baa Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 (edited) As with most things, its usually good to start at the beginning. I bought a Safariland 012 holster about a year ago. It was on-sale (red and left handed, go figure) and as I had just started shooting limited, I thought it would be a great idea. A couple empty gun drops during local matches turned me off the holster for some reason. So, I bought a Blade-Tech drop and offset holster the other week and got it on Thursday. I took it out today to practice my draws. All was well. It seems quick and secure. At the end of the practice session I decided to check the how well it retains the gun at a sprint. So, I took off at a full sprint (with an unloaded pistol!) Welp, as it turns out, while the new holster has better retention features, its not perfect. Out comes my unloaded Para which tumbles into the sand. Yay! On the upside I made it 25 yards! So, I get home and do my normal cleaning on the pistol. Keep in mind that I have never fully stripped the receiver of a 1911 before. Ever. I have been scared of this prospect for a long time. But hey, I guess tonight was the time to master that fear and strip the gun down to its parts. Not that I had any choice. I have a match tomorrow AM and pulling the trigger was like rubbing sandpaper on sheet metal. My friend had recently installed the Brazos trigger group into my P16. As all of you experienced shooters know, this means converting the gun from Series 80 to Series 70 and that involved a shim to fill the gap where the firing pin safety system thingie used to sit. The trigger is super sweet, breaking clean at just under 3lbs. I love it! So, I load up the www.m1911.org pages and follow the somewhat helpful instructions. That's probably not fair. The directions are great for disassembly but not so much for re-assembly. And the directions were for a Series 80 pistol. And nowhere was this freaking shim mentioned anywhere! I got everything taken apart, cleaned it all up, and proceeded to spend the next 2 hours struggling to get the shim, disconnector, and sear put back in place. ARGGH! I finally managed to get everything to line up. And then the shim rotated out of position while putting the hammer pin back. And so I started over. And then I get everything re-assembled (finally!) and the hammer freely rotated and would not catch on the sear. So, I took everything apart again... etc, etc. A couple more complete disassembly and reassembly cycles and I got everything back together and working. Everything function checked correctly and trigger pull feels silky smooth again. So, assuming the gun does not go full auto in the morning, I should be good to go. Can it function check and still go full auto? I guess I will find out in about 9 hours! So, besides sharing my exciting evening, I hopie to get some additional help. I think I have the tear down/reassembly part down at this point, but can anyone share a tip/trick/knack for putting the disconnector/sear/shim together? Besides like using glue or something?? Hmm, I could glue the freaking shim to the frame.... Thanks for any help! And next time I test retention on a holster, it will be in a grassy field! Edited February 25, 2007 by baa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry White Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 (edited) That shim fits inside the frame at the right side of the sear. It has two holes in it, they are diffrent sizes. The larger hole is for the pin that holds the hammer. the small hole is for the pin that holds the sear. Lay the shim on the outside of the frame(right side) and move it around until the holes line up, as you have found out it will only fit one way. You may have to try several times but at some point the lite will come on. A tooth pick can help line all the holes up.--------Larry PS tighten the screws on the holster. Edited February 25, 2007 by lkytx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentlemanJim Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 Im not the only one to get upset with ser 80 paper clip tooth pics and lay frame on table right side down +10 on Larry finding how it fits Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe4d Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 I put mine together like this, Lay gun on right side insert shim install hammer pin, ( the larger one) put disconector up through hole then install sear wiggle, holding gun so you can see daylight through sear rin hole wiggle it around to line up install sear pin through sear disconector and frame, now remove hammer pin install hammer put in pin, fully lower hammer, flip up hammer strut install sear spring, slide MSH on enough to hold spring in place, slide MSH up until hammer strut is lined up with Main spring cap then cock hammer, letting MSH slide down but keeping hammer strut in place install grip safety and thumb safety push up on MsH while pulling trigger to lower hammer install MSH retaining pin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryan45kim Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 I JB Weld all my shims in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemo Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 I JB Weld all my shims in place. That's way too risky for me! OTOH, back when I used a Colt and then a Para, I used to dab a little grease to the starboard side of the shim so it would stick to the inside of the frame. I remember having disassembled the pistola and the shim never came out of alignment. There's a trick for ya' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckS Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 Yup, grease does it for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSMITH Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 Unrepenting greaser here too. I glue the disconnector to the bow with grease even, that way I can move the frame around without the disconnector falling out while I am putting the sear in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadetree Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 As far as the gun retention goes I have an old safariland 008 I got from a friend. At first I thought that the tensionblock was worn out. I put the p14 in it would slip out while moveing. Then I tried it with my kimber. No problem at all the gun stayed right where it was supposed to be. Hell I had the tension so high for the para that the kimber was hard to draw. I think (although I have not taken any measurements) that the para trigger gaurd is shapped just a little differently than the kimber or any other standard 1911. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ima45dv8 Posted February 26, 2007 Share Posted February 26, 2007 Greaser -- guilty as charged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittlePistol Posted February 26, 2007 Share Posted February 26, 2007 You think the shim is bad, try disassembling the gun and having all the "pieces" that shim replaces fall out onto the table!!! Now, I don't dare take my Series 80 all the way down without adult supervision! LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike cyrwus Posted February 26, 2007 Share Posted February 26, 2007 I would just practice assembly/disassembly; it gets easier with time. I would never let JB weld touch any of my guns; thats crazy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SA Friday Posted February 26, 2007 Share Posted February 26, 2007 I was going to mention using grease to hold it in place, but..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin c Posted February 26, 2007 Share Posted February 26, 2007 So was I... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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