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Reinstalling the slide stop

18K views 35 replies 25 participants last post by  Ben S. 
#1 ·
[Other than just being careful:]
What method do the professionals use to reinstall slide stops without creating the "idiot scratch" on the frame? Is there a special tool or technique that they use?

I tried a forum SEARCH, but couldn't locate what I was looking for.
 
#2 ·
there is a whole thread that starts slide stop installation tool

1911Forum > Hardware & Accessories > Gunsmithing & Troubleshooting
Slide Stop Installation Tool. I get hits on idiot mark as well.

Brownells offers one - screwdriver shaped, with a recessed end for pushing in on the plunger.

It's made to help with thumb safety insertion, but works with slide stops too.

http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/st...=8841&title=1911+AUTO+SAFETY+DETENT+DEPRESSOR
__________________
"Do, or do not - there is no 'try'."
Yoda
some folks use a business card or equal, assorted plastic devices, to protect the finish
 
#4 ·
sebell said:
I'm curious to know how these "idiot marks" are created, and what they look like. I've never had any issues with the slide stop when reassembling.
When reassembling your 1911, let the slide stop hang down in the trigger guard area. Then move it up toward the notch, and as soon as it reaches the frame, instead of lifting it up a bit, let the slide stop scrape along the frame as you swing it up toward the notch. Maybe even bear down a bit as you do it. You will have a nicely arched scratch in your frame!

That's the idiot mark--don't actually do this, you idiot! :)
 
#5 ·
sebell -
The "idiot scratch" I'm referring to is a vertical scratch (arc) in the frame below the slide stop lever. It's caused when the underside of the slide stop contacts the frame as you try to maneuver the slide stop into position to 'snick' in place.
 
#6 ·
ClarkEMyers said:
1911Forum > Hardware & Accessories > Gunsmithing & Troubleshooting
Slide Stop Installation Tool...
Thanks; I didn't know such a tool existed. I haven't had a whole lot of luck using pieces of plastic CCs, wooden toothpicks, popcicle sticks, etc. My plunger springs must be super strong or something because it seems to take quite a bit of force to push the plunger pin in. Maybe I'll lube one of them and work it back and forth and see if it loosens things up.

Thanks for the feedback.
 
#9 ·
The slide stop should be fitted such that a straight push down into the takedown notch is all that's needed.

I know that many production pistols are not so finely made, but that's my big gripe about the modern 1911 industry. The quality details that made the 1911 such a winner for 70 years (and the quality that many non-1911 pistols still exhibit) have been lost to too many modern manufacturers.
 
#12 ·
I use either a small flat blade screwdriver or the tip of a SS scale. Both work equally well.

RWW
 
#13 ·
Nick has pointed out that the gun should be made in such a way that the stop clicks in without any difficulty. Ok, maybe that's true. The point is that there are millions of 1911's out there that don't pass that test so you have to go on to plan "B".

The thumb safety plunger tool (Marvel) barely works for the thumb saftey and not at all for the slide stop. The use of a flat screwdriver is the very thing that will scratch the slide if it slips. Here is my method. Use a spare length of feeler gauge, say about .010" thick. Make sure the end is rounded and edges are smooth. Use the feeler gauge like a shoe horn as the stop is pushed straight inwards. The gauge material can flex, but it won't fly off like a screwdriver will do. That is how my grandfather, Wolf-Looks-Back, did it, and taught the method to me.

-Sparks
 
#15 ·
I start with the slide stop rotated SLIGHTLY below the plunger, push in & rotate up at the same time, using both hands,one at the front,one at the back of the slide stop.In almost 20 years of shooting them, I've never scratched a 1911 in this way ...........................yet.:dope:
 
#17 ·
swamp yankee said:
I start with the slide stop rotated SLIGHTLY below the plunger, push in & rotate up at the same time, using both hands,one at the front,one at the back of the slide stop.In almost 20 years of shooting them, I've never scratched a 1911 in this way ...........................yet.:dope:
+1 on that...NO TOOL is needed if you install it properly (technique). The 1911 was designed (and rightly so) that the ENTIRE gun can be detail stripped with NO TOOLs using the available parts on the gun as the implements needed to start or finish installing any given part. Imagine our GIs having to carry around a separate screwdriver or credit card or "invented tool" to get their slidestops in...just not needed with a small amount of practice. JB designed the gun perfectly...as is, no tools necessary.:rock:
 
#19 ·
JMB designed it right, then hordes of various manufacturers cranked them out without regard for things like correct-length slide stop plungers...Colt included.

Shorten the plunger. Measure carefully, shorten, contour, and polish the tip of the plunger. Problem solved.
 
#21 ·
swamp yankee said:
I start with the slide stop rotated SLIGHTLY below the plunger, push in & rotate up at the same time, using both hands,one at the front,one at the back of the slide stop.In almost 20 years of shooting them, I've never scratched a 1911 in this way ...........................yet.:dope:
This is also the way I do it. It will pop right in, most times.

What you don't want to happen is the plunger to get stuck in the small slot between the magazine follower engagement lug and the slide stop body. Then you will have to go hunt down a screwdriver to get the bloody thing back out.
 
#22 ·
Swamp Yankee and Slopemeno have it correct. NO tool should be needed to install the slide stop and if one is, the slide stop or the plunger is out of spec.

Incredibly, some owners of expensive guns have been told by the maker that installation of the slide stop requires a tool, and then offered to sell them the tool!! Their lack of quality control is exceeded only by their greed!

Jim
 
#24 · (Edited)


Start with the slide cut aligned with the frame opening and with the slide stop in the top pictures position. Gently press inwards and upwards. The trick here is to push the slide stop so that the plunger does not get into the slide stop slot, but below it, so that it gets to the flat part of the flat slide stop face.

the second photos shows you the plunger as it starts climbing to the flat slide stop face. Keep pushing inwards and upwards.

the last photo you can see that the slide stop has entered the frame and the slide cut, and is almost fully into its final position.

The slidestop is designed so that it has your credit card, slidetop install tool, sheet metal or screwdriver built right into it...its that narrowing curved part that eases the plunger back (as shown in the very top photo)...no tools should be necessary if you do it right.

These photos are from m1911.org in their techniques section...
 
#25 ·
help

Making sure there is a bit or more of my favorite breed of gun lube on the back of the catch where it touches the plunger in re-installation helps me, too. Wipe away excess, I'm done.
 
#26 ·
DevilDave1911 -

I think most of us probably already know how it should be done, but sometimes accidents just happen even to the best of us. In other words, I can reinstall the slide stop properly 100 times, however at time 101, it may 'slip' enough to cause the accidental scratch -- it's that type of scratch I'm trying to completely avoid. :scratch:
 
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