smooth in the least. It seems like I might run, and I am starting to see a glimmer of hope. I am considering lapping the slide and frame to give it the ultra glass smooth slickness that I find on most smith built guns. A friend of mine looked into some basic 1911 manual he had and it recommended the use of JB lapping compound which he happened to have on hand and loaned to me. It suggests the use of this compound and oil, then racking the slide about a million times, and supposedly it makes it super slick. Is this a bad idea? Is it going to make it smooth by taking away a bunch of metal and making it smooth but loose? Is there any other steps to this process? I would really love if Mr. Londrigan or Mr. Hill would chime in with some insights. Thanks a ton everyone... Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted December 20, 2004 Share Posted December 20, 2004 JB and oil is how I lapped the slide-to-frame fit on the 1911 I built.. But.. the slide didn't even slide entirely onto the frame when I started the process, so I had some metal to work with. Since JB does remove metal, albeit slowly, it will smoother the rough spots, at the cost of looser fit. Which do you prefer? You also need to be careful that one high-spot doesn't end up lapping the whole rest of the slide or frame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brazos Custom Posted December 20, 2004 Share Posted December 20, 2004 Take the entire gun apart down to just the slide and frame and check the fit this way. A lot of times it is something else causing the problem not the slide to frame fit. If you get it down to just the slide and frame and it is still dragging check the ejector for drage marks or take the ejector out and check again - the ejector dragging is real common. If it still is a problem send it back to STI they will make good on it. Once a slide is moving back and forth on the frame easily lapping it further will just loosen it. It doesn't really get smoother. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimberkid Posted December 20, 2004 Author Share Posted December 20, 2004 Thanks Bob, I did take it all down before I posted and checked it all. The ejector does not appear to be dragging, but it is very close. Where it picks up the disconnector there is a very noticeable hitch, I wondered if this was excessive and a friend said no and that with time it wont be so noticeable. I think I will hold of on the lapping til I get some more rounds in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted December 20, 2004 Share Posted December 20, 2004 Kimberkid, You confused me a bit there. You say your tore it all the way down, but felt the disconnector? I think you will want to take the disco out as well (along with the hammer...and the fp stop in the slide). I feel a "disco hitch" in a lot of people's 1911-type guns. They seem to run fine though. Bob, what is a good test for slide the frame fit/binding? I am thinking that, when making a first fit, the slide should just fall off the frame when the rails are turned vertical? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlos Posted December 20, 2004 Share Posted December 20, 2004 Kimber kid wrote: " The ejector does not appear to be dragging" In addition to the disassembly that Flex indicated, go ahead and remove the ejector as Bob suggests. Then check slide to frame fit. C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diehli Posted December 20, 2004 Share Posted December 20, 2004 I feel a "disco hitch" in a lot of people's 1911-type guns. They seem to run fine though. Jojo's Steel Challenge gun's slide can be held back by the disconnector if you ease the slide onto it... the spring is that light. [/thread drift] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackdragon Posted December 20, 2004 Share Posted December 20, 2004 A 6# spring will do that! Mine does the same thing. Ivan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted December 20, 2004 Share Posted December 20, 2004 Bob, what is a good test for slide the frame fit/binding?I am thinking that, when making a first fit, the slide should just fall off the frame when the rails are turned vertical? What I've gone with is a bare, newly-fitted slide ought to be able to slide forward and backwards on a stripped, lightly oiled frame under the influence of gravity alone as you tip the frame back and forth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted December 20, 2004 Share Posted December 20, 2004 Shred is right on with that one. Though I do like it to be a little tighter at the lock up location. I lap mine on until I can get it almost all the way to the lockup position then take it back over the lock up position and I try not to really go over that spot too much more. I find this helps keep it a little tighter there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimberkid Posted December 21, 2004 Author Share Posted December 21, 2004 Thanks guys for the info. I took out the barrel, guide rod, recoil spring and slide stop and when put vertically the slide aint even close to falling off. I hesitated to take the disconnector and ejector off because that is where I venture into unknown territory, and I really dont wanna go to my gunsmith's house with a box of parts and tell him "it happened again", with "it" being me. I guess the final question is should I keep shooting it til it is fully broke in, then send it back to STI if it is still that way, or should I send it to STI now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dead Buff Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 I would shoot it for at least a couple of thousand rounds. If it doesn't jam then 99% of what should be done has been done. If it by then doesn't feel right, by all means polish and smooth it. If you see above normal wear during the first 1000 or so shots send it to STI. There is the fence sitting answer.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimel Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 How many rounds through it thus far? If less than 500 then keep shooting it. If over 1000 then it probably needs to go visit STI. You can start fights with opinions on how many rounds it takes to properly "break in" a gun so I won't do that here. Does it run reliably? If so, then just keep shooting it for another 500 rounds and see if it will break in. If not...off to STI it goes. Another thing to check is for burrs left on either the rails or the slide itself from the milling operations. It is amazing what can get missed during QC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimberkid Posted December 21, 2004 Author Share Posted December 21, 2004 Thanks guys for the feedback. It is at about 250 rounds right now, so I realize that is still pretty fresh. I understand the idea of break in, but until now I have never had a new gun that didnt run 100% out of the box. I know that $1,000 doesnt matter to STI, but to me that is still a lot of money. I guess I am just crazy enough to think that when you pay good money you get a gun that runs. The only reason I did this thread was because I didnt really think break in would improve the slide to frame fit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayson@IGF Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 If you do decide that it needs to be lapped, take it completely apart and while you are lapping only move the slide back and forth where it is tight. No use in running the slide back and forth the entire length if it is just snug in one spot. You could cause it to be loose at the ends by removing material from those areas. JBs bore compound is really mild so you probably wouldnt hurt anything, but it could happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcoliver Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 The slide to frame fit on my new STI Trojan feels very chunky, and not smooth in the least I'm not really sure what you mean by chunky but before I discovered SG, working my slides felt crunchy. Turns out putting SG on the recoil spring and rod makes things move a lot better and smoother. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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