Disassembly

Reassembly

1911 Reliability Secrets©2000 , John L. Marshall
The 1911 pistol, John Browning’s large-caliber pistol triumph, is both lauded and condemned in the firearms world. It’s lauded for its power, simplicity, excellent trigger, and reliability under adverse conditions. It’s condemned as being antiquated, heavy, over-powerful, and not always reliable with specialty ammo. Some say it’s not optimally safe in the hands of the untrained, but I’d have to say that NO pistol is safe in the hands of one who is untrained it its use.
Yet in spite of some detractors, the 1911, or Government Model, is the most ubiquitous combat pistol on the planet, being made by scores of manufacturers and spawning a huge aftermarket accessory industry all its own. As a combat or self-defense arm, it is THE pistol of choice of the professionals. Ask any expert, and he or she will tell you that in the hands of one schooled in its use, a properly-set-up 1911 pistol in .45 ACP caliber is unparalleled in efficacy.
Still, few firearms professionals will use a 1911 just as it comes from the box. The prime consideration in a self-defense pistol on which you must stake your life is reliability, and the 1911s the experts carry have been tweaked to make them as close to 100% reliable as human hands can make them. Although the classic 1911 design is extremely reliable with G.I. hardball ammunition, reliability with modern ammo of softpoint, hollowpoint or semiwadcutter design can be a sometimes thing. To its credit, the original design of the pistol will digest some pretty wild ammo designs almost all the time, but "almost all the time" is definitely not good enough when you must stake your life on a handgun. It must work all the time, every time with whatever you want to feed it!
Here we will examine the things you, as the owner of a new-in-the-box 1911 can do to make it ultimately reliable. Most of the things we will discuss can be done with hand tools, or in some cases a high-speed miniature hand tool such as the Dremel. While these techniques require a modicum of skill and care, they are not beyond the realm of most amateur craftsmen. We will examine each part of the 1911 design which can be modified for optimum reliability, and why the modifications are considered desirable.
The Barrel
Most barrels of modern manufacture (since the middle 1980s) come already "throated," or widened, in the ramp area. This is the best type of barrel to start with. Earlier barrels have a narrow feed ramp which is designed to feed hardball ammo only. These barrels are best throated first by a competent gunsmith who really understands the 1911 design. Although proper throating is not beyond the realm of a competent amateur with a Dremel tool, the possibility of ruining an otherwise good barrel demands that this task be left to the professional. However, once the barrel is properly throated, or if you have one that has come from the factory already throated, there are still some things you can do to the barrel to enhance reliability.
First, note the transition area between the barrel feed ramp and the inside of the chamber. If this area is sharp, it must be lightly curved, or rounded, so that the round will feed smoothly over that "ledge." This can be accomplished with a file or a Dremel tool. Take it easy here – the object is not to extend the ramp into the chamber area, but simply to lightly round off that sharp edge. Then the filing or grinding marks can be smoothed and polished with successively finer grades of sandpaper, finishing off with crocus cloth and a polishing compound such as "Flitz" on a cleaning patch or a Dremel polishing tip.
Next, note the hood of the barrel. In earlier barrels, the part of the hood that contacts the slide was perfectly flat, perpendicular to the axis of the barrel. Later barrels have a proper 45-degree bevel on the lower half of this hood contact area. The purpose of this bevel is to eliminate a "catch point" for semiwadcutter bullets which would prevent proper chambering. If that bevel exists on your barrel, all you will need to do is polish the bevel, using the same technique mentioned before, using successively finer grades of sandpaper and/or the polishing head of your Dremel tool with a polishing compound. If the bevel does not exist, it is an easy task with a Dremel tool to grind the bevel. Take care to maintain a 45-degree inward angle, following the curve of the barrel hood, and to take off no more than 50% of the surface area of the hood where it contacts the barrel. Then finish by polishing this bevel area.
Now look at the area where the hood mates up with the chamber area of the barrel. There should be no sharp edges here. If there are, take a small rat-tail or half-round file and lightly round those sharp edges. Then polish the filed area.
Now place the barrel into its slot in the frame and push it back and down until the link support legs contact the back of the slot in the frame. The barrel should rest on the curved support surfaces of the frame. Note the gap between the bottom edge of the feed ramp in the barrel and the forward edge of the feed ramp in the frame. This gap should be at least 1/32^nd of an inch, and could be as much as 1/16^th of an inch. If there is a smaller gap than this, (or no gap at all), the chambering cartridge can and probably will hang up on the lower lip of the barrel’s ramp. That gap is absolutely crucial to smooth chambering. If the gap is not at least 1/32^nd of an inch, the solution is to file the bottom of the barrel feed ramp back until that gap is achieved. Then the ramp is re-shaped carefully with files or a Dremel grinder so that the barrel feed ramp is once again close to the bottom of the barrel. Be careful – do not extend the ramp much, if at all, deeper into the chamber, and keep the same upward angle as before. In the 1911 design, the ramped barrel leaves a portion of the case unsupported, and if the ramp is too deep, it increases the possibility of a case blowout. This could have serious consequences for the pistol and for you!
The next step is to bring the ramp area of the barrel to a mirror polish. This can be accomplished by hand, using finer and finer grades of sandpaper, crocus cloth, and then finishing with Flitz. Again, the objective is simply to polish, not deepen the ramp into the chamber area.
When a round is fed into the chamber from the magazine, it comes up the frame and barrel ramps, and then deflects off the roof of the chamber of the barrel, straightening itself out for the final direct push into the chamber. For this reason, it is advantageous that the inside of the chamber be very smooth so as to allow little or no friction as the nose of the bullet deflects downward. Here again, the answer is polishing. You do not want to widen the chamber out of spec, but you do want to take off any roughness. The felt polishing head of the Dremel and some Flitz polishing compound is perfect for this task, or you can do the same thing with a tight-fitting cleaning patch and Flitz, pushing it in and out of the chamber area. Do not ride up over the headspace ledge in the chamber; this should remain clearly defined and relatively sharp. Look at your work with a magnifying glass, and stop when you have a smooth chamber surface.
The locking lugs on the barrel need a bit of attention. The forward edge of each locking lug should be lightly "cut" or chamfered with the edge of a file. Just a little does it. Follow the curve around each lug. Polish these cuts with fine sandpaper. The objective here is to help the locking lugs cam up into their seats in the slide smoothly and easily.
