1911 trouble

[forwardSGT38]

Hello all, I'm currently in the process of upgrading some parts on my 1911 and I hit a snag this morning. I removed the mainspring housing and the sear spring immediately twisted clockwise in the frame. I've never disassembled my 1911 to this point before and I was immediately a little worried. I spent the next hour trying to put humpty dumpty together again to no avail. Now I can't pull the trigger or engage the thumb saftey. Any ideas on what I can do to fix this?

 

[Greg528iT]

Watch this a few times. It beats the real life assembly vids, in that, there are NO hand in the way. It of course lacks audio as to what and why. But watch with your 1911 in hand, pause, start etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P4XJTKzKEU&feature=related

Chances are, when it sprung, the sequence of how each piece goes in, is out.

 

[1911Tuner]

The left leg of the sear spring is under the sear leg instead of on top of it. Remove the mainspring housing and wiggle the sear spring out. Remove the thumb safety and grip safety and start over.

 

[nightal]

Here is a picture of how it should look,



http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii180/retmsgt123/P094250007f.jpg

 

[Doug DeGraves]

Rather than start a new thread, I figure 1911 Trouble would fit my question: What can be done to make racking the slide less difficult on a 70 series 1911 and a Browning HiPower 9MM? A friend of mine suffered some nerve damage and can not easily rack the slide on either anymore. I tried them, not a problem, but they both seemed a little stiff to me. Spring kits? Polishing certain places? He would rather not trade to revolvers. Advice?

 

[jglcolosprgs]

Watch this a few times. It beats the real life assembly vids, in that, there are NO hand in the way. It of course lacks audio as to what and why. But watch with your 1911 in hand, pause, start etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P4XJTKzKEU&feature=related

Chances are, when it sprung, the sequence of how each piece goes in, is out.

You know, I've been doing guns (and 1911s) for a loooooong time. That is a very, very good video on assembly. Thanks for the post.

 

[BullfrogKen]

That's a good animation for where parts go, but it doesn't explain how to they get in there. The thumb safety can give some people fits trying to find the right spot to work it in.

I recommend this to any 1911 owner. At under $10.00 it's a real bargain.

"Wilson Combat 1911 Auto Maintenance Manual" Book by Bill Wilson

 

[1911Tuner]

Doug...aside from making sure that the slide isn't oversprung, advise him to try cocking the hammer first to eliminate having to overcome the mainspring's resistance.

Another good tip that's worked well for some people is to cycle the slide with both hands pushing instead of one pushing and the other pulling. Just place the weak hand on top of the slide and grasp the cocking serrations...then push both hands in opposition and let the slide snap forward when it hits the impact abutment. It'll require a little change in body position in order to keep the muzzle pointed downrange...but it provides a good increase in leverage in racking the slide.