1911 full dis/re assembly ?'s

[Res]

Hello, i recently did a full dissassembly of my 1911 and when i put it back together there are a couple of differences than before i took it apart.

1st: When the slide is off the frame and the hammer is down, the trigger is sloppy loose (i gently lowered it with my finger, and i never fired it with the slide off). it used to be in constant pressure from the mainspring. Also, now when i pull back on the trigger, i hear a more pronounced click, which is the hammer strut pinching the edge of the mainspring housing and falling down into place. Almost as though the strut is too short.

Thanks

2nd: With the hammer back and slide off when i flip up the safety and squeeze the trigger, the hammer will fall onto the safety. Again, i was told that its normal and that its just the safety flipping up higher than with the slide on, but that never happened before either

These differences only occur with the slide off. When fully assembled it works flawlessly (I haven't fired it yet). I posted this question over on the 1911 forums and was told that its perfectly normal for the pieces to be loose with the frame off. But I would like to know what i did to make it perform different than before it was disassembled.

3rd: I was having a problem re-installing the thumb safety. Is there a certain way all the parts line up? Every how to i read showed the person just sliding it in with no problem. I had a hell of a time getting it back in.

[tophatjones]

1) When the slide is removed and the hammer allowed forward, the hammer position is in a further forward rest position than when the slide was assembled. In battery with the hammer down, the slide actually presses slightly against the hammer and subsequently, the strut against the mainspring assembly. What you are experiencing is normal.

2) If the thumb safety operates fine with the pistol assembled, there's nothing to worry about. Most likely, the range of excessive upward motion by the safety is prevented by the slide notch when the pistol is fully assembled.

3) When you assemble the thumb safety, it must go in around halfway between the "safety down" and "safety up" positions. I normally use a small tool, like a punch, to hold the safety lock plunger into the plunger tube, while pushing the safety into the half way point.

[bountyhunter]

Wilson Combat sells (or used to sell) a small booklet loaded with pictures for every step showing exactly how to bone strip and re assemble a 1911, both series 70 and series 80. It used to sell for about $12, and it is worth it's weight in gold.

I think this is it, cost about $10:

http://www.wilsoncombat.com/a_book_401.asp

[Res]

Thank you for the link, i'll have to pick it up.

Every reply I received said its normal, but i'm still curios as to what changed after i put it back together.