This completes the necessary work on the barrel. The main objective is for the chambering cartridge to have a smooth, glass-like surface to work against wherever it contacts the barrel on its way in.
The Frame
There is one main area of the frame which must be addressed with respect to reliability. This is the feed ramp, which in most factory-fresh pistols is pretty rough, with plenty of tooling marks. The objective here is to polish the ramp until there is a very smooth surface for the chambering round to work against. Take great care not to change the angle of the ramp, and to maintain a fairly sharp edge at the upper lip of the ramp. In some cases, if the tooling marks are pretty deep, it’s not wise to try to take down the ramp until the tool marks disappear completely – just polish-flatten the marks out a bit. Keep in mind that you absolutely must have that 1/32^nd of an inch gap between the frame ramp and the lower edge of the barrel. Pistols have been absolutely ruined by improper shaping and polishing of the feed ramp, and the only solution is either a new frame or inserting and welding a new feed ramp surface. Both solutions are expensive, so be careful! Again, the standard technique of using successively fine grades of sandpaper, crocus cloth, and polishing compound is utilized. Your finger makes a good backing for the polishing medium; I advise against using a dowel or other hard object, as this may alter the shape of the ramp unduly.
Many "experts" recommend the use of a Commander-length extended ejector in the standard 1911. By the way, the Commander ejector does not fit without modification, but aftermarket extended ejectors are designed which fit the standard 1911. The purpose of this modification is to get the fired case out of the pistol earlier in the recoil stroke, thus helping to prevent "stovepipe" jams. In actual practice, I’ve never had a problem with the standard ejector in full-size 1911s. The disadvantage of an extended ejector is that it may not always allow the ejection of loaded rounds, and you’d have to let them extract carefully down into the magazine well. If you must have an extended ejector, consider re-shaping the ejection port to allow clearance of ejected loaded rounds. On the Commander-length and Officer’s-length pistols, the extended ejector is a good idea, since the recoil stroke of the slide is shorter. Most of these pistols come standard with an extended ejector anyway, so it’s a moot point. Extended ejectors do hustle the fired case out of the pistol muy pronto, and every bit of hustle helps with the abbreviated pistols. It probably can’t hurt the full-size pistols except for the loaded-round problem, but it’s not really necessary, either.
The Slide
There are "old" slides and "new" slides. Older slides have the ejection port cutout fairly high in the slide, so the depth of the cutout is just below the dividing line between the curved upper portion of the slide and the flat side. Newer slides have the ejection port cut much lower, anywhere between .465" and .480" to the bottom of the slide. This allows the ejected case an easy exit, and reduces "dings" in the fired cases. Some slides, such as the Colt Gold Cup and the newer "enhanced" slides, also have a clearance cut, or "flare" milled into the rear edge of the ejection port. This is to allow the ejected case to roll over backwards easily as it exits the port. It also reduces the likelihood of a "stovepipe" jam where the ejected case is caught in the ejection port. Not much needs to be done to the newer lowered and flared ejection ports other than polishing the inside lower surface of the port where there is a bevel. If you have an older slide where the distance between the bottom of the port and the lower edge of the slide is more than .480", then it’s advantageous to lower the port to at least that depth. You can have this professionally milled out, or you may choose to do it yourself, using the aluminum oxide grinding wheel of a Dremel tool. With the stripped slide in a vise, move the grinding wheel forward and back along the bottom edge of the port, taking care to take full-length strokes evenly. Let the high-speed wheel do the work; use very little downward pressure. Take great care to keep the successive cuts parallel with the bottom edge of the slide. Do not cut into the lower rear of the port to the extent that you expose the head of the extractor. Once the bottom edge of the port is evenly lowered to .480" or a bit less from the bottom edge of the slide, bevel the inside lower edge of the port at an angle similar to the one that was there when you started. The Dremel grinding wheel can accomplish this easily. Use the wheel or a file to carefully chamfer the outside lower edge a bit so that it is no longer sharp. The rear of the ejection port can now be flared using the conical grinder of the Dremel tool; use photos or a newer slide as a guide, and again, don’t get into the extractor area so as to expose its head. The next step is to polish the inside bevel along the lower edge of the port, the flare area and the outside edges of the port. If you’ve been careful, cold blue can touch up a blued slide, and stainless slides require no refinishing.
The next area of the slide that requires attention is the face of the breech. In most pistols, you will find extensive tooling marks. These can grab at the rear of the cartridge as it slides up under the extractor, and the friction may be enough to prevent chambering. Your objective is to polish the breech face to smooth out or even eliminate the tool marks. Care must be taken not to remove too much material, as this would push headspace beyond the allowable maximum. If the tool marks are very deep, you can only smooth them out a bit. Strip the slide, and then use a small, flat file to do the initial work. Then using the file as a backer, use successively finer grits of sandpaper to achieve a smooth surface. Finish with Flitz on a patch. Take care not to change the angle of the breech face, which should be perpendicular to the base of the slide.
Note the firing pin hole in the face of the breech. This should be lightly chamfered, or beveled. A sharp edge here can catch the edge of a chambering cartridge. I’ve used one of the conical heads of a Dremel, held in the firing pin hole by hand, and rotated with the fingers to achieve this chamfer. It doesn’t take a lot; just enough to remove any sharp edge.
Now look at the area of the slide where the disconnector rides; the ridge that runs along the base of the slide back of the breech face. Most pistols will show tool marks here, and these should be smoothed and polished. If the tool marks are deep, don’t even try to polish them out all the way. Simply smooth them up a bit. This gives an easier ride for the disconnector as it presses against the base of the slide, and will help prolong the life of the disconnector. Finer and finer grits of sandpaper, applied with a finger, and then Flitz do the trick. If you reduce the depth of the disconnector track too much, you will have real problems, so go lightly here.
Next, just as you chamfered the forward edges of the locking lugs on the barrel, you will also want to lightly chamfer the forward edges of the locking grooves in the slide. Use the edge of a triangular file to "cut" these edges slightly and then smooth up the chamfering with finer grits of sandpaper. The slight chamfers on the barrel and in the slide will help to make a smooth lockup with minimum resistance.
The Extractor
A properly shaped and tuned extractor is crucial to reliability in the 1911 pistol. Most factory extractors and many aftermarket extractors need attention to achieve the optimum in reliability

