Mold marks or cracks!?

[blkpitbull]

Ok, I bought this sigma 9mm brand new last friday....tuesday I put about 50 rounds through it....shot great no problems...
Well i got around to cleaning it last night. while cleaning I notice some "scratches" "cracks" "mold markings"??? in the frame....Now I call S&W right away. he said he has never heard of a frame cracking, but If I was really worried to fill out the online form for the postage and send it in....
here is some pics for you to view ans let me know if your gun has these mold marks, or your opinions.....I have torqued on the frame and the marks donot move, and shined a very bright light onto the handle in the dark and couldnt see light through these marks, but it worries me....if its mold markings fine but I wanna know.....

Here is the area in general....

here, it seems to eminate into 4 directions from here

another

another

another

LIke I said it may be mold marks, and I cant see or feel the marks move when I torque on the frame...the man at S&W said if it was cracked there would be no doubt but thats almost not enough for me....
opinions please..
Thanks

 

[mtngunr]

Mine has swirls in it like that on the bottom of the dustcover forward of the trigger guard...those are swirls from the plastic being injected....probably of no issue at all, and certainly fully covered under the lifetime part of the warranty if they ever start to open up....just shoot the gun and enjoy it...not like those are defects in the chamber of the barrel, and probably are not a defect at all

 

[valencman]

cracks or mold mark reply

Hi Blkpitbull. I joined this forum after seeing your thread about your newly acquired Sigma. Out of curiosity I pulled my 9mm Sigma out to look at it and lo and behold it had the exact same mold marks as yours. So I would say it is just an imperfection in their mold and absolutely nothing to worry about. Boy, you must examine your guns closely because I had not even noticed the marks till I read your thread. Like the gentleman above me said "Just shoot it and enjoy it" I know I do mine. Hope this kelps to ease your mind. Valencman

 

[SocialD]

I have the same thing. They are flow lines. During molding, the plastic has to flow around a pin that created the hole for the pin that hold the sear block in place. I could go into more detail if you would like, but you have nothing to worry about.

 

[blkpitbull]

ahhhhh,, thanks guys! I was hoping someone would get their gun out and take a look...thanks!!! I feel much better about it now.....btw I take great pride in caring for my weapons, they may protect me or my families life someday and I definately dont need a crack in a frame to fail just when I need it the most!!!

Thanks again fellas.....
Oh and socialD, I for one would be very interested in the "flow" info you have!!! thanks

 

[blkpitbull]

also, anyone else reads this, look at you sigma 9 or 40 and report back here if you gun has this same mold marking on your gun too...im curious now!!

 

[SocialD]

A weld or knit line is caused by a couple of different things. Basically, hot liquid plastic is injected into a mold and begins to cool and solidify. The leading edge of the flow front will cool faster than the material behind it because it is touching the relatively colder cavity area of the mold. The material behind the flow front remains hotter because it is partially insulated from the material behind it. In our case this flow front is split because it has to go around a mold pin that cores out material for the hole. The weld line is because the now partially cooled flow fronts are attempting to merge on the other side of the pin.

I hope that this make sense and gives you some piece of mind. BTW, I have a 9VE.

 

[setxn]

If you do a search for "Sigma frame crack" you will find a thread fro Mar. 26 ,2010 about identical marks on numerous frames in a different spot.Looked like a scratch but they were all the same.

 

[blkpitbull]

thanks socialD...
Setxn, I did see that thread, and my 9ve does have that little mark on the left near the back pin. I wonder if all those guys who said they had that mark, have these marks also, but never noticed?

 

[setxn]

Mine has the little scratch mark and similar marks to yours. I think the scratch mark might trace back to a particular mold and the flow marks are common to all molds.Nothing has gotten worse or fell off yet and it has been on my not to worry about list. Shoot it and enjoy.

 

[keyguy]

Wait; let me get my flashlight......

Yep, mine looks the same ! ( Don't worry )


Mike

 

[keng]

Same here, never noticed before

 

[blkpitbull]

thanks for the look, anyone elses gun have this??

It seems this is in most frames....wonder if all, or just a certain "run" of them?