Southern California from April 15th to June12th then on to Africa for a bit.

Wow! That would be great to revive that cool little Walther! That's what I love about you Pelicans, always helping another person out!!

I'll see if I have a drill bit shank to replace the pin in the front of my 1903 Colt slide that keeps falling out of the hole...Good idea!

Here's a good website link that shows the process I used last weekend to prep the M1911A1...

How To Remove Bluing From Steel

I found a drill bit shank to replace the pin in the Colt 1903, but I need to files the ends smooth. That is a great idea!

Just for reference, the Colt 1903 Hammerless front slide pin is a 7/64" drill bit shank, cut to 14.75mm in length...

Yeah I have a whole drawer full of short shank drills now though. LOL.

I replaced the recoil spring in the Colt 1903 with a new one from Wolff and the new spring is about 20% shorter than the old stretched out spring and makes reassemblying the Colt much easier!

Art,

I'm going to show my ignorance again here, but isn't that a compression-type spring (the longest spring in the weapon)?
If so, wouldn't aging/weakening of the metal result in a shorter static length?
If that was the case, a newer spring which was shorter in a static, unloaded state would have to be of a higher rate to perform the same function. I suppose it would be initially easier to get into place, but would require the same effort to move the slide to full recoil position.

Like I said, sorry if my question makes you roll your eyes and want to beat my head against the vice. I suspect I'm just mixed up on the function of the pieces.
Thanks for your patience.
Les

yes, the new springs have either the same rate or higher if that is the way you order them. The old springs are long and and like to kink when you put the gun together.

Les,
Excellent question, as always! I've seen older springs become shorter (more compressed) over time, but this recoil spring was bent and obviously "pulled" out of spec. The replacement spring was about 20% shorter, but not bent and in spec. After installing it, the gun went back together like the manual shows and I'll take it to the range next weekend to try the replacement spring out.

Evidently, at some point, the spring became "stretched" and "bent", probably due to improperly disassembly/reassembly of the gun and the spring made the gun extremely difficult to reassemble. When I have an unfamiliar gun, I find the manual and follow the instructions carefully, but unfortunately many others do not and they screw things up by forcing the gun apart, then they get frustrated and force the gun back together and probably never shoot it or take it apart again. The gun was filthy when I acquired it, so apparently the previous owner decided not to take it apart again...

The older springs were longer to give them the compression rate they needed. At the time the gun was made spring and steel tech was not as advanced as it is now. Today we can get the correct rate or better with a spring that fits better in the machine itself.

David,
Thanks for that info. I always label and keep the old springs, but the new spring makes the gun much easier to reassemble... The old spring was pretty mangled and bent...

They all are. Both mine were kinked and twisted.
Sending you RIG on monday..

Thanks! You should get a ".223 Remington care package" on Tuesday...

sweet.

Thanks Guys for being so patient.

I'm starting to think I should have taken up a buddy's offer a few years back when he was trying to sell off a couple of pistols. Today I have no idea what they were, but remember being tempted by mechanical devices which were nicely machined and finished.

I guess it is the same sort of thing that makes my old E interesting to tinker with.

I appreciate the links you have attached to various posts. This has been an enjoyable learning experience.

Thanks again
Les

Les,
Either buy the guns or let us buy them! I love old guns, especially semi-autos and the Remington and Colts. Old guns are fun to work on and for me, it's a great winter hobby as I hang out in my "man cave" (basement) and work on them. It's a lot cheaper than old Porsches and almost as much fun!

they take up way less space too.

Art,

Sorry. I really mis-used the term "Buddy". The fellow was a co-worker, some ten years ago. When he got himself into financial trouble (spending too much effort on women other than his wife), he figured it would be a good idea to unload some toys. At the time, I suspect getting rid of the pistols would have been a win-win, as they would have freed up cash and would have taken away one option for his wife if she thought to do in the cheating SOB.
I didn't really want to do business with him in that way and passed. I don't even remember what they were, other than they were both semi-auto pistols. One may have been 9mm, the other 38 cal. Can't even tell you the makes.
Where he is now, I can't say. She divorced his sorry butt and moved to Manitoba.

There isn't much of a pistol culture up here. We would rather reach out to a few hundred yards. :)

Keep well guys!
Les

I'm dropping off the M1911A1 Remington Rand parts at a shop in Mason, MI tomorrow after work to be sandblasted in preparation for Parkerizing. After they sandblast the parts, I'll have them soak the parts in Swepco 802 Open Gear Lube to prevent the parts from rusting until I can degrease and Parkerize them. I'll post pics when I get the parts back and then document the Parkerizing process... I may also be Parkerizing a few knives and a Jensen J22 for my brother-in-law at the same time.