The first area of attention is the extractor groove itself, where the rim of the cartridge rides up into the groove from below. The extractor, when properly fit, does not "snap" over the rim of the cartridge, but the cartridge pushes up from below as it is fed from the magazine. One of the surest ways to ruin an extractor is put a round directly into the chamber, and then drop the slide. This forces the extractor to snap over the rim, and in time will ruin the extractor’s shape or break it.
The extraction groove must be beveled at the bottom of the groove so that the rim of the cartridge is cammed gradually into the groove. In this way, the cartridge rim will more gradually push the extractor back to tension it over the extractor groove in the cartridge and it can slide up more easily. This bevel should run from the bottom edge of the extractor groove up to the midway point in the extractor’s groove. The forward inside edge of the extractor groove should be beveled out to form a slight angle; since the cartridge is at an upward angle when it feeds, this allows the rim to slide into the groove at the proper angle. The angle of the majority of the inside extractor claw should not be altered by filing or polishing. It should remain at 90 degrees or even have a slight inward grasp. The lower edge of the extractor claw should be beveled and rounded; the forward outside edge should be rounded. The top and bottom rear edges of the body of the extractor should be beveled for about an inch and ½ so as to allow "wiggle room" for the extractor within its hole in the slide. Then the tip of the extractor and the inside of the extractor groove should be polished. The initial shaping is done by small files; the polishing is done with fine sandpaper and Flitz.
Proper tensioning of the extractor is vital to reliability. Too much tension and chambering will be severely impeded or prevented. Too little tension, and extraction and ejection will be weak or non-existent. An old gunsmith trick to test the tension of the extractor is to remove the slide from the pistol, and push a round of ammo up under the extractor from below. With proper tension, the round should be held in place regardless of how the slide is turned, yet when the round is moved downwards from its center position about 1/10 of an inch, the round should drop off.
Tension is adjusted by removing the extractor, reversing it in the extractor hole in the slide, and pressing sideways one way or the other to increase or decrease tension. The depth of the extractor’s protrusion into the case area is controlled by removing a slight amount of metal from the inside of the rounded protrusion just back of the extractor claw with a file.
Recoil Spring
The correct recoil spring poundage is important to the reliability of your pistol. Too light a spring will batter the pistol and weaken the chambering process; too heavy a spring will result in failures to extract and eject, or in "stovepipe" stoppages. A too-heavy spring is also rough on the extractor. A too-quick closing of the slide will force the extractor over the rim of the cartridge, rather than allowing the cartridge to move up under the extractor in a controlled feed. It also has the effect of battering the slide stop unduly. The stock recoil spring in a standard 1911 is rated at 16 pounds. Moving up one notch to 18 ½ pounds will be about right for most pistols shooting hardball and other full-power defense ammo. Anything heavier is too much. Be sure to test the new recoil spring by shooting the pistol one-handed and loosely. It should function positively. If not, go back to the 16-pound spring.
An extra-power recoil spring also aids in preventing the slide from opening too soon. You may have seen "skid marks" on primers, caused by the firing pin still being extended against the primer when the slide unlocks. Eventually, this could break the firing pin. The use of a heavier recoil spring often cures this problem.
Commander-size pistols do well with a 20-pound spring for full-power ammo, and Officer’s-size pistols utilize a 24-pound spring well for the same purpose. As long as it’s not overdone, a stiffer recoil spring will aid in positive chambering and lengthen the life of the pistol. If the slide becomes difficult to retract using a stiffer spring, consider using one of the progressive-rate springs which are easier to get started at the start of the slide’s recoil stroke. The jury is out as far as the so-called "shock buffers" are concerned. These little polymer doughnuts slip over the recoil spring guide and cushion the shock of the slide banging against the end of the recoil spring guide. To this extent they are good, but they must be replaced regularly as they get chewed up. Having one disintegrate inside a defense pistol in a pucker situation is not something I would want to have happen, and for that reason I don’t use them. Likewise, there is controversy over the use of a full-length recoil spring guide in a defense pistol. Theoretically, the full-length guide keeps the recoil spring from kinking in its channel, and assures uniformity in the recoil stroke. It has the disadvantage of preventing a "press check" of the pistol, and of preventing one-handed racking of the slide by pressing the recoil spring plug against a shelf, shoe or other solid object. It is doubtful if the full-length guide increases accuracy, but you may gain some life from the recoil spring. Recoil springs should be replaced about every 2-3 thousand rounds anyway, as they gradually lose their strength over time and usage.
Firing Pin Spring
I highly recommend the use of an extra-power firing pin spring in every 1911 pistol. In series 70 pistols, it helps guard against an inadvertent discharge if the pistol is dropped muzzle-down on a hard surface. It also retracts the firing pin more quickly to help avoid primer "skid marks." Plus, it’s extra insurance against the firing pin stop dropping down at the end of the recoil stroke and tying up the pistol or putting it out of action completely.
Even with a low-power mainspring (hammer spring), a heavier firing pin spring will allow the firing pin plenty of momentum for sure ignition of the primer. The mainspring on 1911s was designed with plenty of overkill, and even with a 30% reduction in the strength of the mainspring, a heavy firing pin spring is still a fine thing and will usually work quite satisfactorily.
Slide Stop
The slide stop is often overlooked in reliability work. Once in a while the slide stop will activate during a string of fire, locking the slide back even though the last round has not been expended. There are two causes for this. One is that the nose of the ammo being used in the gun will lightly tap the projection of the slide stop inside the magazine well, popping it up prematurely. The solution here is to lightly file back the projection where it is getting "bopped," but not enough so the follower doesn’t activate it properly after the last round is fired.
The second cause is usually an overweight slide stop. The "extended" slide stop is particularly notorious for this. The slide stop simply pops up from its own inertia as the pistol recoils. An extended slide stop is the answer to a non-existent question, and no serious defensive handgunner should use one (slide stop operation should be with the weak hand in a reload situation, not the shooting hand). So if you are tempted to fancy up your pistol with an extended slide stop, don’t. Some aftermarket slide stops are designed to be less bulky than the factory product. This keeps the mass of the part down and helps to prevent premature pop-up. A trick you may use to help prevent the phenomenon is to file a transverse groove with a small triangular file in the back of the slide stop where it meets the slide stop plunger in the down position. Any tendency for the slide stop to pop up is countered by the pressure of the plunger in the groove. If properly done, it should not impede the upward movement of the stop after the last round is fired when it’s activated normally by the magazine follower. If you want to get fancier, a Dremel tool can be utilized to grind a slight "dimple" in the slide stop at the same location, and it serves the same purpose.
Firing Pin Stop
While an extra-power firing pin spring will usually prevent it, occasionally you will have a firing pin stop disengage from its slot in the rear of the slide, either dropping down to tie up the slide, or coming off the pistol completely. The quick fix is to utilize a sharp punch and hammer and throw up some burrs on the inside of the firing pin stop. This will make the stop fit more tightly in its groove in the slide and the extractor. A better fix is to buy an oversize aftermarket part which can be fit tightly and closely by filing. Be sure to get the right part – series 80 pistols utilize a different stop from their series 70/G.I. cousins.
Magazines
A good magazine is the heart of any reliability work on the 1911 pistol. It’s as integral a part as the slide or frame. Good magazines aren’t cheap; my advice is not to scrimp. Get the best you can. Wilson-Rogers mags have an excellent reputation, and some people swear by Chip McCormick’s Power Mags. Either should serve you well. Be sure to test-fit the mag in your particular gun before you buy it. It should lock the slide back when empty, and drop free of the gun when you hit the magazine release button. Polish the insides of the feed lips. If you will look at the edge of the magazine at the top, you will see a rub mark where the magazine release bears against the side of the magazine as it’s pushed home. File a slight bevel at the top of the mag where the rub mark begins. While this doesn’t bear on reliability, it does ease the insertion of magazines during a speed reload, and prevents undue wear in a critical area. Be sure to test-fire each magazine in your gun with your load of choice; it should function 100%. Maintain your magazines by disassembling them and cleaning them periodically. Use no oil inside the magazine; it will only attract dirt and powder debris. Wipe the magazine spring with a lightly-oiled rag; that’s all the lubrication required. Use stainless mags in preference to blued ones; they resist rust far better, and rust inside or outside of a magazine is your enemy. Magazine springs eventually wear out, although many a tale is told of filled-to-capacity mags working fine after years of being loaded. If you begin to experience "ride-over" failures to chamber, suspect the mag spring and either replace it or get a new magazine.
The magazine spring must be stiff enough to pop the next round up quickly into the path of the rapidly-reciprocating slide. This is usually more of a problem with the compact 1911s than the full-size models, as their slides don’t retract as far. You’ll see a "failure to chamber" malfunction most often with the smaller pistols on the last round from the magazine. Extra-strength mag springs are commercially available; those from Wolff are praised. See if using one doesn’t cure the problem.
Again, all the above work is well within the ability range of a careful craftsman, and once your 1911 is modified as specified, it should work all the time, every time. Having your 1911 go "bang" every time you pull the trigger is crucial if you want to use it as a defense pistol! I hope this summary of reliability secrets has been helpful to you, whether you want to undertake the work yourself or have it performed by a gunsmith.

