Do I "need" a plastic bushing wrench for a WWII 1911

I find that a pencil in the breach holding the slide back 3/8 of an inch ,moves the bushing off of the raised portion of the end of the barrel ,allowing the easy turning of the bushing with your fingers
 
I was 20 years in this man's Army. We had the 45 then. Never found one that I couldn't turn the barrel bushing by hand.
 
Troops in WW1, WW2, Korea, and Vietnam didn't use them, don't find where I would find it necessary either.

Randy
 
You probably won't need a wrench for an older gun. I've owned several different 1911's and only needed a wrench for my Dan Wesson. My hand strength isn't what it used to be and the fit is so tight I finally gave in and used a wrench.

I would learn how to completely disassemble your 1911. There may come a time when you need to replace the main spring or sear spring or another part. Some people are intimidated by the 1911 but it really isn't that difficult. You will need tools to do so.
 
You really only need a wrench if you have a gun with a very tight bushing/slide fit.A wrench,brass punch and a rubber mallet are worth having around with these guns.
 
Before you disassemble your Ithaca, google and read a bit about "idiot marks".

Fortunately for my wallet this WWII era gun came pre-scratched and with holster wear, giving me every reason to enjoy shooting this gun at the range:

DSC_2011_zpsubrzdla2.jpg


UPDATE:
I was able to get the Ithaca disassembled, cleaned and reassembled.
For me, never having had a 1911, this is a small but satisfying accomplishment.

DSC_2112_zpsmzc1gpov.jpg
 
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I have never seen a Govt, 1911 that needed a wrench. They were
made to strip with no tools. Some that have replacement springs
can be stiff. The only 1911s I have had trouble with, are the new
Rems. Has nothing to do with spring, machining so poor that the
bushing has to overcome burrs in the slide. Will make your fingers bloody. There may be other after market 1911s with these
problems. I have had 2 Rems owners stripped to clean and were
unable to get bushing back in, because of machine burrs.
 
About the only bushings that require a wrench are fitted Match bushings, which are supposed to fit tightly in the slide. Be careful with strong springs, as I have managed to launch a couple of spring caps (plugs) into outer space, never to be seen again. That's why I have spares.
Outer space isn't bad. Let me know when you launch one into your forehead! Yea that hurts!!! [emoji49] [emoji24]

I use pencil, pen, finger tip, anything strong enough to push down the spring without bending or breaking

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk
 
Be careful with strong springs, as I have managed to launch a couple of spring caps (plugs) into outer space, never to be seen again. That's why I have spares.

The recoil spring plug on GI and most Colt commercial pistols has a little indent at the front, you're supposed to twist it onto the recoil spring so some of the spring goes behind the indent, keeping the plug in place if you lose control of the spring. It works........most of the time. Many of the clones don't have this feature.
 

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