someone said my auto is "stacking"

[mozeppa]

something about the slide return spring being wore out.
if this is the case ....would it have the symptoms of not returning the slide back into full battery.

i made a new barrel bushing that is beefier than the original. ..(i have to heat treat it tho.)
and it works flawlessly...however i doesn't seem like the return spring is slamming the slide forward hard enough to strip a new round from the mag and go into battery.

will a worn out spring cause this to happen?

at any rate i've ordered a new wolf spring for it.

[Premod70]

If the slide was returning to battery properly before the bushing I would suspect the bushing being a little too tight.

[mozeppa]

bushing not too tight ...it racks really easy.

the original bushing has the ears bent forward ...as if when it goes bang , the slide is going back rearwards with such force
that it has bent the barrel bushing ears forward.

they barely hold the recoil spring plug in anymore.

[Silverboolit]

Your action spring, recoil spring, may be stacking up and acting as a solid tube. Check it by holding the slide all the way back, and then pushing in on the spring retainer at the front. You should be able to depress the spring a little. If not, the spring is 'stacking', where there is no gap in the spring coils. Very hard on the bushing as the slide wants to continue to move back and is blocked by the spring.

Not returning to battery suggests a worn spring or other problems. This is on a 1911, right?

[mozeppa]

it's on a 1922 "star" ....built exactly like a 1911.
even breaks down like one (basic field strip)
check out the pix...

[Greg S]

From your description, I would say spring stacking. Measure the diameter of the original spring and coil count and compare to the new spring.

[Silverboolit]

Try removing the spring and pulling the slide all the way back, Note where the slide stops its backward movement. Reinsert the spring and see if the slide moves the same distance. Also, you stated that you made a beefier bushing? You made it thicker on the front ears? Did you do a relief cut on the inside of the bushing to allow for the barrel to move when it cams down when unlocking? Does the barrel move freely both in and out of battery with no spring in the gun?

[mozeppa]

I'm still not convinced that the spring is the problem ...other than it being weak from age.

if you'll look at my drawing,
i'm using back yard mechanics logic here...

spring in ...or out ... the slide can only move just so far rearward until it stops...with the guide rod out the slide stops under 3/32" further back.
so with the guide rod and spring out of the gun...i can put in a loaded magazine and rack every round out of it out onto the table.
with the guide rod in and no spring it has trouble stripping the next round and going into full battery....same with spring in.

i noted that another one of my 1911's came with a really long guide rod that passed thru the spring plug with the slide fully rearward.
i deduced that the slide isn't supposed to be stopped by the guide rod contacting the spring plug...that the slide stops due a block in the frame at the rear.

in this gun...
spring in or out...and the slide fully rearward the guide rod is touching the spring plug so solidly that the plug can NOT be depressed any further.
it is contacted so hard that you can't even wiggle the plug or turn it in the slide.

also ...i see evidence that the guide rod is beating the daylights out of the back of the plug.
it seems to me that it's possible that the guide rod is hitting the back side of the spring retainer plug with enough
force as to cause the spring plug to hit the 2 "ears" on the barrel bushing...causing them to bend outwards. (see drawing)

all this being said... is it possible that if i shorten the guide rod...say 1/8" inch... put it back together that this will fix it?

this would give the slide a small gap between the guide rod and the back of the spring plug so that the force of the slide won't jam the
spring plug into the bushing.....

or am i all wet here.

[mozeppa]

hi silver boolit!

i was typing up my deductions when you posted ...the bushing i made internally is the same ...it's on the outside of the slide that's beefier.

taking a pix now...

[mozeppa]

yup everything is freely moving ...you touched on the slide movement ...and i was addressing my observations that basically asking the same questions as you.

see above.

[mozeppa]

so.... i put the slide fully rearward without the spring in it....but left the guide rod in.

also left the bushing out .....then i set the spring plug on top of the guide rod.

and lo and behold the plug sits almost a 1/8" above the bushing ears.

i did manage to push the spring fully onto the guide rod by hand..(wasn't easy) there was about 5/16"
of the guide rod still out the end of the compressed spring.

so i wonder if somebody put a too long guide rod in it....or the wrong plug?

[Silverboolit]

Do you have another guide rod to check with? If you don't get the rod/plug figured out, you will tear the lock right off of the bushing that you made, now that the ears will not give.

Sounds like the guide rod is wrong length for the application. UNLESS, you have a full length rod and need an open ended plug to allow the rod to go through.

With the plug out and the gun in battery, does the rod stick out of the end, or long enough to catch the bushing? ?

[Silverboolit]

You are correct, the slide does not stop on the front of the guide rod, but on the rear ears of the guide rod. Do you have a shock buffer on the guide? The recoil impulse is slowed by the firing pin stop and the main spring. The recoil spring's job is to move the slide forward and strip off the next round.

My guide rod measures 1.568 where the spring fits to the end of the guide. My plug measures overall length of 1.5165.

[Premod70]

There's a couple of different length plugs. With the recoil spring out and the slide all the way to the rear the plug should have clearance between itself and the bushing ears, if not shorten the plug.

[mozeppa]

There's a couple of different length plugs. With the recoil spring out and the slide all the way to the rear the plug should have clearance between itself and the bushing ears, if not shorten the plug.

this ^

no shock buffers ....and my plug is only about 7/16" long and is solid all the way thru with only a concave place on the back
of the plug for the guide rod to go into it maybe 3/32" and is only .420 in diameter.

Not very much like the modern 1911's that is made to resemble a tiny pringles can that has been opened.

at any rate after working on this all day ...i have achieved success!

it don't hit any more...it strips the next round fine. the return on the slide is slower than my 9mm springfield....but i'm hoping that'll change to a more robust return as soon as the mail comes!

that will give me time to heat treat the new bushing and polish it.

many thanks to all who help me on this journey!
(i don't think i want to be a gunsmith!)

[35remington]

Make sure your bushing is not a straight cylinder where it touches the barrel. It should have a relief at 12 o'clock on the front and 6 o'clock on the rear so it has the ability to pivot.