Extractor Tuning Tips

By Bill Wilson

1. Correct Tension

With the slide taken off the frame and with the barrel removed, slip the rim of a LOADED cartridge under the extractor hook and position it so that the extractor is gripping the case at the center line, as shown in fig 1a and 1b. You should now be able to lightly shake the slide in any direction, without the cartridge falling off. If this test is unsuccessful, you will need to adjust the tension.
For tension adjustment, place aprox. 1/2" of the tip of the extractor into the extractor channel and apply just enough pressure to slightly bend the extractor. Be careful, a little goes a long way! See figure 1c.
Do not put more tension than needed to perform this simple test - too much tension will result in feeding malfunctions whereas too little tension can cause failure to extract and/or erratic ejection.

2. Positioning of the Extractor

The locator pad (the radiused lug behind the extractor groove) determines at what point the bottom of the extractor groove contacts the rim of the cartridge and puts tension on it.
Slide the rim of an EMPTY case under the extractor hook and position the case so that the extractor hook grips it at the center line. Now pull the case downwards approx. .075 - .1000"; there should still be tension, enough to keep the empty case in position even when the slide is lightly shaken. The same test performed with a loaded round should result in the cartridge falling off. This equals roughly to 1-1.5 lbs tension on the case.
If you have correct tension on the case when it is centered on the breechface, as described in (1) above and little to no tension at all, with the case being pulled down approx. .075 - .100", you need to bring the extractor groove closer to the firing pin hole.
This is done by removing a small amount of material at a time, from the locator pad, while maintaining the radius. Constantly check for correct tension, so that you don't take too much material off. See sketch below.

