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Posted By:Gus Fisher
Date: Sunday, 7 May 2000, at 1:14 p.m.
This tip will cover what you may you may do without permanently altering the pistol, so as not to ruin the value of a collector piece. If you replace any parts as mentioned in this tip, you just save the old parts so you can put it back into original condition any time you desire.
If you have a loose barrel bushing or one of those "four fingered" ones that break so easily, a replacement for accuracy and/or reliability is in order. If you have a set of calipers, you measure around the muzzle portion of the barrel. Take the largest measurement you get when going around the barrel and write it down. Then measure the hole in the front of your barrel bushing. Don't be surprised if there are many thousandth's of an inch difference. Take the measurements, and your barrel, slide, unlocking tool, calipers and one of the new plastic bushing wrenches to a gun show or shop where parts are available.
Ideally, you want the hole in the bushing only one thousandth of an inch larger than the barrel diameter. However, that close of a fit often means the bushing will have to be modified so the barrel doesn't have to spring up or down from the slide locking lugs. Since most folks don't know how to do that, or have Jerry Kuhnhausen's book to show you how, we may opt for a little looser fit that will still improve accuracy. Try the fit of your barrel in the bushing you selected to ensure it goes up and down the barrel freely. Then put the barrel and bushing in the slide and see how tight the bushing is in the slide.
Some folks don't like a bushing that fits tight in the slide and forces one to have a bushing wrench to turn it. (Personally, I prefer the bushing tight in the slide as it doesn't affect reliability and makes the pistol more accurate.) A loose bushing won't be as accurate as a tighter bushing, but you have to decide which is most important and get the bushing that matches your thoughts. Once you have the bushing selected, you must check how it affects the barrel going up into the top of the slide.
With the barrel and bushing in the slide, press upward on the barrel till the barrel locking lugs engage the locking lugs in the slide and hold it there. Then take pressure off the barrel and see if it falls free. If it does, you are fine and can stop right there. If you had to put additional pressure to force the barrel up into the lugs or the barrel "springs" downward when you release pressure, the bushing would have to be modified so it doesn't cause the barrel not to unlock properly. At this point, you either try another bushing or expect to have to modify the one you selected. Also, after the pistol is re-assembled with the new bushing, you must check it for unlocking with the unlocking tool mentioned in an earlier tip. If the pistol unlocks properly, you are home free.
With the pistol fully assembled, press down on the top of the barrel. If it doesn't move or only goes down a tiny little bit, that's great. If the barrel moves a noticeable difference downwards, you may want to tighten this up for accuracy by going with a longer link or with the Dwyer "Group Gripper." Please refer to the earlier tip on longer links to tighten up the pistol. Just make sure you check the pistol with the unlocking tool after you replace anything. HTH
Date: Sunday, 7 May 2000, at 1:14 p.m.
This tip will cover what you may you may do without permanently altering the pistol, so as not to ruin the value of a collector piece. If you replace any parts as mentioned in this tip, you just save the old parts so you can put it back into original condition any time you desire.
If you have a loose barrel bushing or one of those "four fingered" ones that break so easily, a replacement for accuracy and/or reliability is in order. If you have a set of calipers, you measure around the muzzle portion of the barrel. Take the largest measurement you get when going around the barrel and write it down. Then measure the hole in the front of your barrel bushing. Don't be surprised if there are many thousandth's of an inch difference. Take the measurements, and your barrel, slide, unlocking tool, calipers and one of the new plastic bushing wrenches to a gun show or shop where parts are available.
Ideally, you want the hole in the bushing only one thousandth of an inch larger than the barrel diameter. However, that close of a fit often means the bushing will have to be modified so the barrel doesn't have to spring up or down from the slide locking lugs. Since most folks don't know how to do that, or have Jerry Kuhnhausen's book to show you how, we may opt for a little looser fit that will still improve accuracy. Try the fit of your barrel in the bushing you selected to ensure it goes up and down the barrel freely. Then put the barrel and bushing in the slide and see how tight the bushing is in the slide.
Some folks don't like a bushing that fits tight in the slide and forces one to have a bushing wrench to turn it. (Personally, I prefer the bushing tight in the slide as it doesn't affect reliability and makes the pistol more accurate.) A loose bushing won't be as accurate as a tighter bushing, but you have to decide which is most important and get the bushing that matches your thoughts. Once you have the bushing selected, you must check how it affects the barrel going up into the top of the slide.
With the barrel and bushing in the slide, press upward on the barrel till the barrel locking lugs engage the locking lugs in the slide and hold it there. Then take pressure off the barrel and see if it falls free. If it does, you are fine and can stop right there. If you had to put additional pressure to force the barrel up into the lugs or the barrel "springs" downward when you release pressure, the bushing would have to be modified so it doesn't cause the barrel not to unlock properly. At this point, you either try another bushing or expect to have to modify the one you selected. Also, after the pistol is re-assembled with the new bushing, you must check it for unlocking with the unlocking tool mentioned in an earlier tip. If the pistol unlocks properly, you are home free.
With the pistol fully assembled, press down on the top of the barrel. If it doesn't move or only goes down a tiny little bit, that's great. If the barrel moves a noticeable difference downwards, you may want to tighten this up for accuracy by going with a longer link or with the Dwyer "Group Gripper." Please refer to the earlier tip on longer links to tighten up the pistol. Just make sure you check the pistol with the unlocking tool after you replace anything. HTH