Folks,
Good news and not so good news tonight...
First, I went to my gunsmith to pick up the 39-2 slide with the silver soldered bushing "ring." He had cut the ring down to be 0.25" thick, as based on the image seen below.The inner portion looked good, but the outer was rough, as he did not know how I wanted it finished, which is fine for now...
The not so good news was when we tried to insert my 5" barrel into the bushing, the barrel hung up on the inside rear edge of the "ring" and also contacted the back most portion of the "webbing" at the front of the slide. He is going to thread the first 0.5" of the barrel to 1/2"-28, to see if the removal of material will provide enough clearance, but if not, he will Dremel the contact points until the barrel does fit...
Also, I spoke with him regarding the slide lock. He stated a casting will be the best, less costly option and I concurred. We did agree a 3-D model needed to be made to iron out any bugs before trying to make the first slide lock. Additionally, I left a spare sear release lever with him, so he could remove the short bottom leg, to duplicate how the "Hush Puppy" safety would only protect and affect the firing pin, while the hammer could remain cocked and locked for a fast shot if needed...
That is all I have for now, but hopefully, there will be more news by week's end...