[alumltd]

Flanging is shown on barrel pic of Model 1911 manufactured May 1918.

Please help me understand exactly what is the primary cause of this anomaly?:eek:

http://www.hunt101.com/img/414210.gif (http://www.hunt101.com/?p=414210&c=549&z=1)

[Technosavant]

1911Tuner will probably give you the complete rundown, but poor barrel/slide fit would be the main culprit.

[1911Tuner]

Howdy Alex.

The causes can range from insufficient vertical engagement and/or slap-seating due to excessive fore and aft play between barrel and slide to
incorrect barrel linkdown and drop timing. The latter generally shows up with a rounding of the top front corners of the lugs. Yours appears to be one of the first two, or a combination of both.

The main question is...Do you see the same damage at the rear faces of the slide lugs? If it's there...you've got a wall-hanger.

[alumltd]

Hi Tuner,:D

Many thanx for the Nfo. My answers after having a look are as follows... but what do I know?

1. insufficient vertical engagement. Maybe!

http://www.hunt101.com/img/414561.gif (http://www.hunt101.com/?p=414561&c=549&z=1)

2. slap-seating due to excessive fore and aft play between barrel and slide. Yes!

3. incorrect barrel linkdown. Don’t think so!

4. drop timing. Don’t think so!

http://www.hunt101.com/img/414563.gif (http://www.hunt101.com/?p=414563&c=549&z=1)

Do you see the same damage at the rear faces of the slide lugs? No, but barrel lug feet, where slide stop goes through, have definite indents which IMHO is not normal!

http://www.hunt101.com/img/414566.gif (http://www.hunt101.com/?p=414566&c=549&z=1)

I'm not currently using this slide. Reason is that WW1 sights are so miniscule & even though the rear has been "squared", my aging eyes can't take it in comparison to a Heine on the 80 Series slide with new Kart "Easy Fit Barrel System". Maybe I should consider a Bo-Mar installation, eh.

[1911Tuner]

Alum,

In the slide photos, the front lug...#3...appears to be damaged. Note the stair-stepped appearance of the lug. This is likely where the barrel to slide endplay is coming from. The third barrel lug was the only one engaging on the mating lug. Deformation increased the fore/aft play between barrel and slide, providing a good running start for the other two lugs when the gun fires...and increased impact stresses are slap-seating the others. Flanging results, along with even more endshake.

On the #3 slide lug...Looks to be about 50% vertical engagement. Is the barrel original or is it a swap? How does the #3 barrel lug look? Same stepped shape? (Never mind. I just saw it. Slap-seated and possibly timing damaged.)

I'll be around all weekend. Pop on over and we'll have a look at it up close and personal. I can tell more that way.

PS

The indent at the first barrel lug appears to be due to incorrect drop timing and clearance. Hard to say from the pictures.

[alumltd]

Hi Tuner,:uhoh:

Here's the pic you didn't want to see!:eek:

http://www.hunt101.com/img/414594.gif (http://www.hunt101.com/?p=414594&c=549&z=1)

In answer to your question, "Is the barrel original or is it a swap"?
It's an original with probably >50,000 rounds thru it. The gun has had a very hard life & that's why frame went to Tripp Research recently for CobraChrome & blend-out of rust deformation on lower R/H dust cover. It was really getting "ratty" looking since it had been "in the white" since about 1969 or so & I just wasn't cleaning it like I used to long ago!:what:

[1911Tuner]

The lower lug looks rough, but it looks mainly like wear...and that area isn't all that critical anyway.

Original slide and barrel with 50,000 rounds...uhhuh..uhhuh...I see.

The old pistols had pretty soft frames and slides. What little heat-treating was mainly during resulfurizing the steel to make it more free-machining and did little to harden beyond a little alignment of the grain structure...and that did little more than relieve stresses in the steel. Time was that the slides were replaced along with the barrels, or nearly on schedule...and with far fewer rounds than 50k.

Barrels too, were pretty soft...which is why we see so many with the type of wear and damage that yours shows...and why the dictum is to refrain from shooting the old girls a lot. When they were young lasses, the Army had an endless supply of repair parts to keep'em in the game. Nowadays, we're lucky to find a good era-correct slide to bring one back to life. It's also the reason why so many so-called "Parts Guns" are floating around with mismatched frame and slide serial numbers. They were replaced during routine repair and maintenance years ago by the various unit armories and arsenals...replaced when they peened beyond spec, wore out, or just broke.

The WW2-era contract guns were little different, with only area-specific heat-treatment. Colt's post-war production ushered in the slides with full heat-treatment, and things were good.

[alumltd]

Sorry Tuner,:scrutiny:

Barrel came with gun, S/N 434xxx which I got about 1960 for $18! Not a bad price considering what they cost now & how much has gone into it since.

Didn't mean to imply that's how many rounds it had when I got it, but my count has got to be >40,000 'til sometime after 1980 when the Series 80 slide & 1st Kart barrel was fitted. So... that was more than 15 years of rough treatment by yours truly and I used to shoot about every week.

What should I look for on the barrel to authenticate its venue?
1) There's a "1" on hood 1/8" from breech (read with muzzle pointing skyward).
2) There's an "F" on hood 5/8" from breech (read with muzzle pointing straight down @ ground.
3) Turn barrel over & there's a "5" about 1/4" in front of link lugs (read with muzzle pointing straight down @ ground).:)