Harrison Design & Consulting, LLC: BlogBloghttps://www.harrisoncustom.com/Thu, 28 Mar 2024 20:50:13 GMTurn:store:1:blog:post:10https://www.harrisoncustom.com/things-to-know-about-replacing-rear-sights-on-1911sThings to know about replacing rear sights on 1911s<p>Advise for what to expect when replacing dovetail mounted sights on your 1911</p>urn:store:1:blog:post:9https://www.harrisoncustom.com/guide-rods-full-length-vs-giGuide Rods - Full Length vs. G.I.?<p>Sure to draw fire from every camp on an internet gun forum is the debate of which is better, a short G.I. style guide rod, or the upstart Full Length Guide Rod? Everyone seems to have an opinion, many of which are absolute and rabid. I would like to discuss the pros and cons of each and then I'll weigh in and the end of this post.</p> <p>The short USGI style guide rod was what John Browning designed into the 1911 pistol way back when. Those old salts who were serving our country back when Uncle Sam issued M1911 A1 pistols to the troops were trained in the Army Method of Field Stripping, became indoctrinated and can do it in their sleep. Anything that disrupts that system is a blight to humanity in their eyes. Cries of "FLGRs are too hard to take apart or put together" ring out across the LCD screens of computers far and wide. The FLGRs have several different methods of take down, from tool-less like the ones I sell to designs that require a hex key or a paper clip and may require a fairly simple machining modification to the spring tunnel of your slide. The bottom line is all of these systems are useable and almost anyone is dexterous enough to service them. It's just a question of there being enough benefit perceived to justify the minor effort of learning how to manipulate the system of your choosing.</p> <p>But before we go down the rabbit hole of discussing each method of takedown, let's visit those pros and cons.</p> <p>The USGI style guide rod</p> <p>PROs-</p> <p>1) It is simple in construction and it works adequately to keep the recoil spring running in a mostly straight line compression stroke.</p> <p>2) The take down method is reasonably simple and once you've done it a time or three, you should have it down pat.</p> <p>CONs-</p> <p>1) The spring plug can be easily lost if your finger slips off of it while the spring is under compression. The spring has enough force to launch the plug quite a distance or if launched into someones eye or teeth, a trip to the medic may be in order. In all fairness, the same Con exists for FLGR systems that do not capture the plug while it's under compression.</p> <p>2) Some pistols feel a little "crunchy" during cycling of the slide which is due to the spring coils rubbing on some sharp corner inside the tunnel or dust cover area because the guide does not control the spring completely like an FLGR does.</p> <p> </p> <p>The Full Length Guide Rod</p> <p> </p> <p>PROs - </p> <p>1) Once assembled, you may notice smoother cycling due to the rod controling the recoil spring during it's cycle. You are more likely to notice it during hand cycling than you are while firing the pistol.</p> <p>2) Using a FLGR adds between 1 and 3 ounces of non-reciprocating weight in the front of the pistol. These figures are for Gov't Model FLGRs; Commanders weigh less. This added weight may dampen muzzle flip slightly. Opinions vary on this.</p> <p>CONs - </p> <p>1) You may hear of FLGRs coming apart, like a rod unscrewing from a flange, or a two-piece rod coming apart. This is pretty much a case of cheap, poorly made parts. A good quality S/S FLGR doesn't have a tendency to unscrew. </p> <p>2) The chief complaint about FLGRs is just that the user just doesn't like having to learn a different method of field stripping. Then they crank up the sirens about how it does nothing and John Browning would've put it there if he thought it should be there. They make noises about not being able to field strip their gun in a combat zone if it had a FLGR in it. </p> <p>What do I think?</p> <p>I think that you should use which ever system you are happiest with. Try both with an open mind and see if you find any benefit of one over the other. Buy a spare spring plug and put it in your range bag.</p> <p>I have used both designs and been happy with both. I never had one break of either style, or come apart during use. I take 1911s apart like a Hi-Power, so I don't launch many plugs across the shop or into the weeds. Topic for another blog right there. </p> <p>I do find that FLGRs cycle smoother and flip just a touch less. But once I got used to a change, I never missed the old system and don't remember ever switching back.</p> <p>Last word on FLGRs - Mine are one piece S/S that will not fall apart. You take them apart just like you do a USGI system.</p> <p>Like my hero Forrest Gump - "That's all I got to say about that".</p>urn:store:1:blog:post:8https://www.harrisoncustom.com/hammer-materials-in-the-white-vs-stainless-steelHammer materials - "In The White" vs. Stainless Steel<p><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);"><em>I would like to buy one of your hammers in carbon steel, in-the-white".