Concerned about quality

[Quicksilver GT]

I just bought a slightly used Series 80 Lightweight Commander in .45 ACP -- blued, walnut grips, very nice. Shoots great, although it gags on some of my LSWCs, but that's a matter to chew over later.

Her's my concern: When I go to take the firing pin out to clean it and the extractor, the firing-pin retainer is so ill-fitting that it's just about locked in place. I had to drive it out with a hammer and a punch. It was a big deal getting it out of the slide. (I Have four other 1911s that have no such problems.)

Then I find that the safety plunger's hole is so poorly drilled that the plunger sticks in the hole. I had to file the retainer extensively to improve the fit, and also had to use a Dremel tool inside the plunger hole to clean it up.

My question -- isn't this thing a COLT? Aren't Colts supposed to be well-made? Is there a quality-control issue here?

[1911Tuner]

Dang! As hard as I work to arrange for press-fit firing pin stops, and here Colt is MAKIN"em that way now... :rolleyes:

When you pulled the plunger out of the slide...Did you pull the extractor slightly to the rear? If the extractor is in the right position, the plunger should pop right out...but that sucker's gotta be juuuust right. ;) If the
extractor channel is a little gunked up, the plunger may require a little help with needle-nosed pliers.

Take the Dremel out in the street and hit it with a 2-pound ball-peen hammer.
5 or 6 times oughta be about right...

Sorry if I sound a little short...I really ain't that way. It's just been a long
freakin' day. :cool:

Standin' by...

[SMMAssociates]

Tuner:

Dunno.... Big difference between "press fit" and "bash out".... :D

The safety plunger should fall out when you get things lined up right. Getting under it with needle nose pliers should be more than enough.

(Don't trash the dremel too, though - they've got other uses. :) )

(Dental work, for example....)

Regards,

[wichaka]

I hear ya about them stops..........if you don't like fitting so tight, I'll take it off your hands. Should have chimed in Tuner! :p

I'm guessin' gunked up. If they ain't cleaned regularly, they're a pain to get out.

Dremels?..............hmmmmmmmmm...........'nuff said.......

[Joni Lynn]

The firing pin stop in my series 80 got removed, all the parts along with it. I don't carry it and it was just annoying me no end.

[John]

What Tuner said. The tightest the fit of the firing pin stop, the better. It won't allow your extractor to rotate in its tunnel. And take my word, if you are not VERY VERY VERY familiar with gunsmithing, don't take a Dremel near a pistol. Don't ask how I know, almost ruined the frame of my Springfield, trying to fit a magwell. Files is your ally here.

[1911Tuner]

Okay. Keep the Dremel...but only for workin' on your teeth. :p

The stops that I use are cut to a press-fit. Not so tight that I need a hammer and a punch to move'em, but I do need to use a screwdriver to
push'em out.

Sounds like the plunger hole and/or extractor channel was gunked up...but there also could have beed an issue with the release timing of the plunger
that resulted in a rough edge or burr on the circumference of the plunger itself. Check for that. It's been fairly common on newer Series 80 Colts.
The plunger lever doesn't lift it quite high enough to clear the firing pin,
and it gets dinged up. Although not highly likely, it's possible over time for it to become roughened up enough to tie up the plunger and block the firing pin. I've run into that once...and a couple others have been borderline.
The cure is to obtain a #2 plunger lever...only available from Colt...to replace
the standard #1 that's in nearly all production guns. I've only encountered one factory Colt that had a #2 in place. Some smiths heat the arm and
put a slight upward bend in it to cause it to lift higher. If you opt to go this route, be careful. Just a slight bend...no farther than the top of the arm sitting flush with the frame when static.

The cut-out in the extractor has a small ledge that retains the plunger. If this is removed or altered, it can cause the plunger to fall out and tie up the gun or get lost when the slide recoils. The same applies if the plunger's hole in the slide is elongated just slightly through polishing or deburring. Levering the extractor rearward about a 32nd inch should release the plunger enough for it to come out.

Luck!

[Quicksilver GT]

1911 Tuner and others:

Thanks for all the comments. I had two different issues that maybe I should not have put together in one post.

First was the plunger sticking in its hole. Looking inside, I thought I saw an unevenly drilled hole, and that was the cause of the sticking plunger, rather than crud. (I first tried cleaning the hole out with solvent and pipe cleaners, but the plunger still kept sticking inside there.) It now occurs to me that there's a shoulder in the hole that I may have reduced with the Dremel to the point where it no longer prevents the plunger from going too far up inside the hole. (I hear you about the Dremel. It's a tempting li'l devil, isn't it?)

And yes, I will now check the plunger for roughness.

The danger with what I did, I'm guessing, is that the plunger may go too far up inside the hole and engage the firing pin when it shouldn't. (I just checked and it does not.) Would this have possibly led to blocking the firing pin unintentionally? If so, the crude remedy would be to just remove the thing anyway, yes? (Since I manage to struggle along with normal 1911s that don't have this useless, lawyer-driven firing-pin safety, I could maybe just dry my tears and live without it on yet another pistol.)

The other issue is the firing pin stop. That looked just plain ill-fitting to me, and the file work I did on it just made it slide in and out a little easier, rather than having to be pounded out with hammer and punch.

It also has a numeral "1" 0n the side facing the hammer. Does that mean it's a particular size?

Thanks again for all the advice.

[Dale]

I think I might know what you're talking about with that firing pin stop. I had a similar quality issue when I took my colt officer's model apart the first time. The stop was sort of canted (is that a word?) to one side. and it was kind of wedged in there that way. after prying it loose the first time now it moves more freely, but there seems to be a lot of play in there. (see photo, left= cocked to the side, right= straight) not sure if this is normal. my springer mil-spec's not like that.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y232/1911Dale/StopCant.jpg

[SMMAssociates]

Hopefully Tuner will see this, but my vote is that the firing pin stop is defective, or the cutouts in the slide are way off.

I don't think there should be more than a smidgen of play in any direction - half a thousandth or something like that. Tuner likes 'em fitted so that they don't move around at all - it can cause problems with the extractor.

I think that and binding on the firing pin are the only real problems, although yours seems to have worn unevenly while cocking the hammer. That could cause uneven wear on the hammer, although I doubt if it'd be a problem. I'd worry about the other two more, but there are timing issues there.

Regards,

[wichaka]

QuicksilverGT, if you get too frustrated with it............I know of a place where you can send it to live happily everafter...........and its not in Tuners safe either, its in mine.

[BGregory]

It also has a numeral "1" 0n the side facing the hammer. Does that mean it's a particular size?
#1 = 567571 80 series (1S if it is stainless)
#2 = 567572 80 series (2S if it is stainless)

From what I gather, the size is different between the two.

We all seem to agree Dremels are evil.
Files can be just as bad, only takes longer.

I use an India stone to fit an FP stop. Easier to keep things even and results in a straighter edge.