As I've often stressed, the link's only function is getting the barrel out of the slide, but there's a little more to it. It also times the linkdown process. Swapping out different lengths alters the timing of that process.
Too long a link delays it. (There's that word again.) How much depends on a few factors that I won't try to cover.
Let's take Bubba, who has bought himself a new or new to him 1911 pistol and he's noticed that when the slide is in battery he can press firmly on the barrel and see a few thousandths of drop. He's bought into the notion that the link locks the barrel and orders a longer link from Brownells...installs it and sees that all is well in Shooterville...and proceeds to wreck his gun.
When the link is too long, the result is very often a condition where the barrel strikes the vertical impact surface before the barrel lugs are completely clear of the slide's lugs. Even though the gun seems to be functioning fine...it's not.
Eventually, our boy notices that the front barrel lug corners have rounded off. If the slide is fairly hard and tough, this rounding won't be apparent, but it's still there when checked with a magnifying glass. At this point, the slide is probably salvageable. The barrel is not.
On the other end of the spectrum is the short link. The results of short linking...like long linking...often shows no indication that something is wrong, but is more disastrous and can even lead to the gun blowing up in your hand.
Let's say that Bubba's lower lug is a little out of spec, and he's noticed that the barrel is "locking" or standing on the link and he's read just enough to understand that it ain't right...so he gets on the phone and orders up a shorter link and installs it. Success! The barrel is now supported by the slidestop crosspin and he proceeds to wreck his barrel and maybe his whole gun if he doesn't catch it in time.
The first indication that something isn't exactly right is the slidestop pin getting into a bind between the link and the forward radius of the lower lug when the barrel tries to link down. He relieves the lower lug and carries on, unsuspecting of the disaster that awaits.
The short link advances the linkdown process.
One of two things happen, and sometimes both...neither of which is good.
It creates a condition known as "stopping on the link" which means that the barrel's movement during recoil is stopped by the link and slidestop pin instead of the vertical impact surface. The link is now under tensile stresses that it wasn't designed for. It can stretch, break, or cause the lower lug to fracture at the junction with the barrel. In extreme cases, it can pull the lug completely through to the chamber. Bad JuJu. Kaboom JuJu.
The first cousin to stopping on the link is where the barrel hits the frame bed before or at the same time that it hits the vertical impact surface. The results are the same. Both conditions can be present.
To conclude, playing with different links without understanding what the link does and why rarely has a good ending.
Next up: Barrel timing tests.
Stay tuned! (Pun intended.)
Too long a link delays it. (There's that word again.) How much depends on a few factors that I won't try to cover.
Let's take Bubba, who has bought himself a new or new to him 1911 pistol and he's noticed that when the slide is in battery he can press firmly on the barrel and see a few thousandths of drop. He's bought into the notion that the link locks the barrel and orders a longer link from Brownells...installs it and sees that all is well in Shooterville...and proceeds to wreck his gun.
When the link is too long, the result is very often a condition where the barrel strikes the vertical impact surface before the barrel lugs are completely clear of the slide's lugs. Even though the gun seems to be functioning fine...it's not.
Eventually, our boy notices that the front barrel lug corners have rounded off. If the slide is fairly hard and tough, this rounding won't be apparent, but it's still there when checked with a magnifying glass. At this point, the slide is probably salvageable. The barrel is not.
On the other end of the spectrum is the short link. The results of short linking...like long linking...often shows no indication that something is wrong, but is more disastrous and can even lead to the gun blowing up in your hand.
Let's say that Bubba's lower lug is a little out of spec, and he's noticed that the barrel is "locking" or standing on the link and he's read just enough to understand that it ain't right...so he gets on the phone and orders up a shorter link and installs it. Success! The barrel is now supported by the slidestop crosspin and he proceeds to wreck his barrel and maybe his whole gun if he doesn't catch it in time.
The first indication that something isn't exactly right is the slidestop pin getting into a bind between the link and the forward radius of the lower lug when the barrel tries to link down. He relieves the lower lug and carries on, unsuspecting of the disaster that awaits.
The short link advances the linkdown process.
One of two things happen, and sometimes both...neither of which is good.
It creates a condition known as "stopping on the link" which means that the barrel's movement during recoil is stopped by the link and slidestop pin instead of the vertical impact surface. The link is now under tensile stresses that it wasn't designed for. It can stretch, break, or cause the lower lug to fracture at the junction with the barrel. In extreme cases, it can pull the lug completely through to the chamber. Bad JuJu. Kaboom JuJu.
The first cousin to stopping on the link is where the barrel hits the frame bed before or at the same time that it hits the vertical impact surface. The results are the same. Both conditions can be present.
To conclude, playing with different links without understanding what the link does and why rarely has a good ending.
Next up: Barrel timing tests.
Stay tuned! (Pun intended.)
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