Monday, April 26, 2010

Questions Answered While U Wait:

From someone in Denver:


Well, assuming it's a stock Norinco, then the only disassembly tools you'll need are those wiggly bits at the ends of your hands, sometimes referred to colloquially as "fingers". If the bushing is tighter than any Norc bushing I've ever seen, you can use the forward lip of the magazine floorplate as a bushing tool; that's why it's shaped like that.

If someone has installed a full-length guide rod, sometimes referred to colloquially as "the jammer", then all bets are off, and you may need any one of a number of weird accessories, from allen wrenches to bent paperclips, to take your gun apart...

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

You can always buy the LaRue Tactical 1911 disassembly tool and adult beverage opener.

I used it once on the Kimber and several times on beers.

Gerry

Weer'd Beard said...

My S&W1911s can be field stripped with the stock FLGR, but the stakes are a tad higher. We've all lost control of the recoil spring cap. When you loose control of the FLGR cap that sharp little edge can take a nice little hunk of meat off your thumb!

So you get to search all over creation for the cap AND you're bleeding like a stuck pig! Yayyy!

Tam said...

They sell GI rods and plugs at Brownells. I'm just sayin'... :)

og said...

If it's anything like any Norinco I've seen, it is either damned near welded together, or will eventually disassemble itself upon arriving at the appropriate round count.

staghounds said...

The 1911 is its own beverage opener, too!

Pop the magazine out about a half inch, and the gap between its back edge and the lanyard loop is perfect for popping off a crown bottle seal.

(Beer was not sold in cans that needed an opener until AFTER the transfigurtion of JMB/PBUH.)

Diogenes said...

"If someone has installed a full-length guide rod, sometimes referred to colloquially as "the jammer", then all bets are off, and you may need any one of a number of weird accessories, from allen wrenches to bent paperclips, to take your gun apart..."

Oh come now. The easy way to field strip a 1911 with a full length guide rod(assuming a "reasonable" recoil spring):

- clear the weapon and remove magazine
- with barrel pointing to your left, insert left thumb thru trigger guard and wrap fingers over slide
- retract slide and grip exposed barrel with left fingers; holding slide retracted
- push slide stop out with right index finger and remove
-slowly allow slide to come foward and remove from frame; covering recoil spring with left palm
-whille covering recoil spring with left palm, grab aft end of recoil guide rod with right hand, lift and slowly release recoil spring tension

That last part is the only hazardous step. Not sayin' there's not a FLGR out there that can't be field stripped that way, but in 10 years of selling 45 parts at gun shows, I've never come across one...

My favorite Commander in 38 super has an old Arminex recoil assembly and that's the only way to field strip it.

Tam said...

That doesn't always work with some one-piece/reverse plug/bull barrel setups, of course.

I will say that FLGRs are handy on guns where you're swapping back and forth between a regular slide and a rimfire conversion, since you can pop the top half off and store it as a unit.

Kristophr said...

So, an Estwing knurlfaced shingling hammer isn't recommended?

The Raving Prophet said...

I've seen the whole "1911 is its own toolbox" bit.

I can't imagine a scenario where it would come to that. If you are out of reach of a basic small toolkit and your gun breaks, you are likely also out of replacement parts. Yes, you can get the sear out of the thing without resorting to a real punch and screwdriver, but what you'll do once it's out is a problem. So is fitting a new one to the gun if you happen to have such a bat-belt on your person.

Neat, but ultimately pointless. And I'm a 1911 guy.

atlharp said...

What is this full length guide rod you speak of? Sounds like something to make the 1911 fun!

Anonymous said...

It ain't about having your gun be some kind of gee whiz multi-tool. You should n't need any kind of tool to pop the top on a gun and do a simple clean.

pdb said...

Neat, but ultimately pointless.

Unless you've got 2 1911s broken in different places and want to make 1 working one. Crap like that happens in the field, and that American parts bin philosophy has saved more butts than German overengineering or English hand fitting ever did, and not just in pistols.

Ed Foster said...

...German overengineering or English hand fitting. Oh bravo Sir, you speak the greatest truth. In point of fact, Bravo Zulu to you and yours.

Tam said...

"You should n't need any kind of tool to pop the top on a gun and do a simple clean."

I can see where that would be important on a military gun, but really, how often is Joe Suburbanite going to be pinned down behind enemy lines, needing to do an emergency field stripping on his CCW piece?

staghounds said...

That's why I stay out of the food court on Black Friday.

A spilled Orange Julius or some Chik-Fil-A residue will hang up a compact 1911 every time...

Weer'd Beard said...

"how often is Joe Suburbanite going to be pinned down behind enemy lines, needing to do an emergency field stripping on his CCW piece?"

Zombie invasion, Face-eating Baboons, Vampires, Giant Space Robots, tool-using Cephalapods.

The list goes on, I can add more!

Tam said...

Touche! ;)

(Although I will note that I try to keep my preferences sorted between "preferred" and "mandatory", and also to realize that what's necessary for me may be of no moment to others...)

Will said...

Diogenes,
I take all 1911's apart that way, unfortunately, the FLGR usually can't be removed from the slide on the Officers afterwards. The short length requires too much angle at the front end to clear the barrel lugs/link. It's a PITA. Some day I'll weld up the hole in the plug, and use a stock guide.

Anonymous said...

Let me try to clarify Tam, I don't think the gun need to be able to be completely taken apart with no tools. I see no problem if I need to bust out the tools to remove the hammer. Taking the slide off however shouldn't require tools of any kind.

jed said...

Thanks for that. With a few boxes full of tools around here, it isn't something I'd even considered. And I've watched people who know quite a lot about guns strip a 1911, and never seen the floorplate used for the barrel bushing.