Fitting the pads on a Kart barrel

[faraim]

How should the pads on the Kart barrel be shaped? I rounded mine and although they are uneven I have 1/4 contact. The bottom lugs have excellent contact, an the lockup is as tight as a safe. Should I try to increase the bearing area by flattening out the pads? Should there be a wee bit of play at lockup? This is a target/ range toy only. Thanks

[niemi24s]

Hi Faraim: :wc: to the Forum!

Think about how the link gets the barrel up into the slide when the gun goes to battery. The back end of the barrel arcs up and forward and it's highest spot is the top of an arc. This means the barrel fitting pads are rather gently deposited on their mating surfaces in the slide - they don't bang into each other very much (if at all).

Because there's little or no banging/impact the bearing areas are not subjected to much peening. Any wear the pads would get would be due to their sliding back & forth on the slide if there's any "endshake" in the barrel (or difference between static & dynamic headspace).

Anything you do now to increase their bearing area will decrease the tightness of the lockup you now have, and a target/range needs no play at lockup. And if they do wear due to sliding, they'll take the shape of what they're sliding against anyway.

I wouldn't fiddle with it any more. Shoot & enjoy.

Regards

[faraim]

Thanks for the info. I looked at the inside of the slide and I have even shiny wear spots on the slide lugs where the pads are touching. I've shot it a few times for function testing, but haven't mounted my sights yet.