"True" drop in parts from Cylinder & Slide

[Cap]

I was looking at an ad in one of the gun mags.

C&S has a trigger group that's advertised as "true" drop in

I keep hearing there are no, or very few, "true" drop in parts for a 1911.

That begs the question, why not?

and also, should I take a manufacture's word in their ad that the trigger group really IS a "true" drop in?

Lastly, Is C&S known for top quality 1911 parts?

Thanks

..L.T.A.

[Hawkmoon]

Cylinder & Slide is, indeed, well-known for high quality parts and workmanship. I would venture to say that their "drop-in" parts are as close to true drop-in as possible, but there ain't no such critter all the time. The reason is tolerances. Things like the hammer-to-sear interface are especially delicate, and a couple of thousandths one way or another can make the differene between a drop-in part and a gunsmith fit part.

As a simple example, I have put Wilson Combat "drop-in" beavertails in two 1911s. Purely by luck, the first one did literally drop in. It needed NO fitting. The second one required filing of the safety arm ... which was clearly explained in the instructions. Fitting was expected. The "drop-in" description meant only that it wasn't necessary to machine down the frame tangs to put the beavertail on the pistol.

[Cap]

Thanks Hawk.

I know a little about manufacturing/machining.
Makes sense to me now with your explaination about where just a few thousands +/-can make a difference


..L.T.A.

[Xjetpilot]

Cylinder & Slide is, indeed, well-known for high quality parts and workmanship.

Hawk,

Luckily the search function helped me find this thread. I've been considering this kit or one similar from C&S in order to replace some MIM parts on my SA Loaded PX9109LP. Do you (or anyone else) know how these C&S kits are manufactured (i.e. - forged, cast, machined billet, etc.)? Thanks in advance.

https://shop.cylinder-slide.com/ccp51/cgi-bin/cp-app.pl?usr=51F7072753&rnd=3082885&rrc=N&affl=&cip=68.99.224.25&act=&aff=&pg=prod&ref=354&cat=43&catstr=HOME:6:43

[Hawkmoon]

Do you (or anyone else) know how these C&S kits are manufactured (i.e. - forged, cast, machined billet, etc.)? Thanks in advance.

I'm sorry, I don't know. I hope someone else can provide the information.

[wichaka]

They are very good solid steel, and even some makers use their parts for their high-end stuff.

[Dave Berryhill]

The C&S ignition parts are top notch. They are machined from bar stock tool steel on EDM and CNC machines. Their quality is excellent. (the same company that makes the parts for C&S makes my Ultimate ignition parts).

Like Hawk said, different manufacturers of 1911s have different tolerances. Most of the ignition kits will work with most pistols but you'll never know for sure until you try them. Even if the parts give you a nice trigger without any prep you may need to refit or replace your thumb safety. You also need to be able to do a thorough function and safety test of your pistol afterwards.

[socrates]

Cap, as you might have seen from a post of mine recently, I bought one of the C&S trigger pull kits and it "dropped in" perfectly, with no tweaking needed to any of the new parts. And my trigger pull went from about 6.33 lbs to about 4.33 lbs (Wichaka talked me through part of the reassembly, but that's because it was my first time, it didn't have anything to do with the kit). I will however probably have to do some refitting of my thumb safety on the ambi side, to get it to engage with the hammer and work a little more smoothly.

My perspective on this is, you should not assume that any trigger-related part like this is going to be a perfect drop-in, but that the C&S kits are very high quality and will get you as close as you can possibly get. I would definitely recommend one of these kits.

[Xjetpilot]

Thanks again gents for all your responses ;)