WidowsSon683 Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 I got my new pistol today and went to install a dawsons magwell on it. I could get it on, but it was essentially locked up at that point. Changed the factory ms to the magwell, same thing. Then i noticed the 19# wilson ms i bought for the magwell was about .25" longer. Cut it and still didnt work. Then i saw that the msh on the dawsons magwell is a solid .25" longer. WTH? Any advice or tips would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeBurgess Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 I suspect not all of the pins and springs are working well together. just to be sure you know. the mainspring housing assembly has 3 small parts in addition to the spring and housing. at the bottom of the stack is a pin thats pointed on the bottom that fits inside the spring, at the top is the main spring cap that is held in by the tiny main spring cap retaining pin make sure all these parts are assembled correctly and fitting into the mainspring like they are supposed to, also make sure the hammer strut is resting in the mainspring cap not caught on the top of the mainspring housing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anbrumm Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 I am not sure on the RO Elite, but I know my RO did, Springfields use a different mainspring housing setup. I had to buy a different spring (I think you can clip the one it comes with) and a different hammer strut cup. Here is a link to 1911Forum article where they discuss it. https://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=334332 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramnj Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 (edited) 4 hours ago, WidowsSon683 said: I got my new pistol today and went to install a dawsons magwell on it. I could get it on, but it was essentially locked up at that point. Changed the factory ms to the magwell, same thing. Then i noticed the 19# wilson ms i bought for the magwell was about .25" longer. Cut it and still didnt work. Then i saw that the msh on the dawsons magwell is a solid .25" longer. WTH? ... I had the same problem when I installed the Dawson Ice magwell on my RO. Using a file take material off the top of the MSH until it fits. Take a little at a time and check until you can insert the pin to hold the MSH in place Edited January 4, 2019 by ramnj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrydoc Posted January 5, 2019 Share Posted January 5, 2019 (edited) I have used Dawson on an RO, a Loaded, a Nighthawk, an STI Spartan and a RIA never had fitting issues. Edited January 5, 2019 by terrydoc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superslowmo Posted January 5, 2019 Share Posted January 5, 2019 My Dawson magwell slipped right on to my RO Elite without any issues. @WidowsSon683 did you get this resolved? If not, do you have pics to share? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertg5322 Posted January 5, 2019 Share Posted January 5, 2019 Never had a fitting problem with the Dawson MSH, just wish the checkering was taller/stood out more from the grip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wgj3 Posted January 5, 2019 Share Posted January 5, 2019 Doesn't SF use some kind of funky safety something for the MS cap and lower pin. Switch to standard MS cap and lower pin. Standard is shorter... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avedis Posted January 5, 2019 Share Posted January 5, 2019 Im not 100% sure if you are talking about the actual MSH being too long, or that it fits and the internals are locked-up inside If its the latter, you need to change all the internals: Standard length mainspring (weight of your choice) Mainspring housing pin retainer (that goes at the bottom of the mainspring) Mainspring cap (that goes in the top of the mainspring) You can get them from Dawson of EGW etc: http://www.egwguns.com/1911-parts/high-quality-11-pc-pin-set-blue/ https://dawsonprecision.com/pin-sets-1911-2011-by-dawson-precision/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WidowsSon683 Posted January 5, 2019 Author Share Posted January 5, 2019 1 hour ago, Avedis said: Im not 100% sure if you are talking about the actual MSH being too long, or that it fits and the internals are locked-up inside If its the latter, you need to change all the internals: Standard length mainspring (weight of your choice) Mainspring housing pin retainer (that goes at the bottom of the mainspring) Mainspring cap (that goes in the top of the mainspring) You can get them from Dawson of EGW etc: http://www.egwguns.com/1911-parts/high-quality-11-pc-pin-set-blue/ https://dawsonprecision.com/pin-sets-1911-2011-by-dawson-precision/ The mainspring housing that came with the magwell is 1/4" longer that the factory msh on the gun. Also the mainspring from the factory is 1/4" shorter than the one I ordered from Wilson combat. When I installed the spring and guts into the dawsons, then installed it onto the gun, I was able to get in installed but the gun was locked up, nothing would work. I changed parts from the factory msh to the dawsons msh, same thing. I can install it but the gun locks up. I tried with the factory retainer and cap and also the set I bought nothing worked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superslowmo Posted January 5, 2019 Share Posted January 5, 2019 (edited) 11 minutes ago, WidowsSon683 said: The mainspring housing that came with the magwell is 1/4" longer that the factory msh on the gun. Also the mainspring from the factory is 1/4" shorter than the one I ordered from Wilson combat. When I installed the spring and guts into the dawsons, then installed it onto the gun, I was able to get in installed but the gun was locked up, nothing would work. I changed parts from the factory msh to the dawsons msh, same thing. I can install it but the gun locks up. I tried with the factory retainer and cap and also the set I bought nothing worked. Pics please. Lay out the parts so we can see it all, will help to diagnose. The Dawson MSH is longer at the base for the attachment of the magwell (if I am understanding you correctly). The MSH should just slide on, matching up the hole for the retaining pin. Did you do any further disassembly? Just want to help get to the bottom of this. Edited January 5, 2019 by superslowmo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertg5322 Posted January 6, 2019 Share Posted January 6, 2019 On 1/5/2019 at 10:22 AM, wgj3 said: Doesn't SF use some kind of funky safety something for the MS cap and lower pin. Switch to standard MS cap and lower pin. Standard is shorter... This, though I believe it's just the cap that's different. Get a standard mainspring cap, along with the little pin that holds it all together and you should be GTG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdp88 Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 I had an RO Elite and never had an issue with the Dawson magwell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrydoc Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 Don' t take this any other way than it's meant, have you played and disassembled 1911 a lot? They can be a bit finicky in replacing parts if there is some movement in the internalls. As silly as it sounds check out youtube to see how some do it , I know I have and continue to do it for other guns too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ItZallGooD Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 I had to replace the spring the cap and the pin when I put an Ice mag well on my RO. The factory MSH had the safety lock stuff in it that isn’t standard issue 1911 specSent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superslowmo Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 @WidowsSon683 What did you discover in the end? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now