So You Think You're A Gunsmith

Well, today I decided to do a little basic maintenance and such. So I got these two Wilson 8-rnd mags that I bought back about 92 and went to install new followers and springs. Got them both in with only a modicum of bad language. I am pushing down on one follower to see that it moves relatively freely, and ... it somehow springs out of the top of the mag! I heard it hit something, and if you ever saw my "room" you would immediately know that that puppy is gone forever - or when we move, which may be close to the same time. Ended up putting one of the old followers back in it and was so disgusted I didn't bother to order a new one.

Then I sit down to install a new SRT kit into my 227. Now the 227 is a new gun, but it's basically a classic line gun, so ?how difficult could it be. After about 4 hours and something like reassembly about 6 times I finally got it to work correctly. I believe my big problem was that this teeny, tiny, little spring in the back of the frame was suppose to go OVER the bar on the back of the hammer, not under it. The other issue was getting the hammer strut back into the frame correctly. Sig has the weirdest hammer strut. It doesn't go in like you would think. I believe I put it is at lest 4 or 5 times incorrectly. It LOOKS like it should go in that way, but it doesn't. Ask me why I took the hammer spring and strut off in the first place. [Silence. Deafening silence].

I am not really sure why I do these things to myself.

My answer to that question is always, because no one else will let me do it to them.

I'm a ten thumbed gun plumber.

I can do surgery on my firearms and disassemble them for cleaning. I can even put them back together -- correctly -- without the assistance of a professional (usually.) YouTube is my friend.

When I had to do major changes to my 10/22 trigger group, I read the directions and watched instruction videos for several hours. Spent even more time assembling my tools, lights and workspace. Then - taking a halting breath - I started the operation - and was done in about 10-15 minutes. Same thing with the AR lower: preparation, the hesitant start, and then the surprised realization that it's done.  

I almost immediately got full of myself - and launched the buffer retaining spring and pin into the Sargasso Sea of our garage.  $2 parts - $15 of gas.

TJ - I like that! I need to remember that line.

CF - I am not usually inept in things mechanical. I can still take down a 1911 to the bare frame pretty quick and reassemble it correctly without books.

The Sigs are a little different. They have some "interesting" parts. So, eg, the pin that holds the trigger and slide stop in the front has to be "aligned". There are striations on the left side of the pin, and they need to be horizontal - or the trigger block won't go in. Neither will it go in if the gun is cocked, something much harder to ascertain when you have just taken apart the sear. I still do not understand the geometry of the trigger bar and sear and that other "thingy". But I know how they are suppose to go.

Part of my problem is undoubtedly that I don't take down my Sigs regularly. Maybe I should. But then I would cringe every time I take the hammer strut off. Sort of like the hammer strut on a Luger - "interesting" but not something you want to do much. I had to take it down when I put E2 grips on my 229 because the 229 was "older" (no silly rail underneath) so I needed to install a modern spring and strut for the E2's to fit. I recollect the headache that was. What possessed me to do it on this gun is a mystery to me; I could have done all I wanted without ever taking that strut off.

"The Enemy of Good Is Better."

Detents... sometimes I hate them. We have thick carpet, and on my first AR build I lost one of the detents in the carpet. Had to wait another week in order to finish the build.

?You know the other thing, Corn. It isn't clear which direction the detent is suppose to go in. Some have a flat end and a sharp end. I would have thought the sharp end went into the spring, but I would have been wrong. On the safety, it clearly has to be the sharp end out and the flat end on the spring.