[MarineTech]

I finally broke down and bought the Weigand Tensioning tool and the tensioning gauges to go along with my Lyman trigger pull scale. The brown truck should be pulling in the driveway with them sometime today.

Taking Fuff's advice in a previous post, I also picked up 5 cheap extractors to practice with. (Don't worry Fuff, I'll leave the meat axe and my "checkering" adze in the drawer).

The question I have is, how many pounds should it be on the scale for a properly tensioned extractor to release the gauge?

[1911Tuner]

Howdy MarineTech,

It'll vary from gun to gun...extractor to extractor. I've never subscribed to
any set number and always relied on feel and performance. Also, sometimes
a given extractor won't slip in and work correctly, regardless of what the tension is. Dimensional variations often determine how well or how badly the extractor behaves, and how to fine-tune it. Some do allow a "Bend and Install" exercise...but it's not to be counted on.

[Old Fuff]

Instructions will come with the tool, but I think it will say something like 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 pounds. However Tuner is right. You may have to tweek it a bit in any particular gun. Also be aware that you can't tension an extractor further inboard if the pad behind the hook is solidly against the wall of the tunnel, so some work here and/or on the "doughnuts" in the middle may be necessary.

I'll leave the meat axe and my "checkering" adze in the drawer.
No one, and I mean NO ONE, can tension an extractor without these necessary tools... :neener:

[1911Tuner]

No one, and I mean NO ONE, can tension an extractor without these necessary tools... :neener:

Helle's Belles, Fuff...I use a 4-ounce hammer and a V-block to tension'em.
(And I ain't kiddin'.):cool:

[Old Fuff]

Helle's Belles, Fuff...I use a 4-ounce hammer and a V-block to tension'em.
(And I ain't kiddin'.)
Ya', but that takes a practiced hand... :evil: :neener:

[sm]

:uhoh: You mean you folks actually have hammers, chunks of wood, axes and stuff?

I'm not that high-tech, always will be learning...

I usually use the hole in back of slide, slide in about so far, bend, check, tweak, it didn't fall out when turned the slide upside down, all around..yeah that seems to work..."bang, bang, bang...." Yep that did it.

What do I know? I find it odd these new guns come with hinge pins for gates - causes me to have find a GI Recoil Plug...:uhoh:

If'n you fellows were to get K frames you wouldn't have these problems. :neener:

[MarineTech]

Well things have arrived, and I've been playing with them a bit. Documentation that came with the tool says that most extractors should be 25 - 28 ounces..... That sounds pretty light to me, but we'll play a bit.

Using the gauge and trigger pull scale on the extractors in my current Colt Series 70 repro and my RIA Government model have produced some interesting results. Keeping in mind that both pistols have fed and extracted every type of ammo I've fed through them, the results were a bit odd. The Colt extractor releases the gauge at a pretty consistent 3lbs 6 ounces. This seems to me to be about where it should be. Things get strange with the RIA. Inserting the gauge under the extractor hook on the removed slide results in the gauge falling out on the floor. The extractor appears to have no tension whatever, yet it feeds and extracts flawlessly. Curiouser and curiouser.

Maybe I'll give it a few whacks with the meat axe just to be sure about things.

[Old Fuff]

Slip a cartridge up under the extractor on the RIA and see if you feel any tension. What ever it is, it apparently works. But the next question is, where does it throw the brass?

[MarineTech]

Good call Fuff. Cartridge case fits well in the RIA and is held under tension. I checked the Weigand gauge on my Mitutoyo reloading caliper and it appears to be out of spec. A standard .45ACP case measures .470" on the caliper while the gauge reads .458". Looks like I'll have to give Midway a call. The .40cal end of the gauge appears correct, and the .38/9mm gauge also appears to be fine.

Odd that the gauge seemed to work fine in the Colt though.

[1911Tuner]

Good call Fuff.
Odd that the gauge seemed to work fine in the Colt though.

Probably because the front pad...the one just behind the hook...is sized to let the hook position closer to the breechface centerline in the Colt.
The pad is adjustable to allow for differences in the extractor channel location.

But...I agree. .458 isn't anywhere near spec.