Springfield Ronin

[gnappi]

Agreed, but you know bean counters... .0001 cent saving on tool head main maintenance, .1 cent savings not buying, stocking and installing a pin. Savings today add up to bonuses all around and costs to repair are deductible :-)  Forget about customer ill will, there are lots of other cows who are hungry for your stuff :-) Gads, the business mindset is infuriating.


I worked and retired from IBM PC development (you youngsters out there won't know the company or products) and you wouldn't believe the cost reduction hoops I had to jump through to test and certify cost reduction schemes. Forget how much certification testing cost, .1 cent per part, times 100 parts times 100,000 units built per month adds up.


We (employees) used to say "a couple of million dollars here, a few hundred thousand dollars there, and pretty soon you're talking about REAL money". :-)

[sqlbullet]

In fairness to Springfield, the way the ejector is engineered in the 1911 makes installation a challenge.  A quick google search reveals that staked, pinned and locktite are all methods that have been tried.  People still experience ejectors that come loose.

Personally, I think staked is the best option.  But properly staking the ejector requires special tooling and ideally a large press.  Staking not only mechanically deforms the ejector legs but also obturates the legs to fully fit the frame holes.  But, if the ejector is improperly staked, it is VERY hard to remove it and start over.

Glue bonds break in the harsh recoil conditions.  It is, IMHO, clearly a manufacturing compromise that will eventually fail.  However, many people who buy 1911's don't shoot them much.  For a lightly used BBQ gun, a chemical bond's weakness may never be experienced.  I have a problem with this approach because a martial device should be competent of martial activity.

Pinned ejectors will become loose.  But a loose pinned ejector still works fine for 10's of thousands more rounds.  It should be addressed as the looseness is slowly enlarging the ejector holes in the frame, but it won't come out or tie up a gun (usually).

I have read about guys combining the three options, but I don't think that makes much sense.  Drilling the frame for the pin removes material and will weaken a staked/glued junction.  Glue leaves behind a residue that will make working on a staked or pinned ejector harder to deal with.  And staked lower legs are a real pain to remove, even with the ejector comes loose.