Got a week?
Believe it or not fitting the bushing is one of the more difficult jobs. The clueless say you have to have a "tight" bushing when, in fact, if you do the gun won't work.
The tightness of the bushing within the slide is a small part that is often overdone. It should not turn like the GI bushing, but doesn't need to be super tight either. Most of that fit comes from the skirt not the "tab" although that part may need work too.
If the bushing won't go into the slide at all metal must be taken off the skirt. It is very hard to get a nice round part with a flat file so that is best done with a belt sander or with a narrow piece of emery cloth used like a shoeshine rag...
make haste very slowly and try often. Get a cheap bushing wrench and use it to help judge tightness. The wrench will also let you turn one that is too tight and help you see where metal needs to come off.
The popular thing right now is the "angle bored" bushing from EGW. Based on the OD of your barrel they will cut it slightly angled and this is probably the most expedient way unless you have the tools to actually ream or fit a bushing.
Remember that the barrel must be able to tip up and down inside the bushing. Don't remove any metal from the barrel just the contact area inside the bushing. Again, this isn't easy to do with normal hand tools. Emery cloth wrapped around a wooden dowel is probably best. Dremel tools are the kiss of death...
This has also made me come up with a new definition for "upgrade".
Fixing something that ain't broke...
Believe it or not fitting the bushing is one of the more difficult jobs. The clueless say you have to have a "tight" bushing when, in fact, if you do the gun won't work.
The tightness of the bushing within the slide is a small part that is often overdone. It should not turn like the GI bushing, but doesn't need to be super tight either. Most of that fit comes from the skirt not the "tab" although that part may need work too.
If the bushing won't go into the slide at all metal must be taken off the skirt. It is very hard to get a nice round part with a flat file so that is best done with a belt sander or with a narrow piece of emery cloth used like a shoeshine rag...
make haste very slowly and try often. Get a cheap bushing wrench and use it to help judge tightness. The wrench will also let you turn one that is too tight and help you see where metal needs to come off.The popular thing right now is the "angle bored" bushing from EGW. Based on the OD of your barrel they will cut it slightly angled and this is probably the most expedient way unless you have the tools to actually ream or fit a bushing.
Remember that the barrel must be able to tip up and down inside the bushing. Don't remove any metal from the barrel just the contact area inside the bushing. Again, this isn't easy to do with normal hand tools. Emery cloth wrapped around a wooden dowel is probably best. Dremel tools are the kiss of death...
This has also made me come up with a new definition for "upgrade".
Fixing something that ain't broke...
