far_fast Posted April 15, 2007 Share Posted April 15, 2007 I recently purchased a NIB STI Spartan. Almost immediately i ordered a bunch of custom parts, one of which was a new S&A mag guide. When fitting this, i realized the frame is about 1/12 of an inch short or so. After some research, it turns out this was a common issue with the first batches of spartans. Now, I see some people say it does not really bother them, but i'm pretty pissed off. I would have never bought the gun had i known there was defects to it, and i would say that the frame certainly is. The magwell does not go close enough to the frame, so there's a tiny lip inside the rear of the magwell that sticks out inside. I did about 25 dry reloads yesterday, and i noticed the little lip got chewed up just from those few, and 4/10 times the little lip would stop the mag completely from entering the magwell. I spoke with a gunsmith regarding the issue, and he said that he would charge about 175 to join it up nice. I want STI to fix it for me. Give me a new frame, or smith the well to fit on the old one, i dont care. All i want is a magwell that fits. Do you think this is a reasonable request? - I mean STI admits that the first spartans had frame issues, so clearly they arent trying to hide the fact that someone somewhere messed up. One would think that they would be prepared to repair the damage some how. I will be giving STI a call tomorrow and asking them about it. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wide45 Posted April 15, 2007 Share Posted April 15, 2007 It is not damage. It is a low end gun that is a little off from standard specs. Perhaps not outside STI's specs. Demanding them to guarantee that all aftermarket parts will fit perfectly is unreasonable. Try asking them nicely, what magwell they would use that will fit without gaps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
far_fast Posted April 15, 2007 Author Share Posted April 15, 2007 It is not damage. Perhaps not damage, but a definite flaw, which was not advertised when i purchased it. the model name was 1911, not 1910 1/2 Demanding them to guarantee that all aftermarket parts will fit perfectly is unreasonable. the after market parts are irrelevant, and not to blame. The fact that they don't fit has nothing to do with the part it self, when even their stock MSH sticks out on the bottom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eerw Posted April 15, 2007 Share Posted April 15, 2007 (edited) It was disappointing to hear the frame was slightly short..you do not get the best fit of a SA magwell onto because of the small grap..also grips don't fit up either.. if you are a perfectionist..this won't do at all.. but then if you are a perfectionist..you ain't going to buy a Spartan.. here is mine and how the SA magwell fitted up..still needs a little work.. Edited April 16, 2007 by eerw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
far_fast Posted April 16, 2007 Author Share Posted April 16, 2007 That looks pretty nice, eerw. May i ask what you did? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eerw Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 flat file and dremel used a dremel stone to rough shape....straighten the wall of the magwell till it contacts the inner wall of the frame..then used a file to match it a little better..when the frame and magwell have a tighter fit..it is seamless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 The thought never occured to me that an S&A magwell would be a drop-in part on any 1911. All of my under $600 guns are Glocks...and those S&A magwells don't fit them either. Just tools. I'd blend it in and shoot it like I stole it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Cheely Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 Lots of times you have to bend the S&A magwell to get the angle right with the bottom of the frame and not have a gap near the frontstrap... I like those grips eerw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
far_fast Posted April 16, 2007 Author Share Posted April 16, 2007 I'd blend it in and shoot it like I stole it. Lots of times you have to bend the S&A magwell to get the angle right with the bottom of the frame and not have a gap near the frontstrap... Thats probably what im going to have to do unless STI have a better suggestion. thanks for your responses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFD Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 Nice to see someone else knows how to open up a magwell/frame. Locally I keep seeing what appears to be magwells that were stuck on and never touched after that. I probably have twice the opening on mine, using the SS magwell photo and the advice in Brian's book as my guide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhgtyre Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 I had to blend the S&A on my Kimber. The opening was noticeably larger when I was done. The Kimber also has a very tiny gap between the from and the magwell. It is very thin but if you hold the gun just right you can see it. I'm not going to sweat it. If I were you I would just grap some files and start removing metal. -ld Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raz-0 Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 the after market parts are irrelevant, and not to blame. The fact that they don't fit has nothing to do with the part it self, when even their stock MSH sticks out on the bottom. Well I won't blame them, but the after market parts ARE relevant. There are manufacturing tolerances which are different for different brands. Aftermarket parts tend to need some TLC to fit right because they chose to prefer on manufacturer's tolerances, or tried to average for the big names. My S&A magwell needed some filing to fit into my $1000 springfield TRP. That doesn't make it SA's fault (or S&A's either) nor do they owe me a new gun. Was I a bit disappointed? Yup, I didn't really want to file on my new $75 magwell, but that's what the warning "gunsmith installation recommended" means. You might have to file/dremel the sucker. Out of about oh.. 6 or 7 aftermarket parts, ONE has just dropped in my 1911. I suspect it was random luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Orr Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 The tiny gap really doesn't seem to make much differance... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
far_fast Posted April 16, 2007 Author Share Posted April 16, 2007 (edited) The tiny gap really doesn't seem to make much differance... I dont know about yours, but the lip inside mine completely stops the mag from entering about 40% of the time.. ETA: congrats on the victory by the way Edited April 16, 2007 by far_fast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry White Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 Your local hardeware sell files that will cure that, a few bucks ahd 10 minutes will that care ot that. Keep the file. If you keep shooting you will need it again. After market parts dont always fit, thats just a fact. You dont get a gun with perfect fit on all the parts for 660.00 bucks. Learn to correct that very small problem you have now and the others that without doubt will show up as you use your gear and you will be a better shooter for it. Looking at the pics you have posted if that were my gun it would have been fixed long ago, by me.---------Larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagz Posted April 17, 2007 Share Posted April 17, 2007 Congratulations Merlin and thanks for sharing your technique on the magwell. I'm waiting for my SVI well but I noticed you fitted your Spartan with an S&A well. What works for competition? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Orr Posted April 17, 2007 Share Posted April 17, 2007 Congratulations Merlin and thanks for sharing your technique on the magwell. I'm waiting for my SVI well but I noticed you fitted your Spartan with an S&A well. What works for competition? The gun AND the trophy are the exclusive property of Mr Benny Hill. He chose the S&A on his single stack guns so as not to offend the tender sensibilities of those who feel the SVI magwell is somehow "outside the spirit" of the 1911 handgun. Myself....I use SVI magwells on ALL of my singlestack guns... that are not built on the Caspian Race Ready frame - which prevents me from installing the worlds best magwell. (THE SVI) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemo Posted April 17, 2007 Share Posted April 17, 2007 Myself....I use SVI magwells on ALL of my singlestack guns... that are not built on the Caspian Race Ready frame - which prevents me from installing the worlds best magwell. (THE SVI) Come on... play nice Merlin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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