Posted: 1/8/2017 12:43:59 PM EDT
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Sorry for the 1911 nube question, but I have become confused.
Field stripped a Colt Government Model pre-Model 70 for the first time the gun has probably been apart in 40 years. I believe this is a completely stock gun. I was mildly surprised to find an asymmetric recoil spring. One end simply is cut so the coils stop, the other end has a couple of coils compressed together to form a flat surface. My vague recollection was that the coil was cut off on both ends of the 191 spring and it didn't matter which direction it was installed. This picture from the internet shows what I am describing. 
When I field stripped the gun, the flat end was in the recoil spring plug, and the cut off end was over the recoil spring guide. The flat end does not slide over the spring guide easily (I was going to have to force it onto the spring guide to get it to go). This gun doesn't show enough wear to have ever worn out a recoil spring to require replacement. My question is, does the orientation of a stock Colt recoil spring matter, and if so, what is correct. From an engineering perspective, the spring force and hysteresis performance shouldn't care whish end it towards the muzzle. I found Model 70 and Model 80 Colt owners manuals that both say to put the "closed end" of the spring against the collar on the spring guide (but those manuals are not strictly applicable to this gun). Looking through .MIL Technical and Field Manuals, all the illustrations match my memory that the springs are symmetric and there is no mention of a particular orientation of the spring. This gun may well have been last assembled by someone trained by the War Department in WW2, or a Korean war sailor if not, without a Colt manual for the gun. The only downside I see with having the flat forward is that there is no way to try to hook the spring plug onto the end of the spring. That and I am non compliant with both the military and civilian manuals I found. Thank you for letting my ask a very obvious question in the tech forum, but I researched this far enough to get confused and not be sure what the right answer is. Thanks in advance 
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Quoted:
Sorry for the 1911 nube question, but I have become confused. Field stripped a Colt Government Model pre-Model 70 for the first time the gun has probably been apart in 40 years. I believe this is a completely stock gun. I was mildly surprised to find an asymmetric recoil spring. One end simply is cut so the coils stop, the other end has a couple of coils compressed together to form a flat surface. My vague recollection was that the coil was cut off on both ends of the 191 spring and it didn't matter which direction it was installed. This picture from the internet shows what I am describing. http://www.pistolaccents.com/assets/images/1911_recoil_spring.jpg When I field stripped the gun, the flat end was in the recoil spring plug, and the cut off end was over the recoil spring guide. The flat end does not slide over the spring guide easily (I was going to have to force it onto the spring guide to get it to go). This gun doesn't show enough wear to have ever worn out a recoil spring to require replacement. My question is, does the orientation of a stock Colt recoil spring matter, and if so, what is correct. From an engineering perspective, the spring force and hysteresis performance shouldn't care whish end it towards the muzzle. I found Model 70 and Model 80 Colt owners manuals that both say to put the "closed end" of the spring against the collar on the spring guide (but those manuals are not strictly applicable to this gun). Looking through .MIL Technical and Field Manuals, all the illustrations match my memory that the springs are symmetric and there is no mention of a particular orientation of the spring. This gun may well have been last assembled by someone trained by the War Department in WW2, or a Korean war sailor if not, without a Colt manual for the gun. The only downside I see with having the flat forward is that there is no way to try to hook the spring plug onto the end of the spring. That and I am non compliant with both the military and civilian manuals I found. Thank you for letting my ask a very obvious question in the tech forum, but I researched this far enough to get confused and not be sure what the right answer is. Thanks in advance If you turn the spring against the coil as you push it on the guide rod, it will open a little and slide right on |
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Quoted:
If you turn the spring against the coil as you push it on the guide rod, it will open a little and slide right on Quoted:
Quoted:
Sorry for the 1911 nube question, but I have become confused. Field stripped a Colt Government Model pre-Model 70 for the first time the gun has probably been apart in 40 years. I believe this is a completely stock gun. I was mildly surprised to find an asymmetric recoil spring. One end simply is cut so the coils stop, the other end has a couple of coils compressed together to form a flat surface. My vague recollection was that the coil was cut off on both ends of the 191 spring and it didn't matter which direction it was installed. This picture from the internet shows what I am describing. http://www.pistolaccents.com/assets/images/1911_recoil_spring.jpg When I field stripped the gun, the flat end was in the recoil spring plug, and the cut off end was over the recoil spring guide. The flat end does not slide over the spring guide easily (I was going to have to force it onto the spring guide to get it to go). This gun doesn't show enough wear to have ever worn out a recoil spring to require replacement. My question is, does the orientation of a stock Colt recoil spring matter, and if so, what is correct. From an engineering perspective, the spring force and hysteresis performance shouldn't care whish end it towards the muzzle. I found Model 70 and Model 80 Colt owners manuals that both say to put the "closed end" of the spring against the collar on the spring guide (but those manuals are not strictly applicable to this gun). Looking through .MIL Technical and Field Manuals, all the illustrations match my memory that the springs are symmetric and there is no mention of a particular orientation of the spring. This gun may well have been last assembled by someone trained by the War Department in WW2, or a Korean war sailor if not, without a Colt manual for the gun. The only downside I see with having the flat forward is that there is no way to try to hook the spring plug onto the end of the spring. That and I am non compliant with both the military and civilian manuals I found. Thank you for letting my ask a very obvious question in the tech forum, but I researched this far enough to get confused and not be sure what the right answer is. Thanks in advance If you turn the spring against the coil as you push it on the guide rod, it will open a little and slide right on Thanks. That might be the trick I need to switch it. One thing I have learned the hard way is don't force parts together on old guns. 
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Quoted:
If you turn the spring against the coil as you push it on the guide rod, it will open a little and slide right on Quoted:
Quoted:
Sorry for the 1911 nube question, but I have become confused. Field stripped a Colt Government Model pre-Model 70 for the first time the gun has probably been apart in 40 years. I believe this is a completely stock gun. I was mildly surprised to find an asymmetric recoil spring. One end simply is cut so the coils stop, the other end has a couple of coils compressed together to form a flat surface. My vague recollection was that the coil was cut off on both ends of the 191 spring and it didn't matter which direction it was installed. This picture from the internet shows what I am describing. http://www.pistolaccents.com/assets/images/1911_recoil_spring.jpg When I field stripped the gun, the flat end was in the recoil spring plug, and the cut off end was over the recoil spring guide. The flat end does not slide over the spring guide easily (I was going to have to force it onto the spring guide to get it to go). This gun doesn't show enough wear to have ever worn out a recoil spring to require replacement. My question is, does the orientation of a stock Colt recoil spring matter, and if so, what is correct. From an engineering perspective, the spring force and hysteresis performance shouldn't care whish end it towards the muzzle. I found Model 70 and Model 80 Colt owners manuals that both say to put the "closed end" of the spring against the collar on the spring guide (but those manuals are not strictly applicable to this gun). Looking through .MIL Technical and Field Manuals, all the illustrations match my memory that the springs are symmetric and there is no mention of a particular orientation of the spring. This gun may well have been last assembled by someone trained by the War Department in WW2, or a Korean war sailor if not, without a Colt manual for the gun. The only downside I see with having the flat forward is that there is no way to try to hook the spring plug onto the end of the spring. That and I am non compliant with both the military and civilian manuals I found. Thank you for letting my ask a very obvious question in the tech forum, but I researched this far enough to get confused and not be sure what the right answer is. Thanks in advance If you turn the spring against the coil as you push it on the guide rod, it will open a little and slide right on You beat me to it. Also twist it to remove it from the guide so you don't stretch the spring. |