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Disconnector freezing the slide


matteekay

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Hey all,

 

I finally got to test fire the 2011 I've been building. It worked well, but I had an intermittent issue where the slide would hang up as long as I had the trigger pinned. As soon as I release a tiny amount of pressure, the slide snapped back into battery. I'm using the Brazos ignition kit, EGW sear spring, and a Para top end; these parts were all previously used in a 1911 I built without any issue. 

 

My thinking is that the disconnector might sight slightly higher in the Cheely frame and the slide could be catching on the non-beveled section. If that's the case, am I good to just add a slight radius to the back of the disco to help the slide move past it? Anything else I should check out?

 

As always, thanks!

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Hammer strut could be too far forward and the trigger is squeezing all the bits into it making it hard for anything to move freely.

 

Happened on a new gun I got last year. A new strut fixed it but filing it down would have also worked. 

 

 

 

 

Edited by dansedgli
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What d said.  Check your trigger bow.  Sometimes they are a little convex at the end.  I had the same problem and solved it my putting a punch of the rear of the bow (while the trigger was in the gun) and giving it a light tap with the hammer.  You only need a couple of thou to have everything clear.

 

You can also cure it by using a different grip safety.  They are not all the same.  As an example, I like the Cheely GS.  I tried putting one in a 1911 gun I was building and just would not work.  Severe binding.  Swapping it out for an EGW GS made everything work properly with no compromises.

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Appreciate the replies. Looking at it this morning, it's definitely resting on the disco, but it's the angled edge so it should be able to slide past it. It sounds like the hammer strut is my next part to check out.

 

To clarify - am I trying to reduce the "bow" of the strut so that it doesn't push as far forward (into the sear spring)? 

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If the back side of the sear spring is touching the hammer strut when the trigger is pulled all the way back then it will bind everything up. The sear spring and hammer strut should NEVER touch one another regardless of the trigger position or if the disconnector is pushed down. As others have already said, the best way to verify clearance between these parts is to remove the beaver tail so you can see how these parts are interacting with one another.

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Again, really appreciate all of the feedback.

 

I took it apart and it looks like it's a little of both issues; added together, it explains why the slide would get caught. The disconnector is presenting a few thousandths of unchamfered surface when it's in the "up" position, and the hammer strut is very lightly sitting on the sear spring when the hammer is back. I'll do a little fine-tuning and see if that fixes the problem.

 

Thank you all!

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Spent some more time on the frame today. It looks like another contributing factor is the hammer strut itself - it fell a little short and tried to sit on the upper edge of the spring cap. I reshaped it some so it's a little less curved and slightly longer but I'll probably replace it just to be safe. Right now, it's all working though. I couldn't get it to lock up and can see daylight between the strut and sear spring.

 

The last thing to solve is an annoying click from the disconnector (both right before the break and right when I begin releasing the trigger - before the true click of the trigger resetting). With the slide removed, I can see the disco "jumps" into and out of place a little. I'm going to give the EGW ball head disco a try and also see if the sear spring is interfacing a little high.

 

I also checked the bushing screws to make sure the grip isn't separating but everything is tight.

Edited by matteekay
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17 hours ago, matteekay said:

The last thing to solve is an annoying click from the disconnector (both right before the break and right when I begin releasing the trigger - before the true click of the trigger resetting).

This click is often a symptom of the disconnector making contact with it's cut out (notch) in the slide.  Paint the notch with a Sharpie or Dykem to see if this is so.  The cure will be to lengthen or deepen the notch to eliminate the contact when the trigger is pulled.

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3 minutes ago, Steve in Allentown PA said:

This click is often a symptom of the disconnector making contact with it's cut out (notch) in the slide.  Paint the notch with a Sharpie or Dykem to see if this is so.  The cure will be to lengthen or deepen the notch to eliminate the contact when the trigger is pulled.

