1911 help. Please?

S

Sir Housecat

Joined
May 18, 2013
Messages
146
I thought I would try to strip and clean my Springfield 1911 today. I was unable to get the recoil spring out, so I just put the cap and slide lock back in. I noticed though my barrel now has back and forth play. I tried to chamber a round, but it just jams now.

Thanks in advance for any help.
 
Go to youtube and use "1911 reassembly" as a search term. The 1911 reassembly can be a little dodgy until you get the hang of it, and then no prob. :thumbup:
 
I have field stripped it down to the slide then re assembled in reverse order. The barrel locks into the slide, but when I re assemble it, it has play when locked open. The slide and lock along with everything else works well though. I am making sure the link is in the proper position and stays there through re assembly, but the play remains.

Thanks for the suggestions guys, but I may have to get someone better at gunsmithing to help me fix this.
 
Fore and aft play in the barrel when the slide is locked back? That's normal for a falling link action such as the 1911....
 
AKC said:
Fore and aft play in the barrel when the slide is locked back? That's normal for a falling link action such as the 1911....
Click to expand...

The issue is that there is so much of it that the feed ramp ends up too far away to smoothly chamber a round and it jams with the round pointed upward against the top of the slide.
 
Sorry, I'm a little confused on this one. What exactly do you mean you couldn't get the recoil spring out? It comes right out when I pull my barrel lug off. The recoil rod in mine (full size) will only come out once the slide has been removed from the frame. There is maybe 1/16th" back to front play when my slide is locked open. Absolutely no play when the slide is closed. Forgive me if any of this sounds like sleepy talk, I just woke up and saw a perfect opportunity to do a fatigued tear down of one of my favorite pistols. Come on back with more info as you get it.

::ETA::

I thought I might put my money where my mouth was and show you how far I can take this one down without removing the rear sight to get at the grip safety.

IMAG0016.jpg
 
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Thanks for all the help guys. I guess I did not know any better. I stopped by sportsmans warehouse and two other Springfield 1911s did the same thing. I just test fired 11 rounds without issues.

Sorry I wasted your time guys.
 
teranaut said:
Sorry, I'm a little confused on this one. What exactly do you mean you couldn't get the recoil spring out? It comes right out when I pull my barrel lug off. The recoil rod in mine (full size) will only come out once the slide has been removed from the frame. There is maybe 1/16th" back to front play when my slide is locked open. Absolutely no play when the slide is closed. Forgive me if any of this sounds like sleepy talk, I just woke up and saw a perfect opportunity to do a fatigued tear down of one of my favorite pistols. Come on back with more info as you get it.

::ETA::

I thought I might put my money where my mouth was and show you how far I can take this one down without removing the rear sight to get at the grip safety.

IMAG0016.jpg
Click to expand...

The recoil spring was attached to the end of the guide rod when the slide came off. In fact, the owners manual showed to remove the spring and guide rod with the slide off. Cool picture by the way! It is neat to see all the small internal parts.
 
I don't know if they still have them, but Bill Wilson (Wilson Combat) use to put out a good book on the basics of the 1911. It is a great read for those just getting started with 1911's.
 
Sir Housecat said:
Thanks for all the help guys. I guess I did not know any better. I stopped by sportsmans warehouse and two other Springfield 1911s did the same thing. I just test fired 11 rounds without issues.

Sorry I wasted your time guys.
Click to expand...

You didn't waste any of my time, I assure you. Least of all, your own. You ended up learning something in the process of all of this. Happy shooting!

In regards to the recoil spring; I usually pull mine off while the slide is still on. Just a personal preference, I think. There IS a little lip on my guide rod, and yours might be a bit bigger; thus, preventing it from being easily removed while still in the slide. Tough to say from this side of the keyboard without having it in my hands to fiddle with.
 
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