As title says, I have a Crack in my Slide.
Its not from firing, I dropped it while cleaning only a few feet and it bent inward, no longer allowing the firearm to be assembled. I gingerly bent it back, but a cracked formed. It is aft the slide guide and crack never touches the guide unless being disassembled.
What should I do? if anything.
*I was thinking about Milling a small hole to stop crack, "IF" it even spreads.
*Tig weld a small bit and polish back, just to piece it some.
* Leave it alone and see what happens (probably nothing)
*Decommission
I'll try to attach a few pictures so you can see what I mean. Any advice would be nice. I am a machinist and have done some light Smithing. So not worried about making repairs. Curious if anyone has experienced this.
Unless you are a master TIG welder and darn good with files the cost of having it done will all but match just the purchase of slide only off fleabay. IF you do repair, the repair will be obvious forever unless covered by Cerakote or some other form of coating. Repair plus coating would put the cost way above replacement cost. IMHO, just find a replacement slide. Give us the model of your handgun and we can also be looking in places you probably wouldn't know to look for a replacement.
Gunsmith I am not – but that crack makes me wonder if the slide is cast or forged. It kinda looks like cracked pot metal ... I would be sorely tempted to send it back to the mothership.
Am I missing something in this thread? What is the debate for not sending this in to S&W? I was not there, did not see what happened and will not even begin to say if ...........what ever, I just do not understand anyone with any kind of experience with firearms even thinking about doing 90% of what you are even thinking about doing to actually keep this firearm in operating condition.
A very famous gunsmith named Bubba said that a little bit of JB Weld and a dremel tool....you are good to go!
All you have to do is hold his beer for a few minutes....
I agree with the folks who say to send it back to S&W but I suspect they might question the notion that a simple drop, while cleaning, would do that much damage.
It's worth a try, however.
In any case, if the metal of that specific slide is that fragile, for whatever reason, I would not risk firing the weapon.
This type of break is VERY common when the slide of almost any top quality pistol is dropped to a hard floor while the weapon is disassembled. While disassembled, there is simply nothing to "reinforce" the slide rail and a bending or breaking is exceedingly common, even from a shockingly short distance, especially if the drop is on a hard floor, such as concrete.
I do not know about S&W, but I suspect the answer is the same as for the 1911, the Glock, and every other auto pistol out there.
REPLACE SLIDE.
There is no other option.
Lesson: Disassemble over a work bench!
I know that at the Glock armorer's school, students are told that it requires a new slide. By the way, Glocks are prone to breaking the recoil spring retainer (the circular part under the hole cut for the barrel in the front of the slide) from a drop to a hard floor. This is one reason the new Glock 17M has a reinforced recoil spring retainer. The answer when this part of the Glock slide is cracked from a drop is the same: replace the slide. It happens so often, the instructors even tell us the price of a slide at every class!
Last edited by shawn mccarver; 02-17-2017 at 10:42 PM.
The answer when this part of the Glock slide is cracked from a drop is the same: replace the slide. It happens so often, the instructors even tell us the price of a slide at every class!
"Darn, those fragile Glocks!"
Ok, now explain the compression/mashing of the grasping serration, over area where crack developed.
Now you're gonna get Shawn and Mister X all spun up...
I'm still wondering about the mashed 'grasping groove' on that broken slide. Would be nice to see better shots of it, as well as the left side of the slide.
If I'm not mistaken S&W's have a Lifetime Warranty so I would certainly send it back. I'd also remove the internal so I could keep them for spares. S&W will not sell you a striker assembly so this would be an opportunity to secure a spare.
Since the edge of the slide is knocked in where it is cracked that IMO says it wasn't caused from a gun defect. Glass laying inside a house tells the cause was external. Same here in this case as I see it.
I would be very surprised if S&W will warranty the slide as being defective. BTW I don't think S&W has a lifetimes warranty either. Maybe semi autos are different but my new 627-5 pro only came with a one year warranty.
As stated above, DO NOT try any goofy home repair jobs, before calling S&W. It's anybody's guess if S&W will eat the cost of the slide, they easily might not, but......they just might. Only one way to find out. Regardless, the pistol is toast until it's fixed.
....................... I have a Crack in my Slide.
........
What should I do?
...
Re: Crack in your slide.
Firstly, take a deep breath and be thankful it's a crack in your slide and it's not the other way around. That would take a lot of explaining.
To be serious I'd side with the recommendations to contact S&W. I'd guess S&W would have you send the slide and/or firearm to them and I'd guess a gunsmith at S&W with experience with a similar problem would be able to give you a more informed opinion of your options.
Since the edge of the slide is knocked in where it is cracked that IMO says it wasn't caused from a gun defect. Glass laying inside a house tells the cause was external. Same here in this case as I see it.
