1911 Disassembly Issue - Help

[Retired & Glad of it!]

Stripped, cleaned, lubed & reassembled a new S&W, 1911, 3", Pro. Hammer would not cock. Disassembled 1911's 100's of times since my first purchase of a Colt, GI in the early 1960's. Missed something this time through. Removed M/S Housing, compressed Plunger to relieve the Thumb Safety. No amount of manipulation has been successful to remove the Thumb Safety. Suggestions?

 

[WR Moore]

Hummmmm. Did the hammer cock before you took it apart?

The safety lug does have a flange to engage the frame to keep the safety from just popping off. You do have to wiggle it a bit while moving the safety on/off.

If that doesn't work, put it back together and let the factory figure it out. Might be an issue with the sear. The three finger sear spring might have caught on something and is preventing the sear from moving.

 

[Retired & Glad of it!]

Went back to it Sunday afternoon. Was able to slip a blade on a jackknife type Feeler Gage under the Thumb Safety. With a lot of jiggling, it finally came free. Never experienced that problem before. The Feeler Gage went into my case of cleaning supplies for next time.