</em></span><br /> <br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);"><em> Would it match a stainless steel 1911?  </em></span></p> <p><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);"><em>What coating does it have?  </em></span></p> <p><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);"><em>If there is no coating is there a rusting concern?</em></span></p> <p><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);"><em>Thanks for your help,</em></span></p> <p><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);"><em>"P"</em></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>Hi,</p> <p> </p> <p>The bare carbon hammers look just like the stainless steel hammers. Look at the pictures on my web store of versions where I offer both materials.</p> <p> </p> <p>“In the white” is generally used to describe bare carbon steel having no preservative finish other than a film of oil. The thing to remember is that the finer the surface finish and the harder the heat treat, the more resistant to rust it is. If carbon steel hammers are used in a salt water environment or by someone with continousouly sweaty hands, they will be more easily rusted unless more frequent maintenance is done, such as wiping down with an oily cloth.</p> <p>For years these carbon steel hammers were the only material available and almost everyone shooting USPSA/IDPA matches used them. The only people that had rust on their hammers were the ones who neglected their equipment, put the gun away in a rug until next months match, did zero maintenance and they generally only had any evidence of light surface rust on the exterior parts of the hammer. They were also the folks complaining that the hard chrome finish on their guns had rusted!</p> <p> </p> <p>Stainless steel is basically carbon steel with a higher content of chromium in the alloy and it has no preservative finish either.  The thing to remember is the name, it is Stain-<strong><em>Less </em></strong> steel, not stain-proof steel. You can definitely rust stainless steel given enough neglect.</p> <p> </p> <p>Last thing to remember is that rust is not the kiss opf death. It is removeable. Finding a little rust is not a death-knell for the part. A little oil applied will stop the rust right there. It’s not too much of a big deal to remove if you want to clean off some surface rust on a part that’s staying bare. And finally, if you put it away in your gun safe with other guns that have a blued finish, if will not rust anymore or any quicker than the blued guns if all are wiped down equally with an oily rag.</p> <p> </p> <p>Hope this info is helpful to you making a decision.</p> <p> </p> <p>Best Regards,</p> <p> </p> <p>John Harrison</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p>urn:store:1:blog:post:7https://www.harrisoncustom.com/trijicon-hd-vs-standard-frontnight-sight-on-a-springfield-1911Trijicon HD vs. Standard front night sight on a Springfield 1911<p>QUESTION-</p> <p>Hi John,  </p> <p>I have a Springfield 1911 that I hope to put a set of night sights on in the near future.  I get confused with the options for Springfields or Novak cut.  Not sure what exactly I'm supposed to pick.  My ideal set would be either a HD yellow outlined or a regular white outlined front night sight and a single tritium dot rear.  Thanks for any help. </p> <p>Sincerely, "A"</p> <p> </p> <p>ANSWER -</p> <p> </p> <p>All Springfield 1911s with dovetail front sights have a dovetail that is a size unique to Springfield 1911s. The  Springfield dovetail is deeper than a Novak and a little wider front to rear, with a 60° angle rather than a 65° like Novak uses. As long as you buy a "Springfield" front sight, it will mount in your dovetail. Others, such as Novak, can possibly be adapted in some cases.</p> <p>Trijicon only makes the HD front sight for 1911s in a Novak pattern dovetail, which is about .004” shallower than the Springfield cut. I have been able to make a satisfactory adaption of them to Springfield slides by making a shallow cut on the top of the slide from the front edge back to the rear of the sight blade, just deep enough to give the slide's dovetail depth the same dimension as the HD sight to be installed. I use my milling machine, but it’s conceivable that someone could do it with a file – just not me! The small cut is covered up by the HD sight's blade, once installed. After I have the sight fitted, installed and centered in the slide, I drill a 1/16" hole for a vertical roll pin from the top of the sight blade down through the top of the slide, matching the factory hole. I then remove the sight, degrease, add LocTite sleeve retainer to the dovetail and the roll pin hole and do a final assembly.