1911 slide fit question

Joe Portale · April 20, 2002, 10:50 PM

I'm on my fourth 1911 and just ran into something that I haven't run into while fitting the slide.

The slide is hitting the frame at the ledge in front of the disconnector opening. The edge that I'm talking about is the edge that drops off into the mag well.

When the barrel is out of the slide, it still hits but only drags. When the barrel is in the slide it hits hard enough that the slide can not be pushed all the way back.

How do I correct this. Do I relieve the area on the slide or do I clean out some material from the frame?

And, I don't understand why the barrel in the slide (no bushing, just nested at the breech) make so much difference.

George Stringer · April 21, 2002, 07:48 AM

Joe, you obviously have a high spot on the rails but you may have squeezed the slide a bit too tight when getting it ready to fit. I would use a smooth cut file and relieve the high spot on the rails then fit the slide. The barrel even though loose may be pushing upward on the slide just enough to magnify the high spot. George

Joe Portale · April 21, 2002, 11:30 AM

Thank you, George. I never fitted the slide and frame. The match seemed to be nice with the exception of the snagging where mentioned. It threw me when the bottom of the slide hit that part of the frame. Should have known that a out of the box slide to frame perfect fit was too good to be true.

Unkel Gilbey · April 22, 2002, 03:51 PM

Joe,

I'm curious, did you take a slide (or two) from other pistols to see if there was a similar problems when they were put on your frame? This would tend to rule out if this was a slide problem, or a frame problem.

If you did have a couple of 45's to play with, you could also take measurements of the different pieces to see if there were any glaring differences. Might be that the Mk 1 eyeball could pick out the difference too.

Shooting from the hip, and injecting my personal opinion, I think that I would be more willing to alter the slide before I would think about messing with the frame.

Let us know how it all works out for you.

Unkel Gilbey

Joe Portale · April 22, 2002, 05:08 PM

Unkel Gilbey,

That was my next step. I have two new in the box frames and last night I did try the slide on both and ran into the same problem. One is worse than the other. I'm leaning towards the slide being the culprit. Time permitting, tonight I'll try a slide off a known good 1911 and see what happens. Will check in on this.

James K · April 22, 2002, 05:22 PM

The slide has to be a pretty close fit there for it to work properly with the disconnector, but it should not actually touch the frame. I would make sure there are no burrs or raised places on the frame, and if not, I would take a flat file and take a mite off the bottom of the firing pin tunnel on that slide. It shouldn't involve a lot. Then make sure the disconnector works properly so that minimal slide movement activates it.

Some new slides are made a bit oversize in areas like that to compensate for worn frames. Sounds like this might be the case with yours. This is what they mean by "may require some fitting".

Jim

April 20, 2002, 10:50 PM	#1
Joe Portale Senior Member Join Date: June 8, 1999 Location: Tucson, Arizona Territory Posts: 715	1911 slide fit question I'm on my fourth 1911 and just ran into something that I haven't run into while fitting the slide. The slide is hitting the frame at the ledge in front of the disconnector opening. The edge that I'm talking about is the edge that drops off into the mag well. When the barrel is out of the slide, it still hits but only drags. When the barrel is in the slide it hits hard enough that the slide can not be pushed all the way back. How do I correct this. Do I relieve the area on the slide or do I clean out some material from the frame? And, I don't understand why the barrel in the slide (no bushing, just nested at the breech) make so much difference. __________________ Joe Portale Tucson, Arizona Territory "Even now in heaven there are angles carrying savage weapons". - St Paul

April 21, 2002, 11:30 AM	#3
Joe Portale Senior Member Join Date: June 8, 1999 Location: Tucson, Arizona Territory Posts: 715	Thank you, George. I never fitted the slide and frame. The match seemed to be nice with the exception of the snagging where mentioned. It threw me when the bottom of the slide hit that part of the frame. Should have known that a out of the box slide to frame perfect fit was too good to be true. __________________ Joe Portale Tucson, Arizona Territory "Even now in heaven there are angles carrying savage weapons". - St Paul

April 22, 2002, 03:51 PM	#4
Unkel Gilbey Senior Member Join Date: February 26, 1999 Location: Danby, Vermont Posts: 349	Process of elimination Joe, I'm curious, did you take a slide (or two) from other pistols to see if there was a similar problems when they were put on your frame? This would tend to rule out if this was a slide problem, or a frame problem. If you did have a couple of 45's to play with, you could also take measurements of the different pieces to see if there were any glaring differences. Might be that the Mk 1 eyeball could pick out the difference too. Shooting from the hip, and injecting my personal opinion, I think that I would be more willing to alter the slide before I would think about messing with the frame. Let us know how it all works out for you. Unkel Gilbey

April 22, 2002, 05:08 PM	#5
Joe Portale Senior Member Join Date: June 8, 1999 Location: Tucson, Arizona Territory Posts: 715	Unkel Gilbey, That was my next step. I have two new in the box frames and last night I did try the slide on both and ran into the same problem. One is worse than the other. I'm leaning towards the slide being the culprit. Time permitting, tonight I'll try a slide off a known good 1911 and see what happens. Will check in on this. __________________ Joe Portale Tucson, Arizona Territory "Even now in heaven there are angles carrying savage weapons". - St Paul

April 21, 2002, 07:48 AM	#2
George Stringer Staff Alumnus Join Date: October 12, 1998 Location: Earlington KY Posts: 2,299	Joe, you obviously have a high spot on the rails but you may have squeezed the slide a bit too tight when getting it ready to fit. I would use a smooth cut file and relieve the high spot on the rails then fit the slide. The barrel even though loose may be pushing upward on the slide just enough to magnify the high spot. George

April 22, 2002, 05:22 PM	#6
James K Member In Memoriam Join Date: March 17, 1999 Posts: 24,383	The slide has to be a pretty close fit there for it to work properly with the disconnector, but it should not actually touch the frame. I would make sure there are no burrs or raised places on the frame, and if not, I would take a flat file and take a mite off the bottom of the firing pin tunnel on that slide. It shouldn't involve a lot. Then make sure the disconnector works properly so that minimal slide movement activates it. Some new slides are made a bit oversize in areas like that to compensate for worn frames. Sounds like this might be the case with yours. This is what they mean by "may require some fitting". Jim