Tweet
Had an internet outage earlier and spent about an hour working on this project. Didn't want to work on my 1911's since that's an exercise in patience whereas this poly80 is just to produce a range toy and details are less important to me. Hope this rhread's helpful for someone who ran into issues with their build.
The locking block on mine was pretty tight, but not impossible. I filed the edges of the frame that the locking block lugs fit into and squared up the lugs on top before muscling it in by hand. After getting it in the first time and leaving it in overnight, it's gotten easier to repeat while maintaining a good tight fit.
I used the cheese grater looking file (rasp hand file) for 80-90% of the work, then finished with a finer file and 1000 grit wet sand. I bumped into the frame in some spots that I shouldn't have and knicked a few corners. If I were to do it again, I would have taped off the sections I wasn't working on.
I then used a bastard round file to file away the U shape to clear the area for the guide rod and spring.
Test fit of locking block:
Rear rail fit:
Test fit of slide (it's not binding and rails feel square):
Finished-ish:
Overall not bad, couple of hiccups which were:
-Fitting the locking block into the frame since the block is wider than the frame.
-Aligning front rails to holes were a pain. The jig's pilot holes didn't align perfectly. I put in the locking block and redrilled on my drill press to make it work.
-Rails are a bit gritty feeling, but may improve after breaking in a bit. This is partially due to the alignment of the locking block and the pin. If I leave the pin off, it slides much better. I'm going to test it at the range before removing more material.
The locking block on mine was pretty tight, but not impossible. I filed the edges of the frame that the locking block lugs fit into and squared up the lugs on top before muscling it in by hand. After getting it in the first time and leaving it in overnight, it's gotten easier to repeat while maintaining a good tight fit.
I used the cheese grater looking file (rasp hand file) for 80-90% of the work, then finished with a finer file and 1000 grit wet sand. I bumped into the frame in some spots that I shouldn't have and knicked a few corners. If I were to do it again, I would have taped off the sections I wasn't working on.
I then used a bastard round file to file away the U shape to clear the area for the guide rod and spring.
Test fit of locking block:
Rear rail fit:
Test fit of slide (it's not binding and rails feel square):
Finished-ish:
Overall not bad, couple of hiccups which were:
-Fitting the locking block into the frame since the block is wider than the frame.
-Aligning front rails to holes were a pain. The jig's pilot holes didn't align perfectly. I put in the locking block and redrilled on my drill press to make it work.
-Rails are a bit gritty feeling, but may improve after breaking in a bit. This is partially due to the alignment of the locking block and the pin. If I leave the pin off, it slides much better. I'm going to test it at the range before removing more material.
Comment