</p> <p>One other thing you need to know is that the HD front sight won’t work very well with your factory rear sight. The HD front sight is .025" wider than the original front sight, so you'll need to widen the notch in the rear sight out to between .160" and .170", depending on the length of the gun and how much daylight you want in your sight picture. I offer most of my Extreme Service rear sights with a .170" wide U-notch for use with the HD front sight. You'll find that on a 3" gun like an EMP, the .170" is a must. On a Gov't Model, the .170" works fine, or if you want to go the custom sized notch route, as narrow as .156" is fine.</p> <p>               Another note - if you look at Trijicon's web site, you'll see that they make an HD-XR front sight that has the same day-glo painted ring and tritium lamp on a .125" width sight blade. A great idea, but they don't make it for dovetail pattern that adapts to a 1911 at this time.</p> <p> </p> <p>               So if you want to jump through the hoops to get the HD sight on your Springfield and you aren't put off by altering your slide (if you later put a "Springfield" front sight on it, there will be a small gap underneath the blade), then what you need to order is a TRJ-CA128FY-175 for a yellow ring, or a TRJ-CA128FO-175 for an orange ring, along with the appropriate Harrison Design tritium rear sight.</p> <p> </p> <p>               If this is more than you want to tackle, let Harrison Design do it for you. All we need is your slide and 2-3 weeks to do it in. Hope this helps!</p> <p> </p> <p>Best Regards,</p> <p>John</p>urn:store:1:blog:post:6https://www.harrisoncustom.com/seeing-the-sightsSeeing the Sights<p>I have been in bifocals for the last 10 years or so. I've already done all of the things to my personal guns that I recommend to help your sights be more visible, but over time, the front sight was getting a little blurry and all I could do was tip my head back so I was looking through the bottom of my bi-focals. Not a great way to have to shoot!</p> <p>Recently, I had my eyes examined and started talking with my ophthalmologist about not being able to get a clear focus on my front sight. I explained about tilting my head back and how this was not conducive to shooting. She was not a shooter, so it went over her head. But after I said, "you know, the front sight is about the same focal distance as I have with my computer screen and I have the same problem with the computer", she told me that I might benefit from a pair of “computer glasses”. I had brought in a blue plastic non-gun and she let me "aim it" while looking through the "Better or Worse machine" (you know the one!) until we tweaked the front sight into sharp focus.</p> <p>In addition to new conventional bi-focals in my "street glasses", I had a second set of glasses made up with "computer lenses" in the top 2/3rds of the lense. That made an enormous improvement in my ability to see me sights! The computer lenses are between my upper and lower bifocal grind in power and I can now see my front sight like I did when I was a young man. So you might look into that too!</p> <p>I also had a set of ballistic grade shooting glasses made, since I knew what kind of result I could expect. I had always been a little concerned about shooting with non-ANSII rated glasses, if something catastrophic happened. So I made the leap and contacted Decot Sports Glasses for a set of their "HY-Wyd" shooting glasses. A very knowledgeable lady named Laurie helped me and talked me through the options and took my order. A couple of weeks later, a package arrived from Decot. I am very impressed. I ordered the glasses with a set of clear lenses and a set of tinted lenses for outdoor use. The frame is durable, the lenses interchange easily. The kit included a rugged case, lenses cleaning cloth and solution. They convinced me to not do bi-focals on the shooting glasses and I'm glad I did. I can see well enough looking down to do everything that I need to without having the change in lense power which causes me to have to sometimes stop and refocus when I look down using the bi-focal computer glasses.</p> <p>You can reach Decot Sports Glasses at <a href="https://www.decot.com">https://www.decot.com</a></p> <p>Update - 2020</p> <p>I have been using both sets of the special glasses that I had made and I am delighted that I can see the sights like I did when i was a young man. One truth has come to me though. While these glasses work great shooting a handgun, they aren't anything I can wear on the street. So I am still doing my practicing with my street glasses and an HD front sight with a wide U notch rear sight. But the shooting glasses are on my noggin when I'm test firing customer guns, shooting IDPA matches or plinking.</p> <p> </p>urn:store:1:blog:post:5https://www.harrisoncustom.com/fitting-a-trigger-so-the-sides-of-the-shoe-dont-get-scuffed-in-normal-useFitting a trigger so the sides of the shoe don't get scuffed in normal use.<p>As good a finish as DLC is, it can still be scuffed through from repeated rubbing with the shoe tracks in your frame. Here is a PRO tip to instruct you in creating very small pads on the hidden sides of your trigger to keep the exposed flats from touching.