3. Fitting the Firing Pin Stop

The fit of the Firing Pin Stop to the groove at the rear of the extractor is crucial to the correct extractor positioning. If there is a loose fit, then the extractor will move or twist, causing inconsistent ejection.
With the extractor installed, the firing pin stop should slide into position using normal finger pressure. If the firing stop binds (when installing a new extractor), you will have to reducve the width of the firing pin stop, by removing material from its right side, where it contacts the extractor.
Remove only a few thousandths of an inch at a time, while being careful to keep the right side parallel to the left side. When correctly installed, the firing pin stop will fit snugly into place, which prevents the extractor from twisting.

This link 1911 Extractor Tuning is an in depth article at Brownells.com in the GunTech by Jack Weigand.

My Own Fluff and Buff By Syd

First, let me say a couple of things about what this article is not. It’s not about trigger jobs and it’s not about repairing problems in troubled guns. For full reliability tuning of the M1911 pistol, see John Marshall’s superb “Reliability Secrets”. Second, there is very little in this article which cannot be accomplished by running a few thousand rounds through the pistol. What we’re talking about here is smoothing moving surfaces, reducing friction and insuring trouble-free operation of a new handgun. While I’ll talk about M1911 pistols, this process isn’t limited to that gun alone. The inspiration for the article actually came from the break-in of a Kel-Tec P32.
The first thing you want to do with your brand new box-stock pistol when you get it home is to open the box and RTFM (“Read The Flippin’ Manual” … well, that’s not really what it stands for, but you get the idea). Understand how to do a basic field strip on the pistol. In most cases, this means removing the slide from the frame, the guide rod and recoil spring from under the barrel, the barrel from the slide, etc., so that you can lube and clean it. (For field strip instructions on the M1911, click here.) Usually, this does not include disassembly of the fire control mechanism. On the M1911 pistol, the field strip does include removal of the firing pin stop, firing pin, barrel bushing, and extractor from the slide.
Examine all of these parts for rough spots and burrs in the metal, paying close attention to the areas where metal slides against metal in the following areas: the slide rails, the cocking lug on the underside of the slide which depresses the disconnector and cocks the hammer as the slide cycles, and the area inside the slide in front of the ejection port which locks down on the barrel. Examine the feed ramp in the frame (the polished crescent at the top of the magazine well on the M1911), the barrel throat and the chamber. On many pistols the feed ramp will be a part of the barrel. On the M1911 (and other pistols which allow for the removal of the firing pin, examine the channel which holds the firing pin to be sure that it is smooth and free of burrs. Some autoloaders like the S&W and Beretta pistols do not lend themselves to having their firing pins removed easily and on these it is best to leave this sort of thing to a professional unless you really know what you’re doing. Examine the bushing area of the slide. This is the area which holds the muzzle end of the barrel when the pistol is in battery. On the M1911, this is a separate part which should be removed during the field strip. Many other pistols have their “bushing” integrated into the slide. This bushing area where the barrel makes contact with the slide should be smooth and free of burrs.
Examine the feed lips of your magazines checking for catches. If you notice deep scratches on your spent brass, you may have some rough spots on the feed lips which can be smoothed down. I will generally use a stone to smooth the feed lips of a magazine. Be careful not to change the basic shape of the lips.
Touch is good. Often you can feel roughness using your fingertips which isn’t readily apparent to the eye. Do these moving surfaces feel smooth? They should. You shouldn’t feel roughness or catches as you run your fingers across them. Examine the feed ramp and chamber with a lighted magnifying glass. The little Kel-Tec had a rough spot in the chamber at about 5 o’clock just inside the breech. Feed ramps and chambers may have mill marks. You don’t need to remove every mill mark but if you suspect that an area might be rough enough to cause problems, you may want to polish it, gently, doing the minimum removal of metal that you can get by with. If your pistol design permits it, put just the slide on the frame without the barrel and spring, and move the slide back and forth. Does it feel smooth or does the slide seem to be binding or catching as it moves?
At this point you may determine that all of these surfaces are smooth and properly finished. Congratulations. You have bought yourself a quality handgun. Apply a light coat of lube to the moving surfaces and a bit of grease to the slide rails and cocking lug, and you’re good to go. I like Break-Free CLP and Rem-Oil for lubricant and Mil-Tec, Mil-Comm, and Wilson Ultimalube for grease, but I have also been known to use military surplus rifle grease in a pinch.
On the other hand, you may have discovered some rough spots or burrs and want to clean them up. Perhaps you just want to polish the feed ramp and chamber a bit. Even quality guns can sometimes have little rough spots that need to be dressed. Or, you may have an Eastern Bloc gun which is a good reliable shooter but has a lot of mill marks and roughness that you want to clean up. With some guns, like the little Kel-Tec, it is generally advisable to do what is called a “fluff and buff” on all of the internal moving surfaces to enhance reliability and function. (For the absolute best “fluff and buff” for the Kel-Tec P32, visit Golden Loki’s site at http://www.goldenloki.com/guns/keltec/prep.htm )
Basic Principles for a Successful Fluff and Buff:

Easy Does It
Less Is Best
Most of this is going to happen in time anyway
It is much easier to take metal off than to put it back on
Polish, don’t cut
It’s better to stop too early than too late

My Tools:

Variable Speed Cordless Dremel with polishing kit
Red Jeweler’s Rouge
DMT serrated knife sharpening wand
Extra fine steel wool
Curved-edge Arkansas white whetstone designed for sharpening gouges
Brownell’s 44/40 Instant Gun Blue for touch-up

