Slide stop pin falling out of Colt M1911

[Reese]

What would cause the slide stop pin to fall out ? As far as I can tel I am reassembling it correctly but I am not having to align with the small notch to reassemble it. I am eyeballing the hole and inserting the slide stop when it lines up. It racked OK before and better now that it has been cleaned a bt and lubricated. Pics and original post are in the Collectors Corner, Military section
( first one ). :confused:

[doctruptwn]

Wow what is it with the slide stops lately:

Reese Read this thread it sounds like the same issue for your except yours is much older:http://forum.m1911.org/showthread.php?t=62752

[niemi24s]

The slide stop's probably broken, missing piece indicated here:http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p232/niemi24s/SlideStopa.jpg Seems to be a real epidemic of broken slide stops.

Regards

[George Smith]

Yes that is THE place for the slide stops to break.

When we were making our HD slide stop we did a couple things to address this.

First when we slice in with a slitting saw we radiused the corners so it does not leave a sharp squae inside corner.

Next under the arm that reaches in for the follower we went strait for the first 2/3 of the distance and only put the engle on the tip where it engages the follower. this adds about 1/3 more material from the bottom of the notch to the bottom surface making it stronger.

thought we would pass it along considering the current thread.

geo

www.egw-guns.com

[niemi24s]

Hi George:

Thanks for the good input. Now I know where to get a good slide stop!

IIRC, we've seen reports of 3 broken slide stops in as many weeks - all Colt. Sounds like the MBA Bean-Counters have taken over the SS dept. at Colt and are having them made out of pot metal! :D

Cheers

[boehlertaught]

I have used many EGW parts for repairs and new builds... thanks for the attention to excellence Mr. Smith

[Reese]

Well it's not the slide stop but thanks to the responses, I have come to the conclusion that the gun is pretty much just wore out. If you hold pressure on the slide to ride down against the slide stop, it stays tight ( can not just push it our with your finger) but if you let the slide go away from the stop, it just snaps right out. Hopefully the slide is what is worn the most. I'll either see if I can get another slide to test fit or find that calipers to see if the slide is what is worn the most. If so I'll probably go ahead and drop the money on a Sarco rebuild kit so I can enjoy it once in a blue moon even if only a shot or two a year.
I was amazed at the tolerance differences between the drawings and what this actually has. I bet the slide to barrel tolerance on this is around .010 or more.
Either way, it is a treasure to me, just looking at the wear in the barrel makes you think and wonder about his time ( and everyone else's ) in the war(s) and what it took to survive. I've been reading the posts on the STI's and RIA's, I'll probably get one or the other to play with.
Thanks guys.

[TattooPaul]

While it's apart, I would take time to use an eye loupe and calipers to look at the edges of the rails, not to mention barrel link fit/wear and wear overall, for that matter. Basically, with the wear and use noted in your first thread elsewhere in this forum it really needs a good once over to inspect it all. It's been well used and I think it's due for a good once over to assess overall wear and condition. To borrow a phrase from elewhere in this frum - all parts have a finite useful life. This one has been well enjoyed so I'd really check it all out, even those not related to this issue.

Rebuilding with some new parts may be one route but please be sure that whatever gets replaced gets mated to viable metal. Check it well and good luck! Hope to see some "after" pics!

[Reese]

I'm not sure if this should go here or not so here goes..

I do not have an eye loupe but I did borrow one of the kids toys, an Eyeclops which does a 200 x magnification. I could not get it to show good at all from any distance ( ie to view down in the slide ) but this is what it will do on the outer edges of the parts. Maybe one of you hard core gunsmiths could use this, maybe not ?? I figured I had to post it anyway :).
This is one of the numbers in the s/n that I took a pic of on the tv that is was being displayed on. If this extreme detail would be of use, the toy stores carry it.

http://i691.photobucket.com/albums/vv271/Reeses771/1911at200x.jpg

[niemi24s]

Hi Reese:

That's neat! Thanks for the heads up.

But, I'd advise not getting carried away with it and looking at your hammer hooks or sear nose. Probably scare the daylights outta ya! :D

Regards

[Reese]

Ha ha , no I think I'm done with it. I looked at the frame and there are no cracks in it at the stress points that were pointed out to me earlier. I'm not going to worry about checking the other parts. I think a Rock might be in my future, I'll find out tomorrow. If I do I most likely will try out the RIA's parts on this one just to see if they tighten this old dog up and stop the slide issue. I don't have the necessary tools to do what is required but I did put a set of calipers on it today, at least "part " of the slide was actually in tolerance.
I might just get this one a R.I.P. tag and put this one away, I think it deserves it.

Again, great site guys, thanks for all of the input.

[TattooPaul]

I might just get this one a R.I.P. tag and put this one away, I think it deserves it.



Might be the best and safest thing to do. No sense risking a limb or dashing good looks!