I would be very surprised if S&W will warranty the slide as being defective. BTW I don't think S&W has a lifetimes warranty either. Maybe semi autos are different but my new 627-5 pro only came with a one year warranty.
Yes, they DO have a LIFETIME WARRANTY on ALL firearms.
I have had to use their warranty before on my Sport I and several semi-auto & revolvers. And, years after I had bought them.
Read the 1st paragraph in the S&W LIFETIME WARRANTY I posted below.
Yes, but few lifetime warranties cover every possible type of damage, regardless of the cause (ESEE knives being an exception that comes to mind).
If the slide broke because of some metalurgic defect, then yeah, S&W would be all over it. But the OP admits to dropping and denting it, which resulted in the crack. This typically would not be the responsibility of the manufacturer.
As I said above, they may well cover him anyway, I wouldn't be at all surprised, but this is definitely not a given.
Yes, but few lifetime warranties cover every possible type of damage, regardless of the cause (ESEE knives being an exception that comes to mind).
If the slide broke because of some metalurgic defect, then yeah, S&W would be all over it. But the OP admits to dropping and denting it, which resulted in the crack. This typically would not be the responsibility of the manufacturer.
As I said above, they may well cover him anyway, I wouldn't be at all surprised, but this is definitely not a given.
I don't know where I got that my 627 only had a one year warranty. I got the gun out and read that it does have a lifetime warranty to the original owner. Lifetime warranties started with guns made 1989 and after.
It does say S&W will not warranty repair damages caused by the owner. In this case I doubt S&W will repair it for free but it is worth a try anyway. Sometimes we get lucky.
Yes, they DO have a LIFETIME WARRANTY on ALL firearms.
I have had to use their warranty before on my Sport I and several semi-auto & revolvers. And, years after I had bought them.
Read the 1st paragraph in the S&W LIFETIME WARRANTY I posted below.
Obviously that drop wasn't on carpet, so a short drop onto concrete or something similar can have this effect. However S&W does offer a very good warranty and I would suspect that if you call them they will replace your slide at no cost to you at all. Because even if it was dropped on a concrete floor that result is somewhat unexpected.
BTW, in the future I would suggest a cheap carpet "remnant" in your cleaning area specifically to help mitigate any damage caused by "fumble fingering" something.
It's a limited warranty and a lifetime service policy. Big difference . . .
I still have NEVER had any problems every time I have used the warranty, either way. And believe me, as ANAL and as meticulous as I am about my weapons, he might not have a problem with his slide.
I was never suggesting he not. Obviously, he first needs to contact S&W, keep his fingers crossed, and then follow their instructions.
But, what if he contacts S&W, truthfully tells them the entire story, and they say, "sorry, but that one's not on us", should he still go to the trouble and expense of sending it back to them, regardless?
Worst case scenario, I'm sure they'd at minimum replace the slide, but at cost to him, plus the shipping. He might do the math on that and decide he doesn't trust these pistols now, and figure it's tossing good money after bad.
If he wants to keep the pistol, then he's obviously priced in right now. But if he doesn't want another/new SD9, he'd pay for the new slide,plus shipping (possibly both ways), and then be trying to get $250 out of it on Armlist. So either way, he'd still be out a chunk of change, whether he has it fixed, or if he eats the pistol that he busted.
But, again, this is all hypothetical, S&W may well cover him completely (but still probably not the shipping), but from what we know, they'd be well within their rights not fixing it on warranty.
Yes, they DO have a LIFETIME WARRANTY on ALL firearms.
I have had to use their warranty before on my Sport I and several semi-auto & revolvers. And, years after I had bought them.
Read the 1st paragraph in the S&W LIFETIME WARRANTY I posted below.
Smith & Wesson firearms are warranted to be free from defects in material and workmanship. Any such defectsof which Smith & Wesson receives written notice within one year from the date of purchase by the original owner, will be remedied by Smith & Wesson without charge within a reasonable time after such notification and delivery of the firearm as provided below.
And that's extended to original owner, only.
"Smith & Wesson will not be responsible for:
Defects or malfunctions resulting from careless handling, unauthorized adjustments or modifications made or attempted by anyone other than a qualified gunsmith following Smith & Wesson authorized procedures..."
If it was mine, I'd get in touch with S&W and at least see what they have to say. If no help is forthcoming from Smith, I think I'd just shoot it. The crack doesn't seem to be in a critical location. I'm pretty sure any repair would run the risk of doing further damage.
What did you wind up doing? My Shield 9 slide took a nose dive onto my concrete basement floor today while removing the slide from the frame...about a 3 foot fall. Thank God there was absolutely no damage. I was expecting a nice flat area, as it hit the front corner of the slide. My floor is painted, and I think the paint that chipped off had saved it. I will certainly be more careful next time.
Last edited by onalandline; 05-26-2017 at 03:49 PM.