1911 Barrel Install - A little help?

[pneumagger]

Sorry about the long post. I read the 1911 clinic and have a few questions about some specific issues I'm having.

Pistol: Factory Springfield 1911-A1 Loaded Black'n'Stainless
Barrel: Storm Lake "Drop-In" Threaded .578-28tpi (unramped)
Link Kit: Nighthawk Custom #1-5 with 2 pins.

The stock SA bushing fits the barrel very well, the hood is nearly perfect fit, and the barrel slides into the frame snug but easily and the lugs can fully engage.
All in all, it's about tight as one could expect a "drop-in" barrel to be... I'm pleased.

The radius between the lower lugs and link-pin hole is a consistent .095"
The hole-to-hole wall on the #3 pin is .093" and on the #4 it's .100" - so I'm thinking one of these should be it.
Starting with the #3, #4, then even the #5 I can feel a little vertical play when I press down on the breech and in full battery.
I was under the impression that installing a longer link will solve and vertical barrel play... just avoid riding the link too hard.
I tried the #2 and #1 link out of curiosity and found that the #2 reduced this vertical play and the #1 link eliminated it.
With the #1 link, the slide goes into full battery, does not bind when cycling, and has zero movement when I try to wiggle the barrel battery.

Is using a #1 link common?
Despite the facts that it seems to work well, what are the risks of using a #1 link?
How can I check for full/adequete lug engagement... should I worry about shearing my lugs with a short link?
If I bump up to the #3/#4 link as measurements seem to suggest at face-value... would vertical barrel play hurt anything?

I'm a rookie with 1911 technical stuff... so explanations with solutions/suggestoins would be very helpful.
One odd thing is that the #1 link wont move through the full range of motion installed on the barrel. it rotates from vertical to about 65-70deg.
It does not move the whole ~90 like most links I've seen.

Thanks guys!
Joe

 

[pneumagger]

The radius between the lower lugs and link-pin hole is a consistent .095"
The hole-to-hole wall on the #3 pin is .093" and on the #4 it's .100" - so I'm thinking one of these should be it.

Because of this, and the fact that they were NOT optimum I'm thinking there may be something wrong with the lower lug profile.

 

[krs]

Try this: remove all links and assemble your gun with the new barrel and the slide stop that you intend to use in the gun.

Does the slide go fully into battery?

The link(s) are not what establishes the in-battery position of the barrel. The barrel lower lugs do that when in contact with the slide stop pin.

The only function of a link is to pull the barrel out of battery after firing.

 

[evert]

too short link

installing a too short link could result in:
breaking slidestop-pin
breaking link
breaking link pin
breaking kocking lugs

my opinion is that the link should unlock the barrel from the slide properly, and land the barrel correctly in the frame.

vertical lockup of barrel in the slide should be caused by the relationship between slidestop pin/lower lugs and slide, not the link.

i belive there is some answers to your question about link function in the thread about the link.
good luck!

 

[pneumagger]

krs, yes, the slide goes fully into battery and locks the barrel nicely (no wobble) without any link whatsoever.
The pictures below were taken before my link kit arrived - so no installed link.
The safety is on... so the slide is either in battery or darn close to it.

evert, yes the link is just there to keep everything together and unlock the barrel.
While I admittedly have little 1911 tech experience, as an engineer I find the short link solving my vertical play problem counterintuitive.
I'm more wondering if it's a viable solution and safe for the pistol to operate with a link that short.

 

[WardenWolf]

There's a reason why replacement 1911 barrels are normally installed by a gunsmith. They frequently require quite a bit of fitting and tinkering to be made to work. The 1911 is a tempermental beast.

And pneumagger, I'm probably the only one on this forum who knows what your name actually refers to, or who has one. Welcome to THR.

 

[log man]

The correct link size is the correct link size. The important thing is if the barrel's lower lug is hitting the VIS before it lands on the bed. And that isn't a reason to change the link, but a reason to do further fitting. If with barrel in hand and slide stop pin in link the link should/must not stop the pin from making unhindered contact with the feet tips, and should be just the least bit loose in this position. The pin should be able to make contact with the lower lug cam surface as it swings forward. Upper lug engagement should be no less than .040". And when barrel is forced back .250" there should be a minimum of .010" clearance between the barrel top and the inside of slide. More is great. With the slide stop inserted, but hanging down and the barrel muzzle pushed hard against a solid surface the slide stop should be free or at least easy to rotate when pressure is maintained against the muzzle.

LOG

 

[pneumagger]

Thanks for all the help so fa guys. I've been doing more reading an things just aren't adding up. So I decided to start over. The #3 link's hole edge spacing is .002" undersize of the hole edge spacing on the lower lugs so I stuck that in for this. Next I broke out a sharpie and lipstick and painted up the upper and lower lugs.




I hand cycled it a few times and was surprised to see NO marks in the grooves of the top. There was contact most of the way around the edge of the lower lugs and contact marks on (one of) the feet meaning the slide stop pin is traveling all the way around. This lets me know a) I'm not riding the link and b) I need to even up the foot surfaces. No big deal.






Now one thing I did notice after taking a much closer look is that the slide may not be completely in battery. If I'm not 100% in battery, this might be where I'm getting my vertical play. I'm not getting any upper lug restriction and the hood is not binding. I'm guessing the feet are stopping the slide too soon? The picture below seems to show they are thicker and much more "vertical" than the milspec barrel.

I do a little filing on the feet to make them look a little more like the factory profile and allow a little more slide travel?
Any other tips? (If it helps... I do have a mill and lathe as well other metalworking tools)