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Old 11-11-2011, 12:35 PM
50Meter 50Meter is offline
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Question 1911 Problem

This concerns a RIA 1911, but I'm hoping someone can give me a simple solution to a problem that arose when I allowed a rather aged friend (who used to build very nice 1911s back in the day) to borrow my gun and he decided to "improve it." First off, he decided that the safety lock plunger spring was too loose, so he replaced it with one that was so tight that I had to use a small screw driver to get the slide stop out. I asked him to change it back and he said I'd have to leave it with him again. When I called several days later, he said he couldn't fix this "defective designed" gun and that I should just come get the parts. Gun worked just fine prior to him getting his claws on it. Now, with the slide off, the hammer will not cock, so I can't push the thumb safety up to open the space for the thumb safety shoulder recess to pass through (finish of the gun is now all scratched up from him trying to pry it loose). He also said he used a brass mallet to pound on the safety pin! I'm lookin' at the Jerry Kuhnhauser manual, but find no remedy for this. I've tried wigglin' it while pullin' the hammer back at various stages, but with no luck. Do I need to remove the back strap and fish around from there now? Thanks for any advice!

Last edited by 50Meter; 11-11-2011 at 12:37 PM.
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  #2  
Old 11-11-2011, 12:45 PM
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50,

1) Instruct your "friend" to take it to a reputable gunsmith and for him to pay the freight for having it refinished and repaired.

2) Never loan your guns to anyone.

Mike
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Old 11-11-2011, 12:55 PM
50Meter 50Meter is offline
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Red face

PH-2: Yeah, I hear ya'. The old fella used to do some really nice gun work, but has evidently been slippin' mentally. This is a small town and I don't want to hurt his feelings or get too involved over it, as I see him out at the range rather frequently and we have mutual friends. Our local gunsmith is also close friends with the guy and doesn't want to touch the gun for fear of offending him, also. So, I was hopein' someone might have a simple solution that will let me get that safety off by myself.
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Old 11-11-2011, 08:18 PM
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While it is admirable that you show concern for this gentleman's "feelings" he absolutely needs to be prevented from "working" on any more firearms. He could get someone severely injured with his actions. When senior citizens are no longer safe behind the wheel of an automobile they are kept from doing so before they hurt or kill someone. I also have to wonder if he really knew what he was doing before he aged and how safe he is on a live firing range now. You need to have your gun checked out by a knowlegeable smith to see just what he did to it.
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Old 11-11-2011, 08:45 PM
Dragon88 Dragon88 is offline
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1. Never loan guns to people, even friends.

2. Never let this guy touch any of your guns EVER AGAIN. Holy moly, mentally slipping or not I would be furious. Put it out to the community. People need to keep their guns away from this guy.

3. He needs to pay for the gun to be fixed, period, IMO. Old man mentally slipping, small community, whatever. He damaged your firearm through incompetence and needs to pay to have it fixed, including all the scratches he put on it.


I'm actually angry after reading this thread and what he did to your gun.
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Old 11-11-2011, 08:53 PM
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Coming from a small town, I totally "get" all your concerns.

That firearm needs a complete review by a gunsmith. Who knows what else may be effected by this gentleman or the attempts to remove pins with hammers. There could be broken/bent parts that may not be obvious, god forbid you chamber a round and the boom turns to a bomb. Not worth you getting hurt.

To save yourself any local grief. Send/take it out to a reputable gunsmith not in your area or the manufacturer for a complete go over, functionality and safety check.

That's my 2 cents, no one offended, you stay safe and the firearm will be repaired and safe.

Best of luck!!!
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Old 11-11-2011, 09:27 PM
charliek charliek is offline
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Took my DoubleStar 1911 to a local gunsmith with good credentials back in April for some work. Probably would take about 2 hrs. total. Still haven't gotten it back. Watch who you let work on it, you may never see it again.
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Old 11-11-2011, 09:28 PM
j2flan j2flan is offline
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Plunger spring too loose?? no lecture from me
Remove the main spring housing, with the hammer at full cock, move the safety up to half way and wiggle it out, it may be hard to do as he may have damaged your sear and it is binding the safety. If you are real lucky, and the safety and sear look ok, reinstal correctly and do your safety checks. If not-- if it is just the safety you can fit one , not hard to do, check youtube for the how to. If it is the the sear also, it is off to a GS, OR you can get a hammer/sear set, such as the WILSON value (pre fitted) set from BROWNELLS and do the job your self cheaper than most SMITHS will charge you.
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Old 11-11-2011, 09:54 PM
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50meter.....is the only part replaced the plunger tube spring?

