New grips, new leather

Shorts · July 16, 2009, 01:08 PM

I finally switched out to slim grips (Chip McC brand I picked up on a forum). I must say, they almost feel too thin. But we'll see how it goes. As for bushings, the bushing drivers were useless on staked bushings as they just torn them to shreds. Bushing metal is just too soft to stand up to the torque needed to break the stake.

Instead I taped off the frame, vised it up and took a small pair of vise grips, CAREFULLY, to the bushings in order to remove them. Don't lay the vise grips flat on the frame or you'll scratch it to bits.

Once the old GS bushing were out, I cleaned the holes & threads and applied a bit of blue loctite, then installed the bushings. Don't go overboard on the loctite and be sure to clean any extra from the frame. I didn't torque them to anything for concern of tearing up the bushing. I'll depend on the loctite for the meantime and see how it wears. If they come loose then I'll go to a heavier hand but until then, I'll wait.

We've got a range day scheduled for the 26th and I may not get to test before then. But dry fire practice with dummy rounds feels good.

The leather is the Bodhi model Monica Kuehn Leather.

July 16, 2009, 01:08 PM	#1
Shorts Senior Member Join Date: November 21, 2004 Posts: 1,484	New grips, new leather I finally switched out to slim grips (Chip McC brand I picked up on a forum). I must say, they almost feel too thin. But we'll see how it goes. As for bushings, the bushing drivers were useless on staked bushings as they just torn them to shreds. Bushing metal is just too soft to stand up to the torque needed to break the stake. Instead I taped off the frame, vised it up and took a small pair of vise grips, CAREFULLY, to the bushings in order to remove them. Don't lay the vise grips flat on the frame or you'll scratch it to bits. Once the old GS bushing were out, I cleaned the holes & threads and applied a bit of blue loctite, then installed the bushings. Don't go overboard on the loctite and be sure to clean any extra from the frame. I didn't torque them to anything for concern of tearing up the bushing. I'll depend on the loctite for the meantime and see how it wears. If they come loose then I'll go to a heavier hand but until then, I'll wait. We've got a range day scheduled for the 26th and I may not get to test before then. But dry fire practice with dummy rounds feels good. The leather is the Bodhi model Monica Kuehn Leather.