Repairing striped busing threads on frame..

[Anarx]

Well i went and striped the threads for the Grip screw busing on the frame.. they looked like they where a bit buggerd up to begian with..

is there slightly oversized bushings out there? so i can just dill out and retap? or am i going to have to resort to something else?

And if theres anouther way what and how do i do it.

Thanks in advance

Jess

[John]

Unfortunatelly, you have to get the oversized bushings. If memory serves me right, you have to drill that hole to the proper diameter and then use a tap which matches the oversized bushings thread, to recreate the threads. It's been long since I did this, so memory is not very helfpul as far as sizes etc., sorry.

[Farnorth]

Anarx, If you look in the Brownells catalog you'll find an oversized tap and bushing setup. It says all you have to do is run the tap through the existing hole (no drilling) and install the new oversized bushings. Make SURE you run the tap through exactly straight. Crooked bushings are no good in the frame. I use red locktite to set the bushings in all my frames, others don't, it's up to you. You might consider getting the driver bits for your size bushings, normal or slim, to keep from distorting the screw slots or scratching your frame. Greg

[nicholst55]

The Army was silver soldering new bushings into stripped frames by the time the M1911A1 was taken out of service - I repaired several that way. If properly done it doesn't show from the outside. Just be certain to clean things up with a file inside the mag well, otherwise the mag may not go in.

[chumseibel]

Just last night, I removed the bushings on a new Kimber--stripped two of them just screwing them out; some permanent lock-tite? I've done this on a half dozen Kimbers before without problems. Any suggestions?

[Ericthenorse]

I would suggest sending it straight to kimber and having them fix it right... There is no excuse for a bushing on a NEW gun to strip on the way out... :nono:

[brickeyee]

"There is no excuse for a bushing on a NEW gun to strip on the way out..."

The threads can easily be damaged if the bushings were staked in. Those are very shallow threads (major .2360 min, minor .21798+0.0018) and 60 per inch.
On older guns with staked bushings they often need to be drilled out to prevent frame damage.
Drill out with around a #3.

[Hawkmoon]

Regarding the use of Loc-Tite: Red Loc-Tite is intended for permanent installations. It can be removed, but it requires heat as well as torque to do so. I'm a Jeep hobbyist as well as a 1911 enthusiast. I don't even own any red Loc-Tite. Blue (medium strength) is adequate for anything I have ever encountered, and does not require heat to remove if/when it becomes necessary.

[ColtAllure]

I have stripped the bushings on an Aluminum framed Colt, then installed the oversized bushings, and then stripped them. I wound up epoxying the bushings in, and epoxying the grips to the frame as well.
I'll burn the grips off if I ever want to remove them :)

CA

[brickeyee]

Fine threads in softer metals like aluminum alloys are almost always a problem.
In softer materials coarser threads are preferred. This is a problem since everyone wants to use the same bushing, and there is very little metal in the frame to thread anyway (probably the reason for the 60 threads per inch in the first place).
Even a steel thread insert is going to have problems in the thin frame material.
The usual method would be to switch to a rivet, but there is not enough clearance inside the mag well for any significant metal to extend the threads.

[Ericthenorse]

I have never seen anyone using a rivit...... Does not sound like "the usual method" to me??

[brickeyee]

I was refering to the usual method in mechanical design of getting threads into thin metal.
It will not work on a 1911 since the mag needs all the clearnace in the frame.

[Azrael256]

There is no excuse for a bushing on a NEW gun to strip on the way out I've never seen a screw strip on the way out, and I've stripped more than my share of screws. If it ain't installed right, it's already stripped, you just find out by removing it. Keep that in mind when you go to install bushings.

Before you go rethreading anything, and this applies to more than guns, try chasing the threads. A thread chaser is preferable, but a tap will work if you're real careful. If the threads are obviously buggered up real bad, or the bushing won't sit steady, then go ahead and oversize tap.

[brickeyee]

" I've never seen a screw strip on the way out,"

The bushings are not a simple screw in a hole. They are intended to be staked in. The upset metal from the staking can easily damage the threads on the way out. More so in alloy frames with a steel bushing and its stake being driven across the threads.