</p> <p> </p> <p>First, file, sand, stone the inside flats where the trigger shoe live and work back and forth. Trigger shoe tracks in 1911 frames are finished by either broaching or single point shaping machines and both leave pretty rough surfaces. No need for extensive metal removal, just make it free from burrs and tool marks. Be sure you do a good job cleaning up the corners of the track and also filing a light chamfer on the trigger shoe on the matching corners.</p> <p>Now the delicate part: Hold your trigger in a padded vise, stirrup up. Use an old broken 1/16" punch and grind it back until you create a chisel nose about 1/8" wide and not too sharp. Use the swaging tool you just made and a light weight hammer to raise two welts of aluminum on JUST ONE side of the trigger. Strike from the rear edge of the shoe, to make it swell on the side. Do one at the top of the shoe and one at the bottom. They only need to be .010" - .015" tall. DO NOT raise welts on both sides at once, or you will have a much harder time fitting the trigger!</p> <p>Install the trigger in the frame. If it won't go into the shoe track, remove the trigger and put 1-2 layers of tape on the side of the shoe where you raised the welts, leaving only the welts exposed. Holding the shoe in a padded vise, use a fine file and take 1-2 strokes from the welts being careful to keep the file level and not cut into the tape. Obviously, if your file touches the tape, replace it. If you scratch the shoe with your file, it will look awful.</p> <p>Remove the tape and reinstall the trigger and see if it goes in. Repeat until it does and each welt still stands proud of the side of the shoe. Then repeat the process on the other side of the shoe. Your goal is to have two raised welts on each side of the shoe, top and bottom which are hidden by the frame when the trigger is installed. They will take up the width of the shoe track and keep your exposed portion of the shoe from rubbing the frame.</p> <p>One thing to remember concerning trigger shoe rubbing, is if you are running a trigger that is too long for you, you will have a lot more rubbing than if you get a shorter length trigger so your trigger finger pulls straight to the rear.</p>urn:store:1:blog:post:4https://www.harrisoncustom.com/what-do-you-think-of-using-glow-paint-to-help-you-see-your-sightsWhat do you think of using glow-paint to help you see your sights?<p><strong><em>Q: I have a Beretta 77 that I use for general plinking and self-defense. As I've grown older, I have a harder time seeing my sights. Can you help me? What do you think of using glow-paint to help you see your sights?</em></strong></p> <p>A: You should certainly give it a try. It's not permanent, so you won't damage the gun. I'm 64, near-sighted with bi-focals and have been a life-long competitive hand gun shooter; so I think I have the "I can't see my sight" thing pretty well figured out. On most small concealable pistols built 20-30 years ago, they sights are just plain too small to see, even back when I had good eyesight. If they are big enough for your vision, then the notch is typically too narrow in width for the front sight width and you see very little daylight in your sight picture. Getting maximum daylight showing on each side of the front sight is key to being able to get your best focus on the front sight. Your rear sight needs to be about 15% wider than the front at a minimum. So if your front sight is .125" wide x 1.15 = .143" wide for the rear notch. At about 20% wider, your front sight is really visible, but starts to get a little lost in the notch, making it challenging to shoot to maximum accuracy. It will still be good for "minute of bad guy" accuracy.</p> <div> </div> <div>Keeping the notch depth to the deepest you can physically cut it to without seeing the whole blade and some of the top of the slide is very useful in letting the daylight in as well. The notch can be machined to size (preferably), or if you are brave and skilled with a file and calipers, then you can file it to size. I would recommend removing the sight from the slide if possible for either method.</div> <div> </div> <div>Once you can see the sight that you have, then you'll get full benefit from adding color to the front sight. My personal favorite for all around use is a tritium lamp with a white ring around it. I also really like a solid white dot that's diameter is about half the width of the front sight. Hope this is useful to you!</div>urn:store:1:blog:post:3https://www.harrisoncustom.com/selecting-an-all-around-set-of-sightsSelecting an "All-Around" set of sights<p>Q:</p> <p> I’m not satisfied with my factory sights. They are hard to see and I don’t shoot very well with them. I’d also like to have night sights if I make a change. What do you recommend?