The thumb safety has to be engaged in order to wiggle out. The hammer has to be cocked so the thumb safety will snap up to the locked position.

Can you use a thin bladed screwdriver to depress the plunger on the safety side to engage the safety?

I am wondering if the thumb safety was replaced too. And it was forced in.

Last edited by SW CQB 45; 11-11-2011 at 10:36 PM.
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Old 11-12-2011, 03:56 PM
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Thanks, folks: He initially replaced the plunger spring with a much stouter one--so stout that I had to fight to get the slide stop lever out. The gun was otherwise fine, though. There had been a lot of political turmoil at our local range (three years worth) and I had stayed away from shooting until the dust settled. But good triumphed over evil and our range is now much better off and when I returned I ran into this fellow again. Told him about the problem with the spring and he said he'd take care of it. Unbeknownst to me, he had, during my time out, begun to decline. When I retrieved the gun, the safety lever was impossible to remove and the hammer would not cock back to allow me to do so. I took it home, knowing that our local "official" gun smith was good friends with this fellow, so I had to be careful not to offend anyone needlessly, plus I was unsure of how he'd react. Through some back channeling with mutual friends, I learned that the old guy's problems are known to his former partner, who no longer uses him (used to machine slide/frame fits for him), but they remain good friends. So, the smith agreed to look over the gun and guessed that the main spring housing had been removed and the sear messed with (just as j2flan predicted), then reassembled incorrectly. Also said he could touch up the scratched Parkerizing. Turns out that the beautiful 1911s the old fellow claimed he'd made were actually produced by the smith---the old timer had just machined the slide/frame fits. I also sensed that the old guy was angry that, as nice as those custom, tightly-fitted, $2,500.00 Caspian frame guns were, my $335.00 Rock Island Armory shot almost as well and I did not need or want one of those precious guns, which were beautifully put together. Maybe subconsciously he wanted to trash my gun, as it threatened his whole self-image, worth, etc. Anyway, no one in the gun community here will be taking anything to him, the word is out (I guess most everyone already knew this, but I was unaware because of my extended absence) and I'm supposed to have the gun back tomorrow. Will post a report on how it turns out.

Last edited by 50Meter; 11-12-2011 at 04:14 PM.
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Old 11-12-2011, 04:10 PM
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Drail: You are absolutely right, and I'm going to have a talk with the gun smith about this when I meet with him tomorrow. There is the distinct possibility that some wide-eyed enthusiasts might get wrapped up with the guy out at the range and hand over their guns to be "accurized," "customized," or whatever... It's too bad, from what I heard the guy really was a very bright and competent engineer/machinist in his day. Gotta' watch how ya' get, I suppose...
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Old 11-13-2011, 05:47 PM
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Talking

All: I got the gun back from the repairman this morning. The problem was that for some reason the mainspring housing had been removed and the sear spring angle altered so as to prevent the hammer from cocking back. As for the slide lock/safety lock double plunger, that assembly on the Rock Island Armory guns (at least this one made in 2002-3) is not mil-spec, but a workable substitute was installed, so that problem is corrected. While there, the extractor was beveled, polished, and set to the correct weight, the barrel port was opened up and polished, along with the feed ramp, beveled & polished top lugs & set the trigger to 3.5 lbs pull weight, and crowned the barrel. Took the gun to the range and it shoots a LOT better, much smoother, and grouped tighter. It also now fires hollow points reliably. They had previously fed some of the time, but not all the time. Now they do. Wish I'd had this guy go over the gun a lot sooner, I now have almost a semi-custom shooter that I intend to shoot a lot more.
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Old 11-13-2011, 06:06 PM
Dragon88 Dragon88 is offline
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I'm glad you got your gun fixed up. Is the rear of the slide still scratched up, or did he touch up the park well?
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Old 11-13-2011, 06:30 PM
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You can still see it if you look, but it isn't as noticeable. This is a "shooter" anyway & won't win any beauty contests, so I'll just live with it. Besides, this is my "GI" gun, & a few marks will add to its authenticity, lol!
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1911, brownells, extractor, gunsmith, lock, screwdriver

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