Reliability work

[Dave Waits]

Okay, Rick asked the other night about 'Reliability-Jobs'. Basically, what a reliability job is is work done to increase the reliability of the gun, feed,chamber,and eject.
So, in my ongoing effort to piss off every good gunsmith extant I'll explain how with a little filing and polishing you can increase the reliability of your 1911.
Okay, here's a pic of basically what you'll need to do this. The Dremel isn't really necessary as you'll be able to do the same thing with a clean patch.


First, the Slide. Couple items here that are important to proper feed and smoothness. First, is the Disconnect track. Now, before we go any further here I want to explain that we're trying to smooth things, not polish to a mirror-finish as that isn't necessary. Okay, here's the area we're talking about.


Very few of these are really smooth from the factory and very few have the small radius at the breechface bottom. First, take a little Flitz, put it on a clean patch and start rubbing the track,front to back, using light pressure or, if you have a Dremel, use a felt bullet-point, put a small dab on it and use it at 1,000 rpm.Work it for a minute, clean off the flitz and feel it by dragging your fingernail along the track. Keep going, using light pressure until it feels smooth.
Next we're going to put the small radius in. What this does is help the Disconnect ball start downward into the frame smoothly and with less wear. If you look in the photo under the pointer you'll see just how small it needs to be. You can do this easily with a small,flat Jewelers'file. All you want to do is break the edge and then smooth it by rounding with the file and the Flitz.

Okay, next remove the Extractor and firing-pin stop and the firing pin itself and turn the slide up so the breechface is facing you as in the photo below.


Now,we're going to smooth out the breeachface. The reason for this is so the base of the case slides smoothly into place against the breechface. If you don't have a Dremel take an old,small toothbrush,wrap a patch around it, put some Flitz on it where the bristles would be and with light pressure, start moving the patch up and down all the way across the breechface. Give it about two minutes or so and then check it. Remember, we're not going for a mirror-finish, just smooth. Again, you'll be able to feel the difference. When you get it smooth, stop and flush it all out with Hoppes' or other solvent. Remember to flush out the Extractor and firing-pin channels also. you do not want the flitz in the workings after you're done so, clean it well. Here's a pic of the smoothed out breechface for comparison.

Now it's time for the Extractor. This has two purposes as the Extractor is involved with both feed and ejection. What we're going to do is round and slightly lower the area behind the hook and file a small radius in the bottom of the hook.

This is the Extractor before I filed. The next photo shows the rounded pad behind the hook and the small radius on the bottom of the hook. Just like in the Diagram I posted in the helpful Diagram thread.


Now is also a good time to correct any clocking problems you have with an fitted oversized firing-pin stop. Clocking is when the Extractor turns in the channel due to a poorly-fitted stop at the factory. If you have this problem let me know and I'll address it in another thread.

Now for the barrel and frame-ramp. Unfortunately, 1911s were designed to feed with Military-required FMJ ammunition. Due to the shape of RN FMJs, not much needs to be done to get them to feed. But NO! We gotta feed wierd-shaped SWCs and JHPs through ours so, Some polishing is in order. first, we're going to lightly polish the Frame-Ramp so we can help the round bounce up into the chamber. That's right...Bounce. The nose doesn't slide gracefully into the chamber, the breechface kicks it off the ramp and upwards into the chamber. now, with a RN this is no problem but, with sharp,sometimes squared off noses as in alot of JHPs, the nose gets caught on rough spots or milling lines on the ramp. So, we now need another clean patch and the Flitz. See the photo below.

This is my Ramp. Arnel did it and got a little carried away. I use it to shave with at times. You don't need this high-polish, just smooth. Take the patch, put a dab of flitz in the center and, using your little-finger, rub up and down only on the ramp for a minute or two with light pressure. Do not rub across, just up and down in the same direction the nose of the bullet follows. Keep doing this until when you clean the Flitz off to check it, it feels smooth and no rough spots are visible.
Now for the barrel-chamber. see this really shiney chamber-lip? Looks great! It's just for looks, doesn't need to be that polished, Arnel again. See, the only part of the bullet that touches it is part of the case when feeding.


so, what does need to be polished? The underside of the hood!


What happens when the round comes forward is that it bounces upward off of the Frame-Ramp, into the hood and slides into the chamber. So, the hood needs to be smooth. Ever have a round lodge almost straight up with the nose buried in the Hood? This will stop that. What works here is a piece of 3/8ths" dowel with a patch wrapped around it or a Dremel with the felt bullet-point and some Flitz. Move the Dremel or dowel forward and back on the bottom of the Hood and just slightly into the top of the chamber for a minute or two with light pressure. Now, clean it all out and reassemble the gun.


This will help your 1911 feed, chamber and extract better thus increasing reliability.