HandFitting a 1911 Barrel Bushing

[CandRTom]

I'm currently trying to sand down an EGW barrel bushing that I bought for my Mil-Spec, howeever the bushing seems to bind in the slide, but I can't figure out where I need to remove material very well. Any tips on fitting the bushing, or a good way to sand down the bushing?

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated, as this seems to be a lot more difficult than I had initially thought that it would be, mainly because of that circular shape making it so difficult to work on, and the fact that I can't tell what's binding when I try to insert it into the slide, or how to properly get a fit on the inner diameter of the bushing.

[Fjold]

If it's raw steel just color it with a magic marker and push it in as far as it will go. Pull it out and see where the marker has been rubbed off and file/sand it down on there. Keep repeating it until everything fits.

[tophatjones]

Do you have a way to measure inside the slide first? If the slide isn't in spec or isn't shaped evenly, it'd be good to know before you started sanding down the bushing.

ETA: I bet you know this already but just in case:

1) Measure parts to see if you'll have any special problems. This will also give you an idea of how much metal you need to remove.
2) Sand down the outside diameter of the bushing behind the locking lug, but be careful not to sand the lug.
3) When you are done sanding, the bushing should still be a little too large. It should require a tool to turn, and be difficult to push in or pull out. Btw, at this point, it would be helpful to have a smaller spec barrel installed with the bushing to help push out the bushing. It'll save your finger nails.
4) Use a very fine abrasive compound and elbow grease to get the fit smoother.
5) Final fitting should be done with oil instead of the compound in step 4.

That'll get you a tight fit that is smooth. However, you can make the fit as tight or as loose as you wish of course. Some people like being able to turn the bushing without a tool. Good luck!

[jjperl]

My barrel bushing also needs replacing, but I'm not willing to do it myself. Does anyone know a good 1911 smith in CA?

[xrMike]

My barrel bushing also needs replacing, but I'm not willing to do it myself. Does anyone know a good 1911 smith in CA?

I heard a couple of favorable comments about this guy on one of the 1911 forums:

http://www.jardinescustom.com/contactus.html

Don't know personally though.

[Fjold]

A way to speed up the work is to get a wooden dowel that will fit through the bushing and put a 1/4" bolt through it and chuck it up in your drill on slow speed.

[CandRTom]

Thanks for the tips everyone, I'm going to work on it this weekend, and hopefully then I'll have a properly fitted bushing.