Notes on the Dremel Tool:
The Dremel tool is a highly capable and flexible instrument, especially the new variable speed models. Remember also that a lot of guns have been ruined with Dremel tools. The old single-speed Dremels ran too fast for most gun work. I don’t use any of the abrasive bits on the actions of my guns; only the felt polishing heads. I have used the fine stone tips to take off sharps on the outside of Eastern Bloc guns, but that’s all. Some folks will use extremely fine sandpaper, like 600 or 1200 grit to do this sort of work. While this will work on some surfaces and edges, I prefer the Dremel or stones. Professional gunsmiths like stones for many of these tasks.
I like the polishing effect of the Dremel with felt pads and rouge. If you need a bit more grit, the polishing compound that comes with the Dremel polishing kit is OK. I got some wooden-shafted Q-Tips and cut them in half. They fit the collet of the Dremel perfectly and once some extra cotton is removed, they make excellent polishing tools for small areas like the inside of firing pin channels. If I have to take away more metal than the polishing head will do, I’ll use steel wool. If I have to do more than steel wool will take away, I’ll use a fine emery stone, but for a “fluff and buff” you really shouldn’t have to go further than this.
Polishing the feed ramp with a Dremel:
Use one of the felt polishing tips, either the bullet shaped pad or the small felt wheel. Use red jeweler's rouge. Jeweler's rouge is color coded. Red is the finest grit. It doesn't even feel gritty. It's the one jewelers use to polish watch cases and such. Take your time and go slow. Polish the inside of the chamber also, especially the area toward the top of the chamber where the bullets make contact with the barrel when they feed. Polish, but do not remove enough metal to change the shape of the ramp or chamber. The rouge will leave a residue which should be cleaned off with powder solvent or lighter fluid. If I find a particularly rough spot inside the chamber, I will tie a bit of steel wool on a ¼” oak dowel and carefully smooth that place down.
Gunsmiths have traditionally “throated” the beveled surfaces of the barrel where the bullet enters the chamber in the G.I. M1911 and M1911A1 pistols. This is done by extending the bevel up higher around the breech, rounding the angle where the beveled throat meets the chamber, and in some cases increasing the angle of the throat bevel. Kids, don’t try this at home. Unless you are a certified armorer, you can blow up your gun by taking away metal that supports the cartridge case. Polish this area with the greatest of care. Less is best. You do not want to change the shape of these critical surfaces. With most modern M1911-pattern pistols, this “throating” is done at the factory and you do not need to do more (The barrel in the picture to the right has already been throated). You may, however, need to do some polishing of the ramp, throat and chamber.
Slide Rails:
One of the traditional “accurizing” operations done on the M1911 is tightening the slide rails. This, along with carefully fitting a slightly over-sized bushing, gives Old Slabsides a tighter and more consistent barrel lock-up. On the slide rails, the tightening is done by peening the rails down a little with a hammer and then lapping them to smooth the contact surfaces. The lapping is done by putting a bit of polishing compound in the slide rail grooves and moving the slide back and forth on the frame until it smoothes down. For the M1911, a little tool was developed which locks into the slots which hold the bushing at the front of the slide. It’s just a little handle which makes it easier for the gunsmith to work the slide back and forth during the lapping process. The point of this little digression is that the slide itself is the polishing tool for the slide rails. You can dissolve a bit of jewelers rouge in lighter fluid and paint this fluid into the slide rails. Then put the slide on the frame and work it back and forth.
Some guns may require a bit more work on the slide rails. If you find burrs and catches in the grooves or the rails themselves, these should be carefully worked out with steel wool (or the ultra-fine sand paper). The DMT diamond sharpening wand is long and narrow and is excellent for hard to reach spots in the grooves. The red handled model is their fine grit and it does a good job. Use a very light touch because this instrument can quickly cut metal. The sharpening wand was particularly helpful with the tiny slide rail grooves of the P-32.
The objective with polishing the slide rails is to get a slide which moves smoothly without any grittiness or catches. A slide which is not being slowed by excess friction will feed ammo more reliably and cycle faster.
Other Areas of the Slide which may require attention:
On the slide, I polish the inside of the barrel bushing, the cocking lug which depresses the hammer when it cycles, and the area in front of the ejection port where the locking lugs are found on the M1911. I will also do a bit of polishing on the breech face. The firing pin channel should be checked for smoothness and given a light coat of oil. The firing pin hole in the breech face should be checked for burrs.
The Five Minute Trigger Job for the M1911
Well, not really, but this is a trick which will help smooth a trigger break which is slightly rough. Cock the hammer and dribble a drop of oil down the front of the hammer. The drop of oil will roll down the hammer onto the sear hooks. Cock and release the hammer a couple of times to get the oil into the sear hooks. Then (with the gun unloaded and ammo stored safely in an adjacent county) dry fire the gun while applying light pressure to the back of the hammer. Do this about ten times. Don’t get muscular with it. This will have the effect of lubricating the sear face and the sear hooks and polishing the sear face. It’s not a huge difference, but depending on the gun, it can result in a noticeable smoothing of the trigger break.
Break-in
The break-in of a pistol does not involve the mysticism and voodoo often afforded precision high powered rifles. Just take it to the range and shoot it, a hundred rounds or so, watching for any malfunctions or strange behavior. Then bring it home and clean it well and re-apply lubrication. If you get through five of these hundred-round cycles without a malfunction, you have a solid and reliable pistol. Be sure to test any new service ammo with 200 rounds before adopting it. At 1000 rounds you can consider the pistol fully broken-in. Don’t be afraid to dry fire your pistol. It’s good practice and, despite a lot of mythology which goes around about dry firing, it will not harm modern center-fire pistols.
Lubrication
Different models of guns have different needs for lubrication. M1911’s tend to like some oil and slide grease. Glocks and Berettas don’t seem to need much. Climate also plays a role in this equation too. In a very dry and dusty environment, grease can catch grit in a tightly fitted gun and hinder reliability. In a wet climate, a light coat of oil will guard the metal from rust. In an extremely cold climate, oil and grease can congeal and even freeze. A one-size-fits-all prescription for lubrication is just not possible. If you operate in a moderate climate, some protective oil and slide grease will most likely help the gun to function better and protect it from rust, corrosion and excessive friction on the moving parts. We recommend Mil-Comm grease, oil and cleaner.
Get a Grip
There is one part of autoloader reliability which is not hardware related: your grip. Even the most superbly reliable autoloader can be tricked into a malfunction by a weak grip. The physics of the situation is that an autoloader needs a firm support against which it can recoil. If you find that you are having jams on a pistol which other experienced shooters fire without malfunctions, it may be that you need a firmer grip on the gun. It may be as simple as remembering to grip the gun firmly when you fire it. It may also mean doing some exercise to strengthen your hands and arms. Squeezing a tennis ball, push-ups, and punching a bag all help. If you watch the master pistol shooters, you will notice that they don’t allow the muzzle of their guns to flip up much if at all. The more the pistols flips up and back during the recoil cycle, the greater your chances are of experiencing a malfunction.
The Single Best, Cheapest, Easy-To-Do Reliability Enhancement for the M1911 Pistol
If you shoot full-powered ammo, install an extra power recoil spring. I recommend an 18.5# spring for Government Models and 22# springs for Commander-length guns. This modification reduces or eliminates feed failures and reduces the battering on the frame of the gun. Some have said that it also reduces felt recoil, but I don't notice much of a difference. Don't do this if you're planning to use light target loads because the light loads may not have enough power to cycle the slide completely. Another option is to save your original spring and switch it back in for the lower powered ammo.
Wrapping it up
The fluff and buff is basically a matter of helping along the natural effects of friction and wear, and it grows out of the primary observation that guns which are broken in well tend to be more reliable than pistols which are new. Many will say that a pistol is broken in at 500 rounds. My observation is that this should be considered a bare minimum. 1000 rounds, especially for a serious duty gun, is a better mark. As I said at the outset, very little of this cannot also be accomplished by running a couple thousand rounds through the gun. The trouble is that we don’t always have the luxury of firing 2K rounds before we put a gun into service. Be gentle with your polishing and let logic guide you and you won’t have any problems. It is entirely possible that you may buy a gun which will need none of this whatsoever. This is no cause for alarm. Sometimes a pistol just comes off the line right and nothing more is needed.

