Unfortunately, I have met a few people that couldn't pour pi$$ out of a boot if the directions were written on the heel.
Buck
Who has experienced a MIM parts failure?
- Thread starter Gasman1972
- Start date
Unfortunately, I have met a few people that couldn't pour pi$$ out of a boot if the directions were written on the heel.
Buck
Considering that M.I.M. parts have been with us now for what,16 years?
If there had been a quantity of failures, we would have seen them
here on the forum and other places.
Believe me, the cats that watch for this kind of thing would have been
all over it.
The bottom line is; there just have not been enough m.i.m. parts
failures to note.
Only one where the part from the factory was defective that
I can recall. And that was a trigger rebound slide.
M.i.m. parts are just no better/ no worse than forged, they just are.
The lock is a whole nother story. Especially with that goofy arrow
acid etched into the FRAME above the hole to tell you which
way to turn it.
My gosh, if we ever bent to the left in our lifetimes, this is the
greatest example.
No rant. Just my very own opinion.
Good luck
Allen Frame
Edited to add;
A lot of m.i.m. parts here on my favorite model 625s'.
If I had AnY doubt whatsoever about their ability to perform their
function, they would have been sent back to S&W P.C. for forged
parts replacement.
With respect, looking at the picture of your revolvers... beginning at 6 0'clock, what are the two revolvers immediately to the right of just below the revolver w/ the dark grips at 3 O'clock? Sincerely. bruce.
Wow Allen!! That's a beautiful picture... and Gasman.. it's all kewl.. Like I said.. I'm getting better at this stuff the longer I'm around here.
ShelbyV8
Member
Kimber gave MIM parts a bad name due to buying from contractors that didn't know what they doing. Chances are that the vehicle you drive has MIM connecting rods. They take more abuse in one hour than a weapon does in a lifetime.
How dare we? You'll note the 6 billion paged sticky at the top of this section about the lock, the hole, the worst thing to happen on the planet since the Dems turned leftward, etc. It's all in fun (maybe not for some, to judge by some of the emotion in some of those posts) hopefully.
I disagree with you on this point, .357magger.
As Bullseye Smith points out, MIM technology was a step forward in the manufacturing process.
With the internal lock, however, Smith & Wesson, designed a failure point into their product.
The MIM parts don't bother me. However, a mechanical lock by its very nature consists of very precise load bearing surfaces. Precise, load bearing surfaces don't do well in an environment of extreme stress, like a firearm.
Last edited:
scott625b
Member
Gasman and others,
If you want to see how a revolver with MIM parts and IL's operate, check out the shooters at the IRC this June in San Louis Obispo, CA. The proof is in the pudding, how well, and accurately these guns perform with the "new fangled" features that so many seem to have a problem with. The new guns are amazing to shoot and compete with.
If you want to see how a revolver with MIM parts and IL's operate, check out the shooters at the IRC this June in San Louis Obispo, CA. The proof is in the pudding, how well, and accurately these guns perform with the "new fangled" features that so many seem to have a problem with. The new guns are amazing to shoot and compete with.
dan-g
Member
thank god, I love hearing about new S&W revolvers working fine. when I first joined I read a flood of post about how horrible any new smith is and I just didnt feel like looking at this site anymore. Now that I came back for the reloading section, it seem some new voices are injecting some reason to this "debate".
ps; I sold my old smiths and only own new mim,scandiam and locked models and couldent be happier.
ps; I sold my old smiths and only own new mim,scandiam and locked models and couldent be happier.
I bought a new no lock 642 on 1 Aug 08. After the first weekend of dry firing / getting used to the trigger,and 40 rounds live fire, the inconsistent, hard trigger pull and the metal filings / dust coming out of the trigger's slot in the frame told me something was up. Off to S&W it went, on their dime fortunately. Came back with an invoice that said "Replaced sear."
So yeah, I've had a MIM failure.
