"Gunsmith Fit"

[doctorj]

If you buy standard factory replacement parts for a standard, unmodified pistol, should anything need to be fit by a smith? I see aftermarket parts sometimes designated as "gunsmith fit", but I assume that these are for people who mean to customize or improve their guns in some way. When handguns are mass produced I don't think they have a smith hand-fit anything. Wouldn't that slow things down?

[waktasz]

Factory replacement parts should mostly be drop in, except for barrels or bushings or a few other things on some high end 1911 pistols.

[mete]

Most standard factory replacement parts don't require fitting , but those that do you can't buy,you will have to send to the factory for fitting .After market parts depend on which parts and who makes them but usually the non-drop in will say parts may have to be fitted.

[Amish_Bill]

Drop-in = Pre-sized to average dimensions - should work as-is - functional, but not fantabulous.

Gunsmith-fit = parts left oversize in certan dimensions so they can be exactly fit to the specific weapon's dimensions - most likely unuseable without hand fitting.

[JohnKSa]

I've had them go both ways--had some "Gunsmith Fit" parts drop in--and some "drop-in" parts that require fitting.

Some outfits also sell parts labelled "for gunsmith installation only" to keep idiots from messing up their drop-in parts.

I consider myself pretty handy, but I'll only buy a "gunsmith fit" part if I already know for certain that I can do the fitting myself.

[Amish_Bill]

True... I wasn't thinking of the "(our lawyers say) this is much too perilous for you to handle" meaning of "must be installed by a qualified gunsmith"...

[Wildalaska]

As the employee of a parts manufacturer, please note that our position is that all partts we make require gunsmith fitting..

Even sights!

WildthatswhatalawdegreedoestoyaAlaska

[1911Tuner]

Some parts that are advertised as "Drop-In" will do just that.
Some won't. Some will drop in and work okay...for a while.
Others will drop in and work forever. It's a matter of specs and tolerances
on a given pistol and a given part. Part A may work in Pistol X and Y, but not in Pistol Z...and identical part B may fall into Pistol Z like it was hand-fit.

It's a little like dealin' with women...Lady A and B will be thrilled to get roses for no reason...Lady C will wonder what you're feelin' guilty about.
Lady D will throw the roses in your face and tell ya that they don't make up for you forgettin' her birthday 3 years ago. Lady E will secretly feel guilty about her 3-year affair with your best friend, but she won't admit to it and she won't end it just because you gave her a dozen roses. Lady F will...Awww, never mind. There ain't enough letters in the English Alphabet. :D

Best to approach any replacement part with a "No such thing as a Drop-In part" mindset. It might drop in, but it's wise not to bet on it.

[Amish_Bill]

Then there's the dreaded "Drop in, Dremel out..."

:D

[1911Tuner]

Bill said:

Then there's the dreaded "Drop in, Dremel out..."
___________________

ROFLMAO!!! Shaddap!:D

Beat anything I'd ever seen, heard tell of or stepped in...:D

[fastbolt]

Then there's the dreaded "Drop in, Dremel out..."

:what: :D

That oughta be a t-shirt ...

If I had to admit to having experienced something similar ... many years ago, naturally ;) ... then I'd say that I probably had the same expression on my face as a dog I watched trying to figure out what a grasshopper was ... and then after what I'd done had sunk in ... like a dog I knew that passed a .45 ACP Silvertip cartridge after he swallowed it ... sideways, of course.

Thanks!!