Kart Easy-Fit Barrel - Brief Article

American Handgunner, Nov-Dec, 1999 by Charles E. Petty

Match grade accuracy for the 1911 with a do-it-yourself barrel.
The most accurate aftermarket 1911 barrel is made by Fred Kart, according to a lengthy .45 barrel test I conducted last year (Sept/Oct and Nov/Dec '98). Kart barrels have achieved an enviable reputation among people who build accurate pistols. Now in addition to his gunsmithing-required barrels, Kart has a new patented barrel design that simplifies the job of fitting.
My original barrel test showed that the skill of a gunsmith in fitting a barrel was a major factor in the ultimate accuracy of a pistol. With only one exception, the accuracy of any the completed gun in my test was significantly worse than that of the barrel alone, which was fired in a special test fixture.
Kart's barrel averaged 1.36" for five 10-shot groups at 50 yards when fired in the barrel test fixture, but when fitted to a pistol the average (with the same ammo) was 3.01". The table called this "accuracy loss."
Kart criticized my use of the word "loss." I never thought of it that way and think my meaning was clear, because the only thing that had changed was that the barrel had been fitted into a pistol. But in case there's any doubt: careless or inept fitting can irrevocably screw up the best barrel in the world.
The most difficult part of the job is fitting the bottom lug or "footprint." The slide stop pin has to exert even pressure on both lugs because that's the only way the gun can lock up exactly the same way every time. If one lug hits harder than the other, it will exert uneven pressure on one side. This will translate to a subtle stress and, in effect, warp the barrel just a little.
There is a certain element of luck-- or maybe black art-- in fitting barrels. Whenever I read that some gunsmith says he cuts X-thousandths off the lugs, I wonder about the wisdom of doing this sort of thing by a formula. Frankly, I have seen too many frames and slides with enough variation that would negate any fixed cutting of bottom lugs.
With the advent of modern CNC machining, the variations within frames and slides have surely been reduced, but if you make barrels to fit in any pistol, some can be tight and others loose.
Kart's approach is different, so different that he has been granted a patent on his new barrel design.
John Browning's original intent was for the barrel to tilt up to engage the locking tugs in the top of the slide. When we begin accurizing a pistol, one of the first steps is to build up the bottom barrel lugs to force the barrel to go up higher into the slide. Browning really didn't care how far it went-- as long as lockup was achieved-- but accuracy required a tighter fit. However, the top lugs don't normally require much attention. Everything was done on the bottom.
Kart's approach changes all that. The barrel comes with the bottom lugs finished and a barrel link installed. You're not supposed to mess with it. Instead all you have to do is fit the headspace extension into the slide and then fit two contact points on the top barrel lug.
Kart offers some tools to make the job easier. Among these is a barrel locating block that helps guide the fitting of the headspace extension by making sure that the barrel isn't going to be tilted.
He's also got a work bushing that's a really handy addition to the workbench. It's oversized on the outside and scalloped so you can grasp it easily. Since you'll be taking the barrel in and out of the slide a lot during the fitting operation, this is a time saver.
Most important of all is a small .125" wide file that is "safe" on both edges. A safe edge on a file means that it has been ground smooth so it won't cut. The file is just wide enough to fit into the top lugs on the barrel.
The secret of the new design is two small bumps-- called fitting points-- found on either side of the front barrel lug. The idea is simple. After fitting the headspace extension, simply assemble the barrel in the slide, slip it on the frame without the recoil spring and insert the slide stop pin. Try to push the slide into battery. It won't go.
Then, using the special file, slowly remove equal amounts of metal from the two fitting points. The very best way to do this is to use some marking compound like layout blue to mark the fitting points.
Reassemble the gun and keep trying until the slide begins to go into battery. Only remove metal where the marking compound is rubbed off. The actual amount of metal that will have to be removed will vary from one gun to another but it really isn't very much.
Patience Is A Virtue
The most important skill needed for this job-- and for almost any job requiring a file-- is patience. Don't go making big bold swipes with the file. You will go too far and screw up the barrel!
Instead, take a small amount off of each side-- just a couple of light file
strokes--coat the fitting points with marking color and try to assemble the gun. It will probably take several repetitions of this before the slide begins to close.
Gently tap on the back of the slide with a soft mallet and then disassemble. This is where patience pays off because you should be able to see where the fitting points are making contact. The marking color will be worn off on the points of contact. This will also show whether or not you're getting even contact on both sides. The main thing is to be sure to remove metal equally from both points.
As with any metal fitting operation, the best way to do it is let the parts themselves show you where to cut. I wish there were some way to describe what is so easily seen with the eye.
It will take a few dozen tries, but when you get the fit to the point where the slide will close fully with a good solid push, stop cutting and completely assemble the gun with the recoil spring. If the gun will cycle manually-- even if it's a little tight-- the very best thing to do is stop cutting and complete the assembly with the new match bushing provided. No fitting is required as far as the bushing and barrel are concerned, but the bushing is going to be tight in the slide.
You absolutely must have a bushing wrench and my suggestion is to first try the bushing alone in the slide. If it will slip into the slide and turn-- with the wrench-- then no further work is needed, but if it is simply too tight, gentle polishing of the outside diameter with emery cloth may be enough.
This is another of those areas where it's easy to go too far and impossible to go back. The bushing should be snug-- to the point where a bushing wrench is needed-- but nothing more is gained by making the bushing so tight in the slide that it is difficult to turn.
With the work done to the point where the bushing may still be a little too tight, the best thing to do is shoot it. Nothing accomplishes final, delicate, fitting chores like 50 rounds of hardball. Either the parts will wear in and need no further work, or the wear will mark them and tell you where you need to cut.
Kart's directions say that the job takes about an hour. I didn't time things when I did it, but that seems to be a reasonable estimate. It really isn't a difficult series of tasks. Patience, rather than great expertise, is probably the most important prerequisite.
Commercial Colt
I chose to install Kart's barrel on an old Colt commercial pistol that has been my backup bullseye gun for years. Even after firing a lot of rounds it had an extremely good slide-to-frame fit, but was not being shot anymore.
A word about slide-to-frame fit. When you have a barrel that locks up well, it eliminates quite a bit of the slide play because the barrel actually pushes the slide up against the frame. As long as the slide, frame and barrel are locked together in the same position while the bullet is in the barrel, there's really no harm if it gets a little loose after the bullet is gone.
Fitting the barrel-- according to Kart's directions-- really is easy and we already know that his standard barrels are capable of outstanding accuracy. So, the logical question is whether or not the different fitting method compromises accuracy.
This doesn't mean that you can take a gun that shakes, rattles and rolls and turn it into a bullseye blaster, but you can make a significant leap.
As it turns out, I had four other pistols fitted with different barrels by different smiths. None were to be the subject of a feature article so it seemed like a good plan to shoot all of them with exactly the same ammo and see how things sorted themselves out. All five guns were fired from a Ransom Rest at 50 yards with target quality ammo. We'll identify the guns by barrel make only.
The conclusions of the test arc shown in the accompanying chart. The first thought to come to mind is that Kart's new system works. Does it mean that I am more skillful than the guy who fitted the other barrel? Not a chance!
The most important tidbit within all this data is the variability of both gun and ammo. The data tells that, on that specific day and under those specific conditions, these results were obtained. We might very well find something different if the test was repeated, but it seems clear to me that Karl's new method works.

