Quote:
Originally Posted by Fastbolt
De nada.
FWIW, that's definitely NOT the way armorers are taught to do it. It's unnecessary, and can actually complicate both disassembly and assembly. The first time I saw it done (in a video) I thought it was probably something dreamed up by someone who hadn't been taught how to properly - and easily - disassemble/assemble the frames.
Granted, there are always little tricks and tips that clever & experienced armorers develop, and can then pass along in the occasional recert class (which can then be passed along in later classes by the instructors), but those are typically ways to make something easier, not more difficult.
Things like using the factory grip, reversed and standing on its base, with the trigger guard and dustcover facing into the front/top of the grip, which results in the grip supporting and holding the frame upright (making it sort of a '3rd hand' for some manipulations done during assembly).
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And luckily, I managed to avoid the cascade of levers, sears and disconnectors. The largest punch I had fit just right in the hole, and retained everything perfectly as it pushed out the broken sideplate pin. New sideplate pin went in just as easy.
I ran into one minor... anomaly... I had to nudge the sear pin over from the right side of the gun, to get the prongs to fully seat in the groove on the head of the pin. I think maybe I pushed the sear pin down a bit when I initially pushed the prongs onto it.
I took it to the range right afterwards and put 150 rounds through it. Zero issues. Locked back every time. Shot some very nice, well-centered groups.
IMG_2723.jpg
Part of that center group was at 15 yards, part at 10 yards (plus some random double taps above). I'll take that any day. Really glad I sprung for this one. Love the gun.
One thing I did notice...
When I reassemble the gun, I have to push in the little plunger on the slide stop lever--otherwise it won't clear the little leaf-spring-ish part of the slideplate. My guess is that's because it's not "officially" the correct part. The leaf spring part is less angled than the one on my other 4516. The part I installed was supposed to be for a 645... so I looked at my 645... and it's exactly the same. No big deal, though. It functions perfectly when shooting. Works for me.
Anyway, thanks again for all the advice. This would have been a much bigger ordeal had I not had this support. When I get some time this weekend, I'd like to do a more thorough writeup of my 4516 impressions thus far.