Complete 1911 disassembly.

[AaronP220]

I did this for another forum so it's pretty much a copy and paste.

Gun over view

2008 Les Baer Premier II. Just shy of 6,000 rounds down the tube.

Lubrication is either TW-25B (from Mil-Com) or Brian Enos Slide Glide lite.
If it's in a daily carry mode (like right now) it gets the TW-25B. If I'm going to blast a lot of rounds down range it will get Slide Glide.

It doesn't have a full legnth guide rod so, this applies to guns with out them. Some full legnth rods require a tool or paper clip to retain the recoil spring.

Basic Take Down

First and foremost, make sure the gun is unloaded. That's kind of a DUH thing, but people are increasingly retarded these days.

After you're triple sure it's unloaded, take a bushing wrench or if your barrel bushing isn't super snug, and turn it to the none slide release side (clockwise looking at the barrel). BE CAREFUL! There is a spring in there. If you don't capture it with your thumb/bushing wrench and you take the recoil spring to the face IT'S GOING TO HURT!!!

When you do so, the recoil spring and plug will expand and hang out of the end of the gun. Don't remove it from the gun yet. It will make life easier by leaving it in.

Next, cock the hammer and make sure the safety is OFF. Pull the slide back and line up the little U-notch with the slide release.

Push from the other side of the gun on the slide release and it should pop out. It might take a little pressure if the gun is tightly fitted. Just make sure the notch and the release are lined up and you should be okay.
Go ahead and pull it out of the gun.

Slide the slide forward and it should come off of the frame. Now you can pull away the recoil spring and guide. Just lift and pull away from the muzze and it will come out.

With the slide off the gun and the recoil spring out, turn the barrel bushing 180 degrees the other way (counter clockwise looking at the muzzle). Some guns you can just pull the barrel and the bushing out. On tight guns like the Baer I have to pull on the barrel and use the pulling action of the barrel to nicely tap the bushing out of the gun.

When done so you should have a complete frame and a field stripped slide.
IF you do not wish to go further stop here, clean and lube and then reverse the process for assembly.

 

[AaronP220]

Slide Tear Down

*If have have a Series 80 (:keke when you pull the firing pin a plunger and a small spring will come out *

To remove the firing pin block plate, with a SERIES 80 system, you'll have to depress the plunger on the slide for the safety and then push the firing pin into the gun. With a series 70, just push it in. I use a small allen key because I can push in the pin, then lift it up to slightly move the plate up to keep the firing pin inside the gun. Again, there's a spring in there, so when you remove the plate the Series 70 guys; the spring will want to shoot out. Make sure it doesn't. With the Series 80 guys; the spring will not shoot out until you push that plunger down again.

With the firing pin block plate off the gun, the firing pin and spring out (and plunger and spring for the Series 80 guys) take a small screw driver and pull on the extractor (this will not work for you external extractor guys, sorry, just leave it in). The extractor hook might get caught on the breach face, if so, just push if forward and pull the extractor out.

(You guys with factory guns will notice "708" engraved on every part of this Baer. :happy3: You get that hand fit attention with full house custom guns)

Congrats! You now have a bare slide and parts ready for detailed cleaning!

 

[AaronP220]

Frame Disassembly

*I've already talked about the Series 80 stuff. Guys with ambi safeties may have to work a little bit harder to get the safety off depending on if it's pin retained (like Kimbers) or a slot/post (Para uses this).

Now, take your bare frame and remove the grips. I have allen heads on mine, you might have slotted screws. Process is the same.

With the grips off you'll see a pin on the buttom corner of the frame with a cup on it. PUSH FROM THIS SIDE. Use a proper tool as it might take some force. Brownells sell a punch with a cup on the end to make sure you don't damage the pin. Don't use a screw driver either.

De-cock the hammer and push the pin out from left to right while looking at the back of the gun. Thumb the hammer down. Don't let it slam in to the frame.

This will allow your mainspring housing to drop. DON'T pull it out yet, just let it drop a little bit.

With the MSH slightly hanging down, cock the hammer and flip the safety up. You'll have to wiggle the safety up and down a little while pulling out, but it will come. Be careful again. There's a tiny spring in there. It has the ability to shoot out and get lost. I've done this. It sucks.

...continued...

 

[AaronP220]

Frame continued...

With the thumb safety off, go ahead and lift away the grip safety and pull the MSH down. You'll see something like this when you remove it from the gun.

Remove the three-leaf spring. It should just lift away, but likely fell out when you removed the MSH. When you remove the spring, you'll see the back of your trigger, with a disconnector sitting on it, the sear and the hammer. It will look like this.

