the link of woe (aka: riding the link to town!)

[guncheese]

I fit a spiffy new EGW angle bore bushing
very close fit no barrel springing
but not in any way binding, think that went perfect
changing out the bushing didnt seem to make it more consistant, the groups didnt really get any worse,
but they seemed to be more like stringing.(reminds me of the tale that a good shooter can out shoot a ransom rest with a sloppy gun)

i never liked the barrel hood movement on this thing (.012" with a push down)
and i took a long hard look at it
the link big hole is oblong top to bottom by .006" which i dont care about but its all part of the equation
the link pin (not the hole in the lug) is sloppy by .004" (never took it out to look yet so really dont know if its the pin or the link)
the SS pin doesnt show any undue wear just shiny at the link pivot and foot contact points.
diving in further the SS pin was never getting into the corner of the feet but winds up evenly at the toe.
the link SS pin hole was at least .005" out of the corner of the lug so the pin could never get in there to give it the the triangle of support
i opened up the top of the hole so the pin can at least come close to sitting in the corner, and that seemed to help with the stability
and it returns to full lockup with a bit more solidity. but having opened that hole up now i have even more hood movement.
so now that i tightend up the front end, it appears i have created a situation where the the whole system doesnt end up back in the same spot when it
returns to battery,as opposed to the entire sloppy way it worked before. hence the weirdness of the groups (not big groups mind you, just different)

a longer link with round holes will reduce the apperant spring of the barrel hood, but it will also ride the link like Sister Sarah on her mule!
i feel a #3 link will also still have the same issue
if i go shorter it will make the barrel hood drop more pronounced but more solid.
its looking to me that the only recourse i have will be to put some material on the lug corner and refit it to a #3 link
i would hate to have to replace the barrel as then i would be tossing the new bushing out the window

thoughts?

 

[1911Tuner]

The problem is with the lower barrel lug...not the link.

The link's only function is getting the barrel out of the slide.

The on-center length of the link times the barrel drop. Playing with different lengths doesn't do much more than alter the timing. Go a little too far in either direction, and you can do some expensive damage.

 

[guncheese]

ya Tuner i was just looking for light at the end of the tunnel
so its a bit O' weld which would be a easy job really (if i had a tig)
or a new barrel and probably another new bushing.
will it never end!!!!

 

[guncheese]

new link

put in a new EGW #3 link
and it really helped tighten things up
but to look a bit farther
i put a .201" pin in place of the SS (which is like .198")
and it gets locked up even better in fact i would never think there was anything wrong.
here is the sharpied evidence after racking it a few times

so should i get a .200" SS from EGW or grab a ream and go all the way to .203" ?
i realize its still riding the link, but unless it wallows out the link holes it really shouldnt be to bad.
i wont have it out till monday with the stock SS (humm.. maybe i could shoot it with the pin in place)
then will see if i get the repeatability im dreaming of
as i really dont want to be buying a new barrel.
maybe im just trying to hard, as the thing really doesnt shoot bad at all

 

[guncheese]

new linky good!

had her out this morning with the new #3 link on the stock SS which is at .197-.198"
and the new link with round holes and all kept it locking up nice and consistent
and happy with that, will see how long the big hole stays round.
it out shot me at 15yds standing deliberate fire.

life is to short for slow fire!!!
ohhh!!! and the new EGW fiber optic sight was on it as well