Lines in Ejection Mold

[ZWilson07]

Hey guys got a quick question and to see if anyone else has seen this.

I had a mark on the beavertail of my M&P 9mm fullsize and to me what looked like a crack.

A little back story. I think my brother got into it while I was out of town and ended up dropping the gun. It was in its container with no ammo or anything like that but I ended up sending it in to S&W regarding what I see as a crack.

When it came back from repair they said that it was fine and normal, that is actually mold lines from ejection mold.

To me this does not look normal. The center line is what looks like a normal line to me, to where the line going off at an angle does not look like a normal one to me.







Any thoughts on it?

Thanks

 

[ginzo]

I have a 40c that has the center line, and "almost" more of a ghost of what you have. I'd say good to go. My FS 40 is at a friends so I can't check that one.

Personally, my dealing with S&W has been good, I think they would repair/replace if any issue. They even send stuff for free if it's minor.

 

[ZWilson07]

I have a 40c that has the center line, and "almost" more of a ghost of what you have. I'd say good to go. My FS 40 is at a friends so I can't check that one.

Personally, my dealing with S&W has been good, I think they would repair/replace if any issue. They even send stuff for free if it's minor.

I will say they sent it back with a mag even though I didn't send one with it so that was nice of them. To me that just isn't a mold line that goes off at an angle to the right and I am 99% positive it wasn't there when I bought the gun.

But I guess there isn't much else to do if they said it is fine besides run it.

 

[SoMoMule]

I have a FS40 and never noticed it until I saw your post. Upon closer inspection mine looks like yours. I'd agree and say it's something in the mold.

 

[tinman9]

I just checked my FS40 and it has the exact same mark as well. I know mine has not been dropped since I purchased it.

 

[snubbyfan]

That just looks like a flow line to me. If that's all it is then there's no effect on structual integrity. It happens in plastic injection molding. Sometimes parameters can be adjusted to correct it and sometimes it's just one of those things that happens.

 

[Don 73]

Think of it as a birthmark

 

[Rastoff]

Yep, I have it on mine as well:

The one on the right is a full size .40 and it has the same line. I have put at least 500 rounds through mine without issue and it isn't getting bigger. I say it a mark from the mold.

The line down the middle is called a draft line. It is there because of the two halves of the mold. The line we're talking about is probably a defect in the actual mold itself. Still nothing to worry about.

Edit to add:
Actually, if you look really closely, you can see it on the .45 on the left as well. It must be something in the way they are made. The two guns come from different molds.

 

[SMMAssociates]

I'd go with "flow line", too.... The former day job (yikes, that was nearly 20 years ago) had an injection molding subsidiary, and you'd see stuff like that when the plastic was just a hair colder than it needed to be to flow properly, or an injector was a little dirty. Or, the mold was a little too cold....

If not enough plastic makes it into the part, it should be rejected (underweight), but these lines wouldn't affect that. Technically, it could result in a structural weakness back there, but unless you can see the same lines on the bottom of the beavertail, I wouldn't worry about that either. Seeing a parting line on top and bottom doesn't count , unless there's actually real crack there.

My 40FS doesn't show that flow line, or a parting line on the top of the beavertail, but it's possible that it was polished. S&W could have dropped that cleanup step somewhere along the line as a speed or economy measure.

Obviously, the proper test is to go buy another one and see what it looks like ....

Regards,

 

[ZWilson07]

Yep, I have it on mine as well:

The one on the right is a full size .40 and it has the same line. I have put at least 500 rounds through mine without issue and it isn't getting bigger. I say it a mark from the mold.

The line down the middle is called a draft line. It is there because of the two halves of the mold. The line we're talking about is probably a defect in the actual mold itself. Still nothing to worry about.

Edit to add:
Actually, if you look really closely, you can see it on the .45 on the left as well. It must be something in the way they are made. The two guns come from different molds.

Well I guess that is good and bad guys lol.

