springfield 1911 beveled mag well removal..~Help~

[BrotherIron]

I just purchased the kimber .22 conversion for my springfield loaded model 1911. my springfield comes with a exyended beveled mag well and slam pads on the magazines. the issue is that the new .22 kimber mags are designed for GI spec 1911's and the magazine wont feed or load into place all the way. its close but close is not good enough. there is an allen key hole on the bottom of my mag well, and I have tried to remove it by turning the key, but I almost broke my allen key in the process. either Springfield put that thing on there tighter that an allen key can do without breaking, or it was never designed to be removed in the first place. i cant use the kit without the magazine obviously, and I dont want to file down the magazine because it may end up not working anyways. does anyone know if the proper way to remove the extended mag well?

thanks in advance for replies

 

[REAPER4206969]

Use a soldering iron to heat the screw and break the thread lock bond. You may also need to remove the mainspring housing as many of the mag wells are dovetailed into it.

 

[Harvey]

Use a soldering iron to heat the screw and break the thread lock bond. You may also need to remove the mainspring housing as many of the mag wells are dovetailed into it.

Without seeing the pistol, my guess would be that the mag well is held in place by the mainspring housing pin. Less likely, remove the grip panels and confirm that the lower screws play no role in the mag well installation.

Good luck, but it seems that the .22 conversion kit may simply be cosmetically incompatible with the funneled mag well, and you'll need to make a choice between form and function.

 

[Greg528iT]

I agree with Harvey, check and make sure the bevel is not intergral to the mainspring housing. New Main spring housings are cheap and easy to swap out.

 

[BrotherIron]

this is the model of my gun. px9152lp

http://sgcusa.com/images/large/SA_1911_Loaded_Black_SS_Target_PX9152LP_A.jpg

 

[Greg528iT]

BrotherIron.. OH that one.. it's crap.. but, just cause I am SOOOOOO nice, I'll take it off your hands.. I'll send you $25 for your trouble and pay shipping.

 

[BrotherIron]

Greg528iT lol yeah.. ok. as it turns out I called springfield and they told me if I were to remove the speed chute/ mag well that I could never put it back on so I decided against it and pulled out a file for that kimber mag. after about 30 mins in the garage carefully removing excess plastic from the kimber mag, I got it to feed properly, well at least by hand. i wont be sure if it REALLY feeds properly until i take it to the range. so now I have a speed chute, AND a .22 conversion. not a bad day id say.

 

[Greg528iT]

Well shucks darn.

FYI.. if your filing leaves the plastic dull, get some acetone from Lowes (or your wife finger naile polish remover) and using a smooth cloth you can polish the plastic back to the original luster.