 

I'd read that and I'm going to look into it. That's more for solving the pre-break click, right? The double click on reset can happen without the slide, so I'm guessing it's either the disco's fitment in the frame hole or the way the sear spring is interfacing with it.

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Found another problem. The trigger, an aluminum Fusion unit, didn't have an overtravel screw installed. This let it go past where it should bottom out and press further into the sear and disconnector, projecting the disco further into the slide than it should have been able to go. This was also the cause of the double-click on reset; the disco was snapping back into place from an over-extended position. With the overtravel screw in place, not only is the double click gone, but it's literally impossible to get the slide to pause on the disco (even if I pull the slide back, release the trigger, reapply pressure, and ease the slide into the disco; it immediately jumps past it). The pre-break click is still there but I'll fix that with either the EGW unit or by extending the slide channel slightly.

 

This was probably the primary problem all along and I've been hunting down exacerbating factors. So it goes with the 19/2011 platform... On the upside, I'll have a really well-turned gun when it's all said and done.

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On 12/26/2020 at 4:32 PM, matteekay said:

Found another problem. The trigger, an aluminum Fusion unit, didn't have an overtravel screw installed. This let it go past where it should bottom out and press further into the sear and disconnector, projecting the disco further into the slide than it should have been able to go. This was also the cause of the double-click on reset; the disco was snapping back into place from an over-extended position. With the overtravel screw in place, not only is the double click gone, but it's literally impossible to get the slide to pause on the disco (even if I pull the slide back, release the trigger, reapply pressure, and ease the slide into the disco; it immediately jumps past it). The pre-break click is still there but I'll fix that with either the EGW unit or by extending the slide channel slightly.

 

This was probably the primary problem all along and I've been hunting down exacerbating factors. So it goes with the 19/2011 platform... On the upside, I'll have a really well-turned gun when it's all said and done.

Just a heads up on the fusion triggers the bow and the shoe separate a lot on them. I like their triggers but after having a few do that have since stopped using them. My go to now is a geppert. 

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2 hours ago, Bakerjd said:

Just a heads up on the fusion triggers the bow and the shoe separate a lot on them. I like their triggers but after having a few do that have since stopped using them. My go to now is a geppert. 

 

Appreciate that. I'm really trying to build this gun for reliability (well, as far as 2011's go) so I might replace it. I like most Fusion parts but this one doesn't seem to be especially well-made.

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1 hour ago, matteekay said:

 

Appreciate that. I'm really trying to build this gun for reliability (well, as far as 2011's go) so I might replace it. I like most Fusion parts but this one doesn't seem to be especially well-made.

No worries man. Honestly the only two trigger we trust are SVI, BUL  and Geppert. The Geppert IMO is the best one available currently. The ammount of small adjustment to fit the shooter is awesome, the bow comes in a hard plastic case and of the 10 or so I've opened right from the package have been perfect. The serrations on the front of the shoe are great, at least on the long and medium flat. The SVI and BUL shoes are both interchangeable while in the frame/grip. The bow on either one are good but usually require a trigger bow die to get perfect. 

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I had the exact same thing happen to one of my limited guns when I replaced a cracked grip (plastic STI). The issue on mine was the over travel on the trigger. The trigger had too much overtravel with the new grip and was pinning the connector. Once I adjust the the overtravel screw on the trigger the issue was fixed. 

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4 hours ago, cindynles said:

I had the exact same thing happen to one of my limited guns when I replaced a cracked grip (plastic STI). The issue on mine was the over travel on the trigger. The trigger had too much overtravel with the new grip and was pinning the connector. Once I adjust the the overtravel screw on the trigger the issue was fixed. 

 

That was about 90% of my issue. I also had to bend the bow a little as it would get stuck in the frame (the metal one, not the grip) when fully depressed.

 

I installed the EGW disconnector and gave everything a final tuning. All dry fire tests are good - no weird clicks or anything - and I'm hoping to do some live fire tomorrow.

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