Nowlin Barrel
Ammunition                     Velocity Group 1 Group 2 Group 3  Average
Black Hills 200 gr. LSWC       878 fps   3.82"   3.80"   2.20"    3.27"
Federal Gold Medal 185 gr. SWC 797 fps   3.00"   3.16"   3.02"    3.06"
Remington Match 105 gr. SWC    797 fps   2.26"   2.50"   2.20"    2.32"
Average                                                           2.88"
Kart Barrel (standard fit)
Black Hill 200 gr. LSWC        886 fps   2.22"   3.37"   3.92"    3.17"
Federal Gold Medal 185 gr. SWC 821 fps   3.72"   2.52"   2.35"     .86"
Remington Match 185 gr. SWC    882 fps   2.69"   3.10"   2.72"    2.84"
Average                                                           2.94"
Ed Brown Barrel
Black Hills 200 gr. LSWC       851 fps   2.67"   3.08"   3.42"    3.06"
Federal Gold Medal 185 gr. SWC 776 fps   2.72"   2.89"   3.30"    2.97"
Remington Match 185 gr. SWC    788 fps   3.02"   3.57"   2.45"    3.01"
Average                                                           3.01"
Storm Lake Barrel
Black Hills 200 gr. LSWC       882 fps   3.21"   3.34"   3.00"    3.18"
Federal Gold Medal 185 gr. SWC 779 fps   2.40"   3.10"   3.01"    2.84"
Remington Match 185 gr. SWC    783 fps   2.46"   3.04"   2.74"    2.75"
Average                                                           2.82"
Kart Barrel (Easy-Fit)
Black Hills 200 gr. LSWC       895 fps   3.77"   2.69"   2.09"    2.85"
Federal God Medal 185 gr. SWC  828 fps   2.64"   1.95"   2.12"    2.34"
Remington Match 185 gr. SWC    840 fps   2.53"   2.82"   2.09"    2.48"
Average                                                           2.56"


Note: Accuracy results are 10 shot groups at 50 yards. Velocity is the
instrumental average of 30 shots at 10 feet as measured by a PACT
Professional Chronograph.

The 1911 Project

This is a very in depth article about building and assembling a 1911 from start to finish. The author goes into great detail and has many pictures of his build. This site contains 24 pages of knowledge that should be read by anyone from the beginner to the expert.
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