I've bought MIM S&W revolvers since then too, so I realize MIM is reality and not inherently evil or anything. But it ain't perfect.
So yeah, I've had a MIM failure.
I've bought MIM S&W revolvers since then too, so I realize MIM is reality and not inherently evil or anything. But it ain't perfect.
Noo, not really. You had a sear failure.
Yeah, I suppose I could look at it that way. There just wasn't an appropriate thread to gripe about sear failures.
This is very true, MIM parts done right have a good record for working well. Also the good thing about MIM parts failure is that they tend to fail early in their life cycle.
I don't have any problem with MIM parts as I see them as an improvement in a gun. I don't like the IL because to me it wasn't needed and S&W caved in to the Government.
That said the beauty of buying S&W revolvers is that you have a choice of which ones you buy so in a way everyone can get what they want.
That said the beauty of buying S&W revolvers is that you have a choice of which ones you buy so in a way everyone can get what they want.
I am very old (89) and I prefer the pre 1986 Smiths for no other reason than they are much more collectable .
Wow, an actual Rip Van Winkle thread.
Dieseltech56
Member
Yeah and I didn't catch it til the one post said mim parts are 16 years old. That was 9 years ago.
ggibson511960
Member
MIM parts are showing up in firearms for one reason only, cost. MIM parts can be molded to near final dimension in complex shapes in high volume once the molds are made. MIM parts have no metallurgical advantages, and the high pressure required for powder-binder molding limits MIM to comparatively small parts. Unless the MIM presses get much larger, we will not see MIM receivers. We will likely never see MIM cylinders, slides or barrels because MIM parts cannot achieve the fracture toughness properties of forgings. We might see MIM carrier bodies for cylinder or barrel liners. MIM parts can be hard, but hardness alone isn't enough. MIM parts' low fracture toughness, ductility and tensile strength preclude elegant and artistic hammer contours that introduce stress risers, the reason I believe that S&W MIM hammers and triggers have a rounded clubby shape as opposed to old school hammers.
.38SuperMan
Member
I read quite a bit about Kimber since I own 7 of their 1911's. The question has been asked several times on the Kimber forum and I can only remember two instances of a MIM part failing.
I know first hand forged parts can fail too. I took my 625-2 out to shoot with very mild hand loads. First shot was fine but in the second shot something hit me in the chest. I had only loaded two rounds and when I went to open the cylinder the thumb latch was gone. The threaded stud on the bolt that the thumb latch attaches to broke off perfectly clean. It was if it was a seperate part stuck on with glue and had snapped off. It was a perfectly clean break. I looked around and located the thumb latch and nut. I contacted Smith and sent it in for a free repair. I believe in my early 625-2 that is a forged part.
I hear they had problems...
....when they first started with them because the manufacturing procedure wasn't pinned down. It didn't take long to correct and out of things to worry about, MIM parts are very low on the scale. I was more upset that S&W seemed to lose the ability to put a barrel on straight for a while there, or even worse, to drill a hole in the frame that could accept a straight barrel.
....when they first started with them because the manufacturing procedure wasn't pinned down. It didn't take long to correct and out of things to worry about, MIM parts are very low on the scale. I was more upset that S&W seemed to lose the ability to put a barrel on straight for a while there, or even worse, to drill a hole in the frame that could accept a straight barrel.
Never had a parts failure in any S&W I have owned. Of course, now that I have said that......
OLDSTER
Member
I've never experienced failure of any MIM part. But have had to replace a few cast and forged parts over the years ( talking handguns here). If anyone is worried about the structural integrity of MIM parts in general, you need to avoid flying, driving, riding in mass transit, using appliances, computers, lawn care and snow removal equipment, fishing, boating, shooting, camping, RVing, etc., etc. BTW, "metal injected moulding" has been in use since the mid 1980s'.
BTW, "metal injected moulding" has been in use since the mid 1980s'.
Last edited:
Similar threads
- Locked
- Locked
