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Shoutout to the old timer who showed me a trick for fitting a stubborn barrel
I was trying to fit a new barrel to a 1911 frame last month and it just would not seat right. The old method of filing and checking was taking forever. A retired smith at the range told me to heat the frame's slide stop pin hole with a soldering iron for about 30 seconds, just enough to expand the metal slightly. I did it, and the barrel slid into place perfectly as it cooled and contracted. Has anyone else used controlled heat for a tight fit like that, or do you stick to cold fitting only?
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willow7326mo ago
It's wild how often the old school tricks are just basic physics. My grandpa used a similar heat trick to get a bearing into a tractor hub. People forget metal is alive and moves with temperature. Modern folks reach for a bigger hammer or a power tool first, but sometimes you just need to work WITH the material. That old smith saved you hours of filing.
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