Now, lay the gun down with the barrel end facing towards the right. You'll see two pins. The hammer pin and the sear pin. They push out from right-to-left.

***Non-Series 70 guys pay attention and take a picture of what's going on in here on your gun***

After you take the pins out, take a firing grip on the gun and just wiggle it. Your hammer, sear, disconnector (and safety parts) will fall out. You should have something that looks like this on your table now.

Here's how your ingintion system lays out in your gun.

Now we're going to remove the trigger. To do so, you'll first have to remove the magazine release. Look at the right side of the gun and you'll see this...

Some guns have an allen key and some have a slot. Take the PROPER tool and go ahead and put it in the mag button. You'll have to slightly PUSH the button like you were going to release a magazine while turning the tool counter-clockwise to get it to release. When it does you'll get this.

Simply push on the trigger and it will come out of the back of the gun like so...

So now you should have a layout like this on your table.

 

[AaronP220]

Lubrication and Assembly

Some people are picky on how they like to lube their guns. This is the way I do it. So, do whatever you like. A good rule of thumb is if it's shinny and rubs metal I lube it.

Fist up is the trigger. I put a little on the bow and a little on the back where the disconnector rubs. I just put a LIGHT flim on it.

Slide it into the frame, just like it came out. Make sure it's not upside-down. If you have an over-travel screw, it goes on bottom. If not, the flat part on the back of the bow goes up. On the bottom it's slightly different. Sorry, I didn't think to take a pic.

Same with the thumb safety. Just a light coat on it.

Install it in the frame the same way you removed it. You'll lightly have to push it up while you turn the tool clockwise and it will lock in.

This is the disconnector. I put a light coat on it because it slides in the sear.

This is how the disconnector sits in the sear. I put a light coat on the outside of the sear as well.

To install the sear/disconnector, the sear faces back towards you. The flat part on the bottom of the disconnector sits on the back of the trigger. The disonnector slides up thru the hole in the frame and sticks out the top.

**Series 80 guys have different installation. Just make sure it matches the pictures you took before you removed them. You did take pictures, didn't you?**

How the sear/disconnector looks laid out in the frame.

Take a small tool and line the hole going thru the sear and disconector with the smallest forward most pin hole on the frame. Take the sear pin, which is the smallest pin and put a light film of lube on it and push it into the frame.

Next, take the hammer and put a little lube on the sides and on the hammer hooks.

Install the hammer in the frame and then lube the hammer pin and push it thru the frame too.

....Continued.

 

[AaronP220]

Lubrication and assembly conitinued..

Next, flip the rod on the hammer up (like pictured) and lay in the trigger spring. It's pretty straight forward.

With the spring in, take the MSH and push it up onto the frame, but only far enough for it to hold the spring in.

Then take the hammer rod and lower it. There's a hole/cup on the top of the MSH that the hammer rod sits in. Push the MSH up enough for the rod to sit in the cup but don't put it all the way up as you need to install the grip safety first.

Next, lay in the grip safety, but make sure the hammer rod is in the MSH. When you do that you can push the MSH up as far as you like. Once you've done that, take the safety spring and slide it in the tube on the frame. Little end goes forward and the big end sits on the thumb safety.

Now, take the MSH pin, making sure the hammer is all the way forward (pull the trigger if you need to), push the MSH up and install the MSH pin. I have to hammer mine in, but some guns don't require as much force. You'll feel it when it hits the detent in the MSH. Usually the cup end is flush with the frame.

You'll have something that looks like this. The safety is only sitting in mine.

To get the thumb safety installed, make sure the hammer is still all the way forward. Set it into the frame (the thumb safety post hold the grip safety on) and make sure it's in the "up" position. You'll have to take something to push the little spring into the tube, while pushing down on the thumb safety and wiggling it back and forth. I have a special tool I made, but a small allen key will work. Just be careful not to mar the finish of the gun.

**while installing the safety you need to be careful! If your tool slips off the spring it will shoot out. It's small and made of three parts so it would really suck. Just take yer time and pay attention**

The thumb safety will look like this when it's installed. You can see the spring post pushing on the thumb safety.

Simply install the grip panels and you now have a completed, clean, frame!!

continued....

 

[AaronP220]

Lubrication and assembly continued...

Now we're on to the slide.

Take the slide and let the rear face you. Grab the extractor and put a light film of oil on it. Slide it into the frame. It ony goes in one way and it will blend with the slide really well. It CAN go too deep that will make it difficult to instal the firing pin block plate, but we'll get to that. Installed it looks like this.

**If you have a firing pin block, install the spring and plunger now**

Next, take the firing pin and slide it into the slide.

