Interesting. Very interesting indeed, as I may just go ahead and do that this summer.Originally Posted by JRV
Interesting. Very interesting indeed, as I may just go ahead and do that this summer.
"You win 100% of the fights you avoid. If you're not there when it happens, you don't lose." - William Aprill
"I've owned a guitar for 31 years and that sure hasn't made me a musician, let alone an expert. It's made me a guy who owns a guitar."- BBI
Very cool, I’ll look that up.
I have a basic Springfield (Garrison) which I’m happy with as a ‘fun’ gun, but am always interested in tinkering with upgrades. When y’all talk about ‘proper parts’, besides the fitting etc, what would be on the list? A hammer and sear perhaps, from EGW or Wilson? Extractor? FPS?
Mainly the fire control group, yes. Often, a slide stop and thumb safety as well as proper springs are a good idea. Depending on the factory setup, barrel fitment and correct link sizing. Very often, fitting a bushing will pay dividends.
For hammer/sear/disconnector sets Harrison Custom is excellent.
We may lose and we may win, but we will never be here again.......
Plus 1000. I bought a Harrison Design 1911 Ignition Set directly from Mr. Harrison and it was a drop-in set even though he does say they may require fitting. That set made for the best 1911 trigger in my collection and past 1911s of my collection. Highly recommended!
I have a Nowlin set in my CCO, and it has been a great set up.
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Long story short, I had to fit a grip safety (+trigger, +grip housing) ALL BY MYSELF!!!
Didn't use youtube either.
Here is my bubba story:
STI/2011 - I changed the grip and trigger. When it went together, the GS would get depressed and click into place, never to pop out. At first I thought it was the new grip module and sanded a little here and there. Nope. Then I tried to old grip module - same problem. What the hell? It was late last night and I put my precious into the safe, in pieces. Sad.
Today I tried again. Used a headlight (flashlight headband) to try and see what was going on. Thought it was the sear spring that was somehow getting messed up. The GS was locking without the spring at all... what the hell? It was getting stuck on the back of the trigger bow once activated, so then it was defeated 100% of the time.
I had adjusted the pretravel on the trigger and it moved the bow aft and that was enough to bind GS. I was able to finally see this with the headlight. Did some light filing on the back of the trigger bow and then the leg on the GS. Viola!
The grip safety works but is disengaged pretty quickly. The good news is that I now understand how the GS works with the trigger, and how adjusting the trigger pre-travel can mess with that geometry.
Probably stuff you 1911 guys already knew. Yeah, this is not a Glock with plug and play parts. I am still in the dark on how the trigger/sear/disconnector work.
Last edited by rayrevolver; 12-27-2022 at 02:53 PM.
After installing some new parts, I experienced very stiff operation of Ambi Thumb safety on my Springfield Armory Garrison/.45. that I think I got resolved with some online help.
I bought my 1911 mostly as a range gun, but also to learn how they work. Recently, I purchased a Wilson Combat Bullet Proof Deluxe Sear, A-2 (Item #314) and Ultralight Skeletonized Hammer (Item #337B ), as a trigger group upgrade to the factory SA MIM parts. It helped that the parts were on sale at 25% off (I got both parts for $64 plus shipping), and I have had good luck with previous WC orders. Previous to this, my local smith (Brandon Bunker) had installed my WC BP Ambi safety and FO sight. While I am for sure not a gunsmith, this time I decided to try and have a go at fitting the sear and hammer myself, to save some money and as a skill development exercise for me.
While the parts went in with no issue, after installing the sear and hammer, using the Ambi Safety was quite a chore. The axle would insert, but it was very hard to get in, and very very stiff to engage and disengage, with a slight "hitch" to the upward movement. I spent a couple days thinking about why this was so. I even removed all the new parts, and reinstalled them one at a time (I got pretty good at taking it apart and putting it together). I ended up realizing the primary issue was the left hand TS piece interacting with the new sear. Although they looked very close to the original parts, there was something just slightly off going on.
Finally after looking around for good online sources of instruction, I happened on this video by Jason Burton of Heirloom Precision, who explained the process he used to fit a Thumb Safety. The process Jason described of fitting on the axle was exactly what I was experiencing:
I examined the sear lug of the left hand part of my thumb safety. Sure enough, I saw some uneven wear there, indicating incorrect contact with the sear, and the cause of the stiff operation, as per the video. I placed the part in my block, and used my Grobet USA 6" #4 file to take a few few strokes (4 maybe), keeping the file parallel to the opposite side of the sear lug. I reinserted the part into the gun. It was better but still a little stiff, so I removed it and took a few more file passes (2 maybe). I polished where I filed with a little Flitz held on a finger, to give it a bit of a shine. After final assembly, it worked much better, up and down, and the hitch was almost gone.
The rotation of the TS went from "Almost Impossible with Two Fingers" to "stiff but manageable with a thumb". I think I could have removed some more material, but I decided to leave it as is for now, and go shoot it. I am assuming the metal will wear in even more, and hopefully result in a crisp operation after a few hundred more rounds, but it is much, much better than I started.
The location of where I filed on the part is circled in red, below. The orientation angle of the file, at left, is the angle I filed at (file rotated 90 degrees, obviously.) I filed straight across the surface, holding the part steady in my block.
Some other things I noticed: The right hand piece of the WC TS "catches" into a small teeny hex screw. The screw head actually rests in a slot, so removal of the right hand piece means you rotate it up all the way, so the screws reaches the slot milled there. Very clever. The two pieces also join in two keyed slots, on both ends. It appears to be a very secure design. (Bear in mind this is literally the first TS on a 1911 I've ever seen close up or taken apart, so I have very little for reference.)
Anyway, it was an interesting couple of days working this out, so I thought I would share in case it helped someone out with the same issue.
Last edited by RJ; 01-02-2023 at 12:18 PM.
This latest turn in the thread reminds me of advice given to me decades ago by one of the big name gun writers. I had written in to a gun magazine (pre-internet days) asking about Auto Ordinance 1911s, and was given this advice: If you buy one, the first thing you need to do before shooting it is to dismount the slide and hold the frame over the garbage can, then pull the pins and invert the frame, allowing everything inside the frame drop into the garbage. Then set the frame aside and remove the firing pin retainer, and perform the same actions with the contents of the slide. Then order replacement parts from Colt and learn how to fit the replacement parts properly. I had to paraphrase this reply since this was a long time ago, pre-internet, pre-parts available everywhere. In a later issue of the same magazine, this advice was quoted and repeated by another writer who also advised dropping the slide, barrel, and receiver in the trash.
I didn't buy the gun. IIRC, the magazine was either the original, early SWAT Magazine, or same era American Handgunner.
Malo periculosam, libertatem quam quietam servitutem
I prefer the tumult of liberty to the quiet of servitude
-Thomas Jefferson
I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery.
@RJ - good work. Fitting the sear engagement lug on a thumb safety is a skill every 1911 user should have along with adjusting the travel on the grip safety. If you decide to remove any more material make sure you go slow -- remove just a bit then test -- because as soon as you remove too much material the part is ruined.
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