MIM extractor gross failure

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Nither Colt nor Kimber nor Springfield use MIM extractors.

Colt is the only major player that I'm aware of that ever used MIM extractors...and only for a brief period. An OEM Colt still shows up now and then with an MIM extractor, but that's a matter of using up existing stock. Colt has a rep for not throwing anything away, and they deal with any problems that arise from defective parts.

In truth, a Colt with an MIM extractor will do pretty well for a surprising number of rounds...assuming that the magazine does its job in controlling the last round. The average buyer who firse the guns maybe a hundred round a year will likely never have a problem. For the others...Colt will replace it when it breaks.
 
It appears this thread was started just prior to the correction made on the 1911forum thread:

Ok sorry guys, It looks like I overreacted. I took the extractor out and tuned it and everything works fine now. It turns out the extractor tension against the breech face isn't as critical as it is that it hold the rim against the slide wall. I tuned it and the rims don't fall off the extractor now.

Last edited by crideout; Yesterday at 09:36 PM. Reason: Mistake
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So . . . the failure was neither "gross" nor due to MIM in the first place. A lot of folks, like me, are no fan of MIM, but it's gotten to a point where it seems like people are literally waiting around their keyboards to repost misinformation with "grossly" alarmist thread titles.

I thought that SA uses magical 'good' MIM while only Kimber uses compressed wax MIM?
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MIM is a manufacturing technique and is only as good as its implementation. It's not like every company gets a monthly shipment from the Commissar of the People's Revolutionary Glorious Sintered Pistol Parts Factory ;)
 
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seems like people are literally waiting around their keyboards to repost misinformation with "grossly alarmist thread titles."
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Well I don't sit around my keyboard waiting to bash MIM, but I did start this thread....

and the reason why I started it was to get more experienced eyes than mine on the photo to evaluate it (seemed like a slow night on the 1911 board and no one was commenting)....
as for the thread title, it pretty much was a ditto of the OP on the 1911 board.

I thought it looked like the entire extractor face had sheared right off.

Sorry if I offended any of you guys out there who are literally sitting around their keyboard waiting to defend MIM and criticize those with less experience, who mis-interpret shadowy digital photographs. :neener:
 
Sorry if I offended any of you guys out there who are literally sitting around their keyboard waiting to defend MIM and criticize those with less experience, who mis-interpret shadowy digital photographs.
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Clever, but it's pretty clear in my post that I'm not defending MIM. My beef is with needless alarmism.

pretty much was a ditto of the OP on the 1911 board.
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Even worse is someone repeating someone else's needless alarmism. You admit you had no idea what was going on in those "shadowy" photos, but whatever it was got you excited enough to repost speculation from another message board.

Let's try to keep THR a place where people can come to get quality information, not the latest "OMG!!!!!!! Look what I assumed happened!!!!!!" hokum.
 
It's a picture. Who's to say that the photographer wasn't using unusually hot loads? I broke a quality extractor (and ejector)once by using hand loads that were too hot. The same loads ran through my Kimber just fine...yeah, the Kimber that many scoff at because of all the MIM parts yet it has given me a trouble free 3000 round count :confused: . I'm not a fan of MIM parts and I have broken a few on other 1911's. I've also broken non-MIM parts. I wouldn't be quick to lay blame on MIM parts. Poorly manufactured parts are just that, regardless of how or what they are made of.

Oh...and lets not forget the little snipit at the end:
Ok sorry guys, It looks like I overreacted. I took the extractor out and tuned it and everything works fine now. It turns out the extractor tension against the breech face isn't as critical as it is that it hold the rim against the slide wall. I tuned it and the rims don't fall off the extractor now.
Last edited by crideout; Yesterday at 09:36 PM. Reason: Mistake
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Sounds like a poorly tuned (or not tuned) factory install. It happens. I've even installed extractors before that worked fine with no tuning adjustments.
 
Maybe they recently switched, but I was told by Kimber the extractor is MIM.
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If they did, it's been very recently...and they failed to learn from Colt's mistake. MIM is fine for a good many parts, but the extractor isn't one of them. I wonder if they were talking about their external extractor. Those were MIM.

An easy way to tell is to remove it look at the butt-end at 6 O'Clock. If there's a rectangular indentation, it's MIM. If it's solid...it's not.
 
Just dug through the spare parts box and found the two I had removed. One is about ten years old and the other less than two. Both appear to be barstock.

I'm surprised the individual at Kimber was mistaken as his attitude on the phone smacks of, "I'm never wrong."
 
I don't like MIM parts, but for an extractor MIM just seems especially poorly suited as it seems to be less flexible and more brittle. It is claimed to be over 90% as strong as a non-MIM part, but I think what does MIM in is its lack of elasticity compared to something like spring steel.
 
I'm surprised the individual at Kimber was mistaken as his attitude on the phone smacks of, "I'm never wrong."
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Won't be the first time. Telephone service reps remind me a lot of car salesmen. Many of'em wouldn't know a spark plug from a brake cylinder...but they'll tell ya all about the car you're lookin' at.

but I think what does MIM in is its lack of elasticity compared to something like spring steel.
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Bingo!

I don't like MIM parts,
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MIM's quality depends a lot on the material and the process. The problems seem to stem mainly from the execution than anything else. Good MIM is very good. Bad MIM is junk.

As a test, I laid a Colt MIM sear on an anvil, concave side down and smacked it a few times with a hammer. Not only did it hold, but when installed in a gun, it functioned just fine. The trigger action was a little rough, but the gun functioned perfectly. A disconnect that was clamped in a vise and subjected to a side impact bent, but didn't break.
 
Won't be the first time. Telephone service reps remind me a lot of car salesmen. Many of'em wouldn't know a spark plug from a brake cylinder...but they'll tell ya all about the car you're lookin' at.
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This guy is supposedly the head smith, or whatever title applies.
 
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