Recoil Spring

[a1abob]

Does anyone know what the weight is for the standard recoil spring on a RIA 1911 .45

[1911Tuner]

Barrel length? Details are important...

[John]

For a 5" it is 16 lbs.

[niemi24s]

Never could figure out why math with the recoil spring blueprint data results in 14.2 lbs at full recoil (1 5/8" compressed length) and 14.9 lbs when compressed to its "solid" lenth (1.375").

Springs are mysterious things!

[1911Tuner]

Never could figure out why math with the recoil spring blueprint data results in 14.2 lbs at full recoil


It's because 16 pounds wasn't specified in the original blueprints...by the Army Ordnance Department OR John Browning. In fact...there was never a "pound" rating specified anywhere. I don't know exactly when or how 16 pounds became the accepted standard for 5-inch guns, or 18 for Commander-length.

[niemi24s]

This is the only "official" data I've ever found on the recoil spring, and it's one of the prints from CNC Gunsmithing in the Tech Issues section:
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p232/niemi24s/Clipboard01springsharp.jpg

Earliest date on it is 1 May 28 with revisions through 1981. Heard somewhere that 1911 production started with just a JMB prototype and a few sketches, and it took years before Springfield Armory finally churned up a set of blueprints for all the parts. Most (if not all) of the Springfield Armory blueprints I've seen have this same 1 May 28 date and never saw one with an earlier date. So, maybe it took 17 years to make the plans?