**If you have a firing pin block, push down on the plunger and push the firing pin all the way in and release the plunger. It will hold the firing pin in while you install the plate**

You non FPS guys will have to push the firing pin down into the weapon and install the firing pin block plate. You need to make sure the extractor didn't fall too far down into the slide or the plate won't go in. I use a small punch to push the pin down and then slide the plate on far enough to capture the firing pin. Then I remove the punch and push the plate up.

Be careful. If the firing pin block plate isn't holding the firing pin IT WILL shoot out. Possibly hitting you or getting lost. Both suck hard.

Installed it will look like this.

Next, take the barrel. Inspect the locking lugs on the top. They should be nice and SHARP with no dings, dents, roll overs or anything (Same for the slide). If your barrel lugs are rounded or anything like that you've got a BIG problem.

I lube the locking lugs REALLY heavy. They're pretty much the heart of your accuracy.

Slide the barrel into the slide the same way you removed it and wiggle it around. I don't put lube in the slide because I put so much on the barrel that it transfers over and fills the needed space.

Now take the bushing and put a little lube on the inside and on the little lug on the out side. Push it into the slide and turn it to where it looks like the picture.

Now turn your attention back to the bottom of the barrel. There's two lugs there. They lock on to your slide release. I put a little lube on them too.

Next you can put your recoil spring in. Make sure the bottom link (the thing that swings) is pushed back like pictured. The blue bushing on mine is a shock-buff. Some people use them, some don't. I just happen to use one on this Baer.

After that, I lube up the frame. Since I don't put lube on the slide I lubed the inner and outter rail on the frame. I also put a little dab on the disconnector.

Now you can slide your slide onto the frame. It may take a little finnes but it will go. Make sure the hole in the link line up with the hole in your frame when you have the U-notch in the slide lined up with the square hole for the slide release.

Slide in the slide release and work it all the way it. Some guns are easier than others. Take your time. It may take some pressure, but unless you're beating the dog snot out of it, it will go.

Pay attention to make sure it doesn't slip and swing down scratching your frame. It can easily happen and it looks like utter hell. So, just be mindful.

Stand the gun up on it's end with the muzzle up. Take the recoil spring cap and put it on the spring. You'll need to compress the spring while you turn the barrel bushing. I usually flip the safety up so the slide won't move and then use my thumb to hold the spring down while I slide the bushing wrench over the bushing and replace my thumb with it. Then turn the bushing down to where the spring sits in the bushing scallop.

The gun is now fully assembled. Cycle the slide a few times and then wipe all any oozing oil from various places.

Take a master grip on the gun, flip the safety up and pull the trigger. Did the hammer fall?

If not, then you're good. If so, you've got a problem somewhere.

Next, with the safety still up pull the trigger REALLY hard and then release the trigger and flip the safety down. If the hammer fell you've got a problem. Pull the trigger now. Did it feel WAY lighter than it normaly does? If so, you've got a problem.

If everything is good wipe the gun down with whatever protectant you like and enjoy your 1911!

I hope this helped! If you have any questions, please ask!


Nice and clean and ready for work!

 

[Acera]

Very through explanation, good photos.

Thanks,

 

[AaronP220]

Very through explanation, good photos.

Thanks,

It's not perfect and people will probably complain about the amount of lubrication I use but it is what I is.

 

[Sugar Land]

Very nice but what about a real gun?

 

[AaronP220]

Very nice but what about a real gun?

When you're ready to know what they're like I'll teach you.

 

[SIG_Fiend]

Excellent writeup Aaron!

 

[AaronP220]

Excellent writeup Aaron!

Thank you, Sir.

I'll have one for a P Series Sig soon.

 

[Texas1911]

Awesome write up! I put it on all my Facebook accounts.

 

[Klacktor]

Beautiful Weapon, Beautiful Write up, Beautiful Caliber of weapon, Nice manicure too. You go to Jade Palace Nails, Shower and "Massage" too???? You look farmilar ... haha. I keed, i Keed.

Serioulsy though, as for Sally. She's long tall. she's gpt everything.... Hold on, little Richard is beating Down my door. Grab the mossberg.

 

[airbornerangerboogie]

Very nice, thanks a lot

 

[Acera]

Damn airbornerangerboogie you been bumping all the old threads. Trying to get a post count up to sell something??????

 

[robertc1024]

LOL - good posts though.

 

[navyguy]

Nice write up. I've detail stripped my 1911's a few times, as well as my Sigs. What I learned was to take your time, and not worry. They all eventually go back together.

As to the lub, I'm in your camp. I tend to over lub. I know, I know... too much can gum things up, but I can't help myself on range guns. Carry and SD guns, not so much.

 

[Vaquero]

Glad it bumped!
Good write up.