Good that it isn't a problem, bad because it doesn't look very nice but I guess these guns were made to be used and not just look pretty.

Thanks for all the help guys.

Rastoff it looks like you have a blemish where that mold line goes down to the end of the beaver tail just like I do as well. Was yours always like that? To me it looks like a big mark where someone dropped the gun but did yours come that way too?

I can't believe I didn't notice these things when I picked it up, I guess I was to excited to get the gun

 

[Llando88]

I just looked at mine, model 209301, FS 9mm test fired 10/24/13.

I have a "mould" line going off at an angle, not too much different than in the OP's picture, actually. The pistol has not been dropped. I'd say if S&W looked at it, you are ok. It's a service pistol, not a display piece.

 

[N4KVE]

The fact that other similar guns have this mark means it's normal. I wouldn't worry. If it was a $1300 Kimber, I'd worry. GARY

 

[snubbyfan]

I'd go with "flow line", too.... The former day job (yikes, that was nearly 20 years ago) had an injection molding subsidiary, and you'd see stuff like that when the plastic was just a hair colder than it needed to be to flow properly, or an injector was a little dirty. Or, the mold was a little too cold....

If not enough plastic makes it into the part, it should be rejected (underweight), but these lines wouldn't affect that. Technically, it could result in a structural weakness back there, but unless you can see the same lines on the bottom of the beavertail, I wouldn't worry about that either. Seeing a parting line on top and bottom doesn't count , unless there's actually real crack there.

My 40FS doesn't show that flow line, or a parting line on the top of the beavertail, but it's possible that it was polished. S&W could have dropped that cleanup step somewhere along the line as a speed or economy measure.

Obviously, the proper test is to go buy another one and see what it looks like ....

Regards,

I was a tech at Rubbermaid commercial products in Winchester Va.
I'm just thinking, if they notched the backpressure up just a little that should heat up the polymer just enough to flow into the mold better.
I worked on 250 to 500 ton plastic molding presses and they can be tempermental beasts sometimes.

 

[Rastoff]

Rastoff it looks like you have a blemish where that mold line goes down to the end of the beaver tail just like I do as well. Was yours always like that? To me it looks like a big mark where someone dropped the gun but did yours come that way too?

The blemish you see is mostly a trick of the lighting. Both the line and the blemish are there, but they are practically invisible under normal lighting. I have to assume they've been there since new. However, they are unobtrusive enough that I didn't notice it until this thread.

Now, I bought these guns as work horses. Therefore, a mark like this would never have been noticed by me. I expect these two to pick up many usage marks in the years to come. The .45 is my back up gun for self defense training classes. The .40 is an example I use for my NRA Basic Pistol class. I have intentionally dropped the .40 on the carpet while teaching the class to demonstrate that it won't fire when dropped*. It has never been dropped on the beaver tail though.


* The demonstration is done with an empty gun. Lock the slide back and show the class the empty chamber; have one student verify visually and physically. Close the slide and drop it on the carpet. Then, with the gun pointed in a safe direction, press the trigger. If it makes the "click" sound, you know it stayed cocked even after being dropped.

 

[ZWilson07]

Yeah I just kind of expected better from Smith and Wesson. Im a HUGE S&W fan so I just was hoping for a little better in the mold process.

Yes, it isn't a $1500 Kimber or Colt 1911, but $500-$600 aint no $300 pistol chump change either.

But like I said, I guess they were meant to be used more then to look pretty anyways; just was tryng to keep this one nice for as long as possible since I hadn't even got a round through it yet you know.

 

[Rastoff]

Even $300 is a lot of money. I totally understand why you're not happy. It's unfortunate, but I think we're stuck with this one.

 

[ginzo]

Got my FS 40 back today. It has the same identical mold marks, even more so than my 40c. Not an issue for me. Both shoot like crazy with no issues so far.

 

[Morgan88]

lines in ejection mold. yes.

My FS has the same marks. My compact does not. So looks normal to me.