To cut, or not to cut my 45 slide
I was at my local gun shop looking for a new ejector becasue i though mine was broken after looking at a freind of mine's colt, mine was much shorter, but after taking the gun to the shop he told my that the slide opening was origianal GI style not the impoved lower cut, there was another guy there that told me he had the same issue with his colt, the issue being not able to shoot cheap ammo,(i just want to be able to burn through the cheaper stuff) So the gun shop owner cut the opening bigger with a dremel and he told me how to do it, i feel like i would be able to do it but there is just part of me that feels hesitant to do this. Also if i do this then the caseings won't fly back and hit me in the forehead. What do you guys think i should do?
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Slides are so readily available and inexpensive for the 1911, before I went to grinding (keep in mind it must be reblued), I think I would just purchase another slide with the features you want. ie: adjustable sights, lowered ejection port, front & rear serations, ect.
Bob0 -
Send it to a compotent gunsmith and have him flare and lower the ejection port. Do not do this yourself with a dremel! 0 -
the slide is stainless, and the gun shop owner who preformed this isn't a gun smith, and the owner of the pistol was very pleased with the results 0 -
If you have some machinist skills you can do it but you should look at a colt "GOLD CUP" and take measurements . remember you can take matherial away with a grinder but it's &^%# geting it back on with one. 0 -
My shooting buddie's dad has a gold cup and i have the tools to take the measuerments, but i just though of maybe having my the machine shop instructor hear at my college. He is really into collecting World War 1 and 2 guns. He sometimes brings in his own projects to work on, so i might ask him about it. But i don't think that it would be very hard to do with a dremel. use a cutting disk to make a flat cut parallel with the slide under the exsisiting opening, then just make 2 little cuts on each side and then the time consuming part of grinding the curves and polishing. 0 -
WAIT!!!
What kind of 1911 is yours? Once you cut it you kill all value of it as being original.
Another question is how old is your gun? Are you the 1st owner? If so, send it back to the original manufacturer and tell them you want the gun to work!!!
Regards,
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Gun Guy-
I am sitting in here reading your posts and the answers, and I am flinching with pain, actually cringing.
The manner of ejection is mostly controlled by the length and shape of the ejector. Your original "GI" style short ejector can be changed and a longer "improved" (Commander style) or performance style ejector installed. This will change the angle and timing of the ejection. I have seen many "ported" and lowered slides ( done a lot of them myself) that will not eject "sideways" by just lowering the ejection port/window. You must modify the ejector accordingly.
The angle at which the original GI style slide ejects is already slanted towards 45 degrees functioning and with a little bit of tweaking by a gunsmith will work fine.
Your stainles steel slide, most likely will already be lowered some by its aftermarket maker.
You must be very carefull not to ruin the breechface side guides, or the extractor support tunnel, which are in the area you wish to "stone axe" off for no real good reason.
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"If it ain't broke, fix it anyway... make it better!" (RadCat)0 -
The gun in question is a springfield 1911 A1. It is the older model, I havn't seen too many of these in gun shops, if fact you don't see too many used springfields in the gun shops, my dad bough it used at a gun show for $500, it was in very nice shape. I have talked with the guy that cut into his slide and he tired a different ejector, extractor claw. But he said when i tried the longer ejector made for the lowered ejection port, it just jamed also but it a different manner, i can't recall how he said they jammed then. But i was thinking if i did cut into the slide i would want to get a the new longer type of ejector to match my modified slide, so i might as well try the ejector first if i am going to get one in the long run any way. Maybe my shooting buddy will let me borrow the one off of his colt commander. Also it won't hurt anything to contact springfield so i think that i will do so. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by gunguy30_06
The gun in question is a springfield 1911 A1. It is the older model, I havn't seen too many of these in gun shops, if fact you don't see too many used springfields in the gun shops, my dad bough it used at a gun show for $500, it was in very nice shape. I have talked with the guy that cut into his slide and he tired a different ejector, extractor claw. But he said when i tried the longer ejector made for the lowered ejection port, it just jamed also but it a different manner, i can't recall how he said they jammed then. But i was thinking if i did cut into the slide i would want to get a the new longer type of ejector to match my modified slide, so i might as well try the ejector first if i am going to get one in the long run any way. Maybe my shooting buddy will let me borrow the one off of his colt commander. Also it won't hurt anything to contact springfield so i think that i will do so.
I would give springfield a call, it's their gun let them fix it.
Regards,0 -
There is no way I would touch it with a dremel tool ,no competent gunsmith would even suggest such a thing ,the machine they use will cut it in 5 minutes ,but will take an hour to set it up ,and then it will have to be refinished ,but first I would put an extended ejector on it ,and see how it functions ,if it functions fine why bother ,you will have a few more hundred bucks into the gun ,and you will never be able to recoup the extra 0 -
Dremel.... Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek
Buy a slide with features you want... Chances are you will have to anyway after you destroy it with a Dremel. Rigidity is crucial in any machining operation, Stainless also tends to work harden if not properly machined. I work in a tool crib in a rather large machine shop and am real handy with Dremel style tools. I wouldn't attempt this. If you are determined to do this kind of work and continue to do this type projects there are several fairly cheap mini-mills/drill/lathes on the market. Smithy/Grizzly/Unimat and a couple dozen others.0
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