[ExtremeShot]

I was building a new gun recently (this makes the 3rd gun I've built) and noticed that there was a little side-to-side play in the slide that caused the gun to rattle a little if shaken. The weird part was that the slide was very tight at the back and front but sloppy in the middle. After talking with a few smiths, we figure the slide came this way from the factory. I ended up making some tools like those sold by Brownells to tighten up the slide. I got the problem fixed.

Anyway I was curious to know, from those of you that build a lot of guns, how often do you have to tighten the slide when putting a new gun together? ...I just didn't expect that I would have to tighten up a brand new slide.

Darren

[edited for typo]

This post has been edited by ExtremeShot: 02 November 2009 - 06:08 PM

[boynty77]

get it hard chromed, they can build up the chrome to take out the play

[ExtremeShot]

boynty77, on Nov 2 2009, 03:31 PM, said:

get it hard chromed, they can build up the chrome to take out the play

I think you're incorrect. As I recall, hard chroming was less than a half thou thick. Even when considering two sides, you are still way less than a thou thick.

[wide45]

Hard chrome is often done commercially to build up undersize parts. It would need to be ground to size after plating. I expect welding up, and machining the receiver would be less spendy.

[ExtremeShot]

The hard chroming discussion is off topic. As I said in the original post, I already got the problem fixed....and I did it the right way, not the band-aid way. I was just wanting to know how often guys like Matt, Howard, Bob, etc, see factory slides that are loose.

[Matt Cheely]

That's why it's a factory gun, not custom

Ok, so I reread that a few times, so you're saying the frame/slide had too large of a lateral tolerance and they were loose already? In that case I would try a few more slides till I got one that worked with it.

This post has been edited by Matt Cheely: 02 November 2009 - 06:04 PM

[ExtremeShot]

Matt Cheely, on Nov 2 2009, 07:02 PM, said:

That's why it's a factory gun, not custom

I guess I'm not being clear...I'm talking about slides YOU and I buy to build the custom guns. Are you pretty much just milling the rails, hand lapping and you're done or are you getting some that you also need to squeeze?

[ExtremeShot]

Matt Cheely, on Nov 2 2009, 07:02 PM, said:

Ok, so I reread that a few times, so you're saying the frame/slide had too large of a lateral tolerance and they were loose already? In that case I would try a few more slides till I got one that worked with it.

You got it. Oh...so you just send it back to Brownells?

[ExtremeShot]

PS: It's not the frame..it's the slide that was loose.

[Toolguy]

Chrome or other plating is sometimes used to add to the size of a part, but normally is carefully planned from the beginning to be done that way. Plating over .001 inch thick
sometimes has a tendency to peel off over time. Usually the best way to fit a slide is a good metal to metal fit. Then if plating is desired, lap the slide and rails with the appropriate
grit of lapping compound to create the correct amount of clearance for a predetermined thickness of plating, usually 1/2 thousandth or less.

[gans]

ExtremeShot, on Nov 2 2009, 03:08 PM, said:

I was building a new gun recently (this makes the 3rd gun I've built) and noticed that there was a little side-to-side play in the slide that caused the gun to rattle a little if shaken. The weird part was that the slide was very tight at the back and front but sloppy in the middle. After talking with a few smiths, we figure the slide came this way from the factory. I ended up making some tools like those sold by Brownells to tighten up the slide. I got the problem fixed.

Anyway I was curious to know, from those of you that build a lot of guns, how often do you have to tighten the slide when putting a new gun together? ...I just didn't expect that I would have to tighten up a brand new slide.

Darren

[edited for typo]

Never had to, that I can remember. You did not state what brand of parts you are using though. After fitting 100's of STI slides and frames (sometimes Caspian also), the parts are over size and need to be machined down to fit. Usually the bottom of the slide and the sides of the frame need to be machined for fitting.

[huesos]

Extremeshot,
I would like to ask a question. How did you build the tool that sqeezes the slide back into the proper dimension? Would this be usable to tighten an older investment cast slide on a Para? At what intervals are you applying pressure along the length of the slide.

[ExtremeShot]

huesos, on Nov 19 2009, 06:07 PM, said:

Extremeshot,
I would like to ask a question. How did you build the tool that sqeezes the slide back into the proper dimension? Would this be usable to tighten an older investment cast slide on a Para? At what intervals are you applying pressure along the length of the slide.

I just built them using scrap metal and my mill. First you need to understand how the tools work. Below are the pictures and description of the process from Brownells.

If you look at the picture below, the Slide Tightening Stop has three holes. The two outside holes are dowel pins that are press fit into one part of the tool. The middle hole is drilled and tapped on the second part. A set screw pushes against the opposite part to control the width. When you want to decrease the width, you just back out the set screw and squeeze the two parts together.

Hope this helps,
Darren

PS: Since I was using scrap stuff around my shop, my tools don't look exactly like these on Brownells...however, they work just as good. For example, I made my slide tightening stop 2 inches long so the load would be spread out over a larger area. On my vice blocks I used thinner material so I wouldn't have to open up my vice as much. For the fulcrum bar, I just used a flat piece of aluminum instead of a round piece that way the fulcrum bar would fit under the vice screw.

Slide Tightening Stop:


Vice Blocks and Fulcrum Bar:

Quote

Slide Tightening Blocks use the powerful mechanical advantage of your bench-mounted vise to produce controlled, incremental squeezing of the slide to tighten its fit to the frame. Lets you tighten a stainless steel slide to run on a stainless steel frame with as little as .001"-.002" clearance without risk of galling. Should be used with the Slide Tightening Stop to prevent overtightening and damage to the slide. Specially heat treated aluminum alloy won’t deform under pressure and won’t mar the slide; kit includes two vise blocks and steel fulcrum rod. Slide Tightening Stop fits between the slide rails to set correct dimensions and prevent deformation of the slide while applying pressure with the Tightening Blocks. Tighten until the stop cannot be moved in the slide, release pressure, move the stop and blocks down the slide, and apply pressure in the new location. Repeat procedure until the entire slide/frame contact area has been tightened.

[edited for typo]

This post has been edited by ExtremeShot: 20 November 2009 - 12:57 PM

[ExtremeShot]

Here are the tools I made. The black bar is my fulcrum bar. Notice I also cut some slots in the bottom of my vice jaws/blocks so that they would slip over the vice screw. I wanted to keep the jaws/blocks long but the vice screw was getting in the way. ...I need to buy a bigger/better vice.