1911 broken bushing

Catfish

Catfish

I'll tell you what I'd do man,
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My Colt Officer MkIV stainless has a broken barrel bushing. Apparently it still functions because it was like this when I took it down for cleaning, but the laundry list of failures this little gun has experienced continues to grow:

Bushing1.jpg

bushing2.jpg


Can I purchase a drop-in bushing or does this part need to be fit?
Who would you recommend I buy from?
and... who wants to sell me one from their parts bin?

Because this is the internet and there are rules, here's the gun:

Colt 1911 Officer's ACP.jpg
 
A new one will require fitting to the slide and barrel. Maybe you get lucky, but never count on it.
 
When I opened this I expected a crack or something, I wonder why it failed like that? It just sorta "chipped" out the little tooth.
 
Well... this gun continues to be very educational.

And the part is on it's way... with a few other odds and ends. It's never safe for me to visit Brownell's.
 
Catfish I have one for free if ya want it. I would assume it would fit unless Kimber is different. Pm me if interested. edit ..I didn't see you had one on the way lol

20210131_195803.jpg
 
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Short slide guns can be brutal on particular parts. I had this sorta failure and the recoil pack flew out. I had enough problems with them that I quit with 1911 short slide guns. Anything below Commander length can be problematical.
They all work great....if you don't shoot 'em. Mags, bushings, links start to rear their heads if you get to multiple Ks.
Just what I see here. Certain yours all work perfectly.
 
I'm gonna need a little help with this one. The bushing came in the mail and I cannot get it to fit in the slide. It's a few thousands over and I cannot figure out what the correct tool is for this job. Kuhnhausen says to lap it in with compound but that doesn't work if you can't seat the bushing first. Anyone know how to do this properly?
 
In my experience, the little knob (shown at 9:00 in your first picture) fits into a cutout in the slide.
Usually this knob is oversized to allow a custom fit. Usually it is too tall so if the bushing hits
the knob before it goes into the muzzle, that is the place to start.
 
No, the diameter of the bushing is larger than the diameter of the hole in the end of the slide. it wont go in.
 
I did yes. It's the Wilson Bulletproof bushing and it matches the diameter specified in the ad.

shopwilsoncombat.com

Barrel Bushing | Officer's | Stainless

shopwilsoncombat.com

This hardened stainless steel replacement barrel bushing is oversized and will require fitting to slide and barrel diameter.
Click to expand...
I'm just looking for advice on the proper method to do that^.
 
Catfish said:
I did yes. It's the Wilson Bulletproof bushing and it matches the diameter specified in the ad.

shopwilsoncombat.com

Barrel Bushing | Officer's | Stainless

shopwilsoncombat.com


I'm just looking for advice on the proper method to do that^.
Click to expand...
Says in the info it has to be fit to the slide and barrel. Don’t these usually get turned in a lathe to fit to slide?
 
Me. said:
OK.... I’ll say what I’d do..... jam a tapered dowel into the bushing.
Chuck the dowel in a drill.
Get busy with the 400 grit wet sanding.

Keep going until it is a super-tight fit.

Move to 600 grit or compound until it can only be fit by gently tapping in, and can only be turned with a bushing wrench.

I don’t think I’d lap it to the slide. Why change the slide when it’s the bushing that needs to change.

How’s the barrel fit?
Click to expand...
That's a good idea. And if it's not... I'm out $20.
Barrel fit is just a tad loose but not sloppy. Nothing to do on the inside of it.
 
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frakncylons said:
Says in the info it has to be fit to the slide and barrel. Don’t these usually get turned in a lathe to fit to slide?
Click to expand...
If this is the case, then I'm in over my head.
 
I found this this morning - no idea how I missed it before. It looks easy with the right tools.
I might be able to pull this off with a drill press but I don't have access to a lathe.

 
Whatever works. I used two of these to augment a JMT Mark III sight pusher to remove and install sights on an HK recently.

1613439009693.png
 
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hp468 said:
Good lord this is as bad as me and @bigfelipe working on @premise revolver at Billys.
Click to expand...

Catfish's issues are heartbreaking as a Colt fanboy. Watching y'all file on the frozen barrel of a cheap revolver while launching springs into Billy's holster pile was just entertaining. Plus, everything worked out, except it shoots about 15 degrees high at 10 feet.
 
premise said:
Catfish's issues are heartbreaking as a Colt fanboy. Watching y'all file on the frozen barrel of a cheap revolver while launching springs into Billy's holster pile was just entertaining. Plus, everything worked out, except it shoots about 15 degrees high at 10 feet.
Click to expand...

I applaud his ingenuity, it looks just like something I would rig up on a whim. I got faith in ya @Catfish
 
Catfish said:
Im working on it. its demanding lots of creativity and patience but I think I'm on to something...

View attachment 304411

Yes that's a highlighter.
Click to expand...

If you just want to put the bushing on a mandrel and sand it to size, I can help, but if you need to take off more than a few thou you’ll want a metal lathe to keep things round and not heat the part up too much.

Video hurt my soul, but someone please tell me if there was some advantage to mounting the barrel bushing with the flange to the outside, that seemed reckless.

@Catfish, you need to fit the bushing to the slide, the bushing to the barrel, or both?
 
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