konkapot Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 Long story short. Gun needed a new barrel. Gun arrived back from gunsmith with new barrel. Slide now sits in such a way that the thumb safety will not flip up; the notch in the slide is slightly too far to the rear. What would cause this to happen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 A s#!tty gunsmith? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ltdmstr Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 Bottom lugs on barrel weren't cut correctly. Assuming that's all that's wrong, it should be an easy fix for a competent 'smith (meaning, not the same guy). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
konkapot Posted January 19, 2022 Author Share Posted January 19, 2022 Will it effect function? Can I shoot it like this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ltdmstr Posted January 19, 2022 Share Posted January 19, 2022 Are you serious? You don't use a firearm when the safety doesn't work. And in case that's not clear, it means NO. As for the gunsmith who did the work, he's an absolute idiot to send it out like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
konkapot Posted January 19, 2022 Author Share Posted January 19, 2022 I was unclear. If I were to remove a very small amount of material from the slide the safety would function properly. Strictly focusing on the improperly cut barrel. Agreed on the gunsmith; he's done good work for me regularly since 2009, hence me using him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outerlimits Posted January 19, 2022 Share Posted January 19, 2022 (edited) 10 minutes ago, konkapot said: I was unclear. If I were to remove a very small amount of material from the slide the safety would function properly. Strictly focusing on the improperly cut barrel. Agreed on the gunsmith; he's done good work for me regularly since 2009, hence me using him. i would not do that! the reason is the barrel is not fitted correctly. aint out of battery, but still not closed. do not do what you are thinking. Edited January 19, 2022 by outerlimits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ltdmstr Posted January 19, 2022 Share Posted January 19, 2022 You can use a 3/16 file to cut the lugs a little deeper (horizontally) if you want to do it yourself. Just do a couple strokes at a time, clean, check, and repeat as necessary until the safety engages. Use red or blue marker on the lugs to ensure you're filing both sides evenly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yigal Posted January 19, 2022 Share Posted January 19, 2022 6 hours ago, ltdmstr said: Bottom lugs on barrel weren't cut correctly. Assuming that's all that's wrong, it should be an easy fix for a competent 'smith (meaning, not the same guy). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barry Posted January 19, 2022 Share Posted January 19, 2022 Did gunsmith have complete gun? Lug cut could be off by a.001" or so. If he didn't have safety to see that you may want to talk to him before trashing him on this forem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
konkapot Posted January 19, 2022 Author Share Posted January 19, 2022 He did have the complete gun. In addition to the poor workmanship issue described above, he told me that he test-fired it before return. Obviously not the case. I'm not trashing him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHA-LEE Posted January 20, 2022 Share Posted January 20, 2022 Get it to a competent 1911/2011 gunsmith. If the lower lugs were not cut properly then who knows what else wasn’t done right. You need someone to assess the whole thing to make sure there isn’t additional issues to resolve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuayThaiJJ Posted January 20, 2022 Share Posted January 20, 2022 https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools-supplies/handgun-tools/barrel-tools/barrel-fitting-tools/1911-lug-fitting-kit-prod18787.aspx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verla Posted January 20, 2022 Share Posted January 20, 2022 Send the pistol to Benny Hill in Corpus Christi, TX. It is worth paying a competent smith to "fix" it. I would not shoot the pistol the way it is, you may hurt yourself. Would have reservations about using the initial gunsmith again- does not sound like he knows what he is doing especially if he claims he test fired the pistol before returning it to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzt Posted January 20, 2022 Share Posted January 20, 2022 Do not use the Brownell's lug cutter. It could end up taking material off the 'flat' messing up the lockup. As ltdmstr suggests, you can do this yourself. I have done it by hand several times. I will say that on the last BarSto barrel there was so much to remove I did use the lug cutter. If George has too long a wait time, try it yourself. Just be careful. Charles uses a nice barrel fitting jig on his mill. If he happens to have one set up he will move you ahead He did that for me once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
konkapot Posted January 20, 2022 Author Share Posted January 20, 2022 I am done with the original smith for sure. I've reached out to two smiths recommended to me; no response yet. Will update Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
38super Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 Not all parts are the same, slide overhang is not unusual. Over cutting lower lugs to align slide/frame is not a good reason. What's cheaper, trim thumb safety to fit or rework by another 'smith. I am assuming lower/upper lugs were properly mated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzt Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 23 hours ago, 38super said: Not all parts are the same, slide overhang is not unusual. Over cutting lower lugs to align slide/frame is not a good reason. What's cheaper, trim thumb safety to fit or rework by another 'smith. I am assuming lower/upper lugs were properly mated. You cut the bottom lugs so the safety will engage in the slide. Some slides are intentionally long to allow for blending. Caspian is a good example. They typically leave and extra .030"+ on the rear. Cutting the lugs longer to match the slide with the frame is decidedly not a good idea. Cutting it so short the safety will no engage is also incorrect. The OP's bottom lugs were not cut long enough. That is what needs to get fixed. Modifying the slide and/or the safety is NOT the correct approach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donnyglock Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 3 hours ago, zzt said: You cut the bottom lugs so the safety will engage in the slide. Some slides are intentionally long to allow for blending. Caspian is a good example. They typically leave and extra .030"+ on the rear. Cutting the lugs longer to match the slide with the frame is decidedly not a good idea. Cutting it so short the safety will no engage is also incorrect. The OP's bottom lugs were not cut long enough. That is what needs to get fixed. Modifying the slide and/or the safety is NOT the correct approach. You are incorrect. You don’t just cut the lower lugs so the safety engages. There are direct measurements to shoot for when cutting the length of the feet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzt Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 7 minutes ago, donnyglock said: You are incorrect. You don’t just cut the lower lugs so the safety engages. There are direct measurements to shoot for when cutting the length of the feet. Yes, and that measurement always allows the left thumb safety to engage. Sorry I put it in layman terms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donnyglock Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 7 minutes ago, zzt said: Yes, and that measurement always allows the left thumb safety to engage. Sorry I put it in layman terms. Lol. Let’s agree to disagree on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EEH Posted January 27, 2022 Share Posted January 27, 2022 19 hours ago, donnyglock said: Lol. Let’s agree to disagree on this. I’ve seen a couple guns this guy did, let’s just say they gogogo. send it here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
konkapot Posted January 27, 2022 Author Share Posted January 27, 2022 One of the things that bothered me was that the alleged test firing after the repair probably didn't happen. A gun that doesn't have a working thumb safety is clearly not ready to ship back to the customer. Another thing that gave me the itchies was that the original builder of the gun was a very well known, long time gunsmith. So we have one legit gunsmith AND one lesser smith......neither of whom could fit the barrel properly. It's cliche to say, and applies to probably all the trades, but it's hard to find skilled craftsmen these days. Get off my lawn, kids these days, etc etc etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzt Posted January 27, 2022 Share Posted January 27, 2022 1 hour ago, konkapot said: So we have one legit gunsmith AND one lesser smith......neither of whom could fit the barrel properly. It's cliche to say, and applies to probably all the trades, but it's hard to find skilled craftsmen these days. So what are you going t do? It is hard to find a good gunsmith who is accepting new work. You may be better off sending it back to one of the guys who did the work and have them fix it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
konkapot Posted January 28, 2022 Author Share Posted January 28, 2022 Spoke to Benny Hill on the phone today; reasonable man to talk to and willing to take on the job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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