I had originally posted this incorrectly under the top "sticky," so I'm going to try to make some sense here. (An effort, I assure you.)
My Defender has been having problems. Bought new (seal still on case), it appears to be one of those Monday Morning jobs:
a) Magazine catch - mags needed to be "heeled" in. Removed catch, stoned off casting/machine marks. Now fine.
b) Usual break-in woes.
c) Extraction/ejection problems. (Had range members spot while I fired to see if I was limping it. No. Two others had same problems. Back to store, extractor tweak. I did a tiny bit of radius filing. Extraction/ejection now perfect.
d) Completely gagging on JHPs. Five or six types. Stem or stovepipe. Tried four types of mags. Not mag problem. Functions PERFECTLY, even under stress, with FMJs.
After babbling about this (as above), I looked up 1911Tuner's encyclopedic archive (!!!!) and learned more than I knew about anything to begin with.
I also checked the blueprints for the 1911, and found numbers that the Colt in my hand didn't agree with. Specifically, there was nowhere near 1/32" between the ramp and the barrel throat. I checked the numbers between two other 1911s I have (a 1943 Colt, and a SA 1911A1), and found that the 1943 and the SA agreed, but the Defender did not. The easiest dimension for me to take was the distance from the rear of the link ears to the edge of the throat.
The Defender even had a nice little throat "belly" polished into the bottom of the barrel --- but it was practically right on top of the ramp.
After picking at atoms and molecules on the throat (files, 400-grit on a dowel, and, finally, the D-word), it now looks like the original (mostly), but with a shallower "belly," a more even contour --- and set back several thousandths. The inside lip of the throat is just past the case bevel by a couple of thousandths. It would have to be, to make the minimum 1/32" from the ramp.
Before this, with the barrel assembled to the frame (without slide) and a magazine inserted, ball could be thumb-fed smoothly; JHPs consistently jammed at the ramp/throat juncture. Now, the JHPs actually feed. (Of course, I have gouges in my thumb from the ejector, but, so what?)
I'm looking at this thing and wondering. It's amazing how much a few thousandths of an inch can make you crazed. I'm also wondering if I'm going to blow my hand off with the danged thing. There's a fingernail's thickness of case visible, and I'm hoping this thing won't bite.
If it does, I'll have my fiancee type in the results, if I can't.
My Defender has been having problems. Bought new (seal still on case), it appears to be one of those Monday Morning jobs:
a) Magazine catch - mags needed to be "heeled" in. Removed catch, stoned off casting/machine marks. Now fine.
b) Usual break-in woes.
c) Extraction/ejection problems. (Had range members spot while I fired to see if I was limping it. No. Two others had same problems. Back to store, extractor tweak. I did a tiny bit of radius filing. Extraction/ejection now perfect.
d) Completely gagging on JHPs. Five or six types. Stem or stovepipe. Tried four types of mags. Not mag problem. Functions PERFECTLY, even under stress, with FMJs.
After babbling about this (as above), I looked up 1911Tuner's encyclopedic archive (!!!!) and learned more than I knew about anything to begin with.
I also checked the blueprints for the 1911, and found numbers that the Colt in my hand didn't agree with. Specifically, there was nowhere near 1/32" between the ramp and the barrel throat. I checked the numbers between two other 1911s I have (a 1943 Colt, and a SA 1911A1), and found that the 1943 and the SA agreed, but the Defender did not. The easiest dimension for me to take was the distance from the rear of the link ears to the edge of the throat.
The Defender even had a nice little throat "belly" polished into the bottom of the barrel --- but it was practically right on top of the ramp.
After picking at atoms and molecules on the throat (files, 400-grit on a dowel, and, finally, the D-word), it now looks like the original (mostly), but with a shallower "belly," a more even contour --- and set back several thousandths. The inside lip of the throat is just past the case bevel by a couple of thousandths. It would have to be, to make the minimum 1/32" from the ramp.
Before this, with the barrel assembled to the frame (without slide) and a magazine inserted, ball could be thumb-fed smoothly; JHPs consistently jammed at the ramp/throat juncture. Now, the JHPs actually feed. (Of course, I have gouges in my thumb from the ejector, but, so what?)
I'm looking at this thing and wondering. It's amazing how much a few thousandths of an inch can make you crazed. I'm also wondering if I'm going to blow my hand off with the danged thing. There's a fingernail's thickness of case visible, and I'm hoping this thing won't bite.
If it does, I'll have my fiancee type in the results, if I can't.