Slide stop hole wallowed out

[greek45]

I have a 1911 that was built for me back in the 80's. I haven't shot it much, maybe 500 rounds if that much. It is accurate and reliable but I've noticed the slide stop hole in the frame is wallowed all around and there is quite a bit of daylight between the hole and pin. When installed with the recoil spring I don't feel much movement at the pin while working the slide and there is some movement without the recoil spring if I leave the slide stop hang without installing it at the plunger. The link pin is not tight through the barrel lugs, and I can see this gun is riding the link badly. Fortunately, the slide stop pin does hit both feet evenly on the barrel lugs, but hits at the very bottom near the tips. On the back side of the lugs it is shiny from hitting the vertical impact surface/VIS on the upper right, and a small area on the middle of the left leg of the lug as you look with the muzzle facing away. The VIS shows a corresponding wear area. The hole in the link for the slide stop pin is huge, which may be the only reason the lugs reach the VIS. I am fairly certain I have a .278 link from all the various measurements I've done.

The frame is aluminum and says Crown City Arms. Slide is blue steel and fits well.
I need to solve whatever is the cause, but then what do I do about the enlarged hole for the slide stop pin? The trigger on this gun is perfect and swapping frames may require trigger work to get it back this good.

Thanks for your help,

Eric

 

[BBBBill]

Crown City was not known for its quality. Hence the fact that they are not seen much any more. Best solution is to replace the frame with one of known good quality. Second solution is to have a pro machinist/gunsmith find the accurate hole center, bore the frame, and install a steel bushing to rebuild that part of the frame. Good luck with that. The only shop that I know of to do that particular fix was Nowlin and they were doing it on full build race guns built on aluminum frames. Nowlin has been reborn from the ashes of its former self, but I seriously doubt that they have any of the same smiths working there any more. Even if you do manage to find someone qualified to make that repair, you seriously need to have the barrel/slide/frame refit to correct the poor fit that likely caused the damage. The uneven VIS contact may be partially due to an (surprise) uneven VIS. If you choose to reuse the existing barrel/slide/link/etc without refit/replacement as needed, you will shortly end up with the same or similar issues again. You certainly need a different smith to do the work.

 

[greek45]

Thanks for your response Bill. Is it possible the metal is too soft? Would you recommend another aluminum frame or steel? Since the hole is enlarged all around what combination of 'errors' would be likely to cause this? The upper/radial barrel lugs look good and there is good clearance between them and the slide on link-down. I do suspect the barrel hits the bed of the frame before the VIS.

 

[BBBBill]

Possible? Yes, but without checking, that's a guess at best. Hard to find aftermarket aluminum frames now that Caspian no longer offers them. There are a couple new suppliers out there, but I have no experience with them. Minumum requirement would be to thoroughly map your slide, frame, and barrel in order to get a base line understanding of what you are working with. Once you know what you've got, you can make an informed decision on how best to spend that precious money.

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

If nothing else is "going south" on that frame - I'd hog it out and install a steel insert, bore it, hone it, relieve it and resume your regularly scheduled programing.

Er, or, have it done.

Better than tossing a frame (assuming it's otherwise good) and better than new.

 

[Kp321]

Sell the frame to someone building a dedicated 22 1911 and buy a Caspian steel frame.

 

[1911Tuner]

I've seen it happen on LW Commanders, which gives a clue as to how much force is involved in stopping the slide...and how that force is ultimately transferred to the frame through the slidestop crosspin.

I've also seen it on old, soft WW1-era USGI steel frames with high round counts.

Aluminum alloy framed 1911 variants fit into the category of: "Carried a lot and seldom shot."

 

[BSA1]

If this is the result of soft metal how are the frame rails of the slide holding up?

 

[BBBBill]

I've seen egged out slide stop pin holes on steel frames. Soft metal ain't (usually)the problem. Bad fit is. Re-read the OP.