</p> <p>A:</p> <p>Since it's not feasible to change to different sights every time you want to do a different shooting job with your pistol or shoot in different lighting environments, it's smart to figure out what features give the best utility for any use you need to employ your pistol to do. </p> <p><br /> The best all-around iron sights for a self-defense handgun have a front blade width of .125-.145 with a tritium lamp and a colored ring around it, either white or as close as you can get to it. Also available are Trijicon HD front sights with a bright orange of yellow photo-luminescent ring around the tritium lamp.</p> <p>Either way gives you a "contrasting feature" with a night sight lamp that stands out in your sight picture in any lighting condition. If you question the value of a tritium lamp, go do some shooting in twilight and semi dark conditions. Also notice how much easier it is to find your "night stand" gun in the dark.</p> <p><br />It is crucial that the rear blade should have a notch width at least .020" wider than the front blade width (.020" for Gov't Models, shorter guns need a little more width in the notch, the shorter the pistol gets). A significant "light gap" is the single most important aspect of sight design for fast employment and being able to see with aging eyesight. </p> <p><br /> If you want tritium lamps in the rear (and I think they are worthwhile), they should be installed below flush, so you don't see the lamps in daylight, just in the dark. You definitely do not want a white ring around the lamps. White rings around the rear tritium lamps just put too many things in your sight picture, competing for your attention and taking clarity and the ability to focus away from the notch and post.</p> <p><br /> Square notch or U notch in the rear sight blade? It's a totally personal choice. I can use one as well as the other. Think about this though - You don't aim iron sights with the bottom of the sight picture, you use the top edge. So if you can focus on your front sight, what does it matter how the bottom of the notch is configured? Again, there's no wrong decision and that's why I make the both ways.</p> <p>Some folks with deteriorating vision that have trouble getting focus, like a round colored feature on the front sight with a U notch on the rear. They come closer to seeing iron sights with that combination. About the only thing that makes me stick with square notches myself, is that I feel that a square notch allows just a little more light into the sight picture, which again is the single most important thing that a set of sights should do.</p> <p><br /> This is the philosophy that is in play with the design of Harrison Design sights.</p>urn:store:1:blog:post:2https://www.harrisoncustom.com/how-to-select-the-correct-firing-pin-stop-for-your-pistolHow to Select the correct Firing Pin Stop for Your Pistol<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Sometimes in manufacturing parts, to cover all applications, the choices can be a little daunting. The harmless little Firing Pin Stop (FPS) is just such a part. Below, I'll attempt to break down the part numbers in a way that will make it easy to select the right FPS for your 1911.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><strong>https://shop.harrisoncustom.com/small-parts</strong></span></p> <p>There are a number of different Firing Pin Stops (hence FPS) to choose from. You can instantly reduce that number by half by deciding on whether you want a carbon steel FPS or a stainless steel FPS. The stainless FPS have a "-S" after the part number and the carbon steel does not.</p> <p>That narrows it down to 4 basic part numbers - HD-205, HD-206, HD-207, HD-208</p> <p>The HD-205 and HD-206 are for 1911s having no firing pin safety in the slide, also called "Series '70 slides" by many.</p> <p>The HD-207 and HD-208 are for 1911s having a Colt-style Series '80 firing pin safety.  If you aren't sure, you can readily tell by looking at the underside of your slide for a round safety plunger that is visible from the bottom of the slide, located just in front of the FPS. The plunger is approximately .180" in diameter.</p> <p><img src="/images/uploaded/pdf/FPS/Series '80.JPG" alt="" width="320" height="240" /></p> <p> </p> <p>Once you have narrowed your choices to Series '80 or not, you have to choose between caliber and slide length.</p> <p>The HD-205 and the HD-207 are for .45 ACP Government Model length (5" barrel) pistols</p> <p>The HD-206 and the HD-208 are for any caliber and in and shorter model than Gov't. So it fits Commanders, Officers ACP, Defender, etc. in .45, 10mm, .40, 9mm, .38 Super calibers. The difference is the location of the  slot in the slide where the ejector lives. If you refer to the picture, you can see that the "all other" ejector track on the bottom slide is closer to the centerline of the slide than the .45 Gov't Model on top.</p> <p> </p> <p>So a couple of examples to help you - On a blued Government Model sized .45 ACP caliber pistol without a firing pin safety, you'd order a HD-205. If you had a S/S Gov't Model in .45 ACP with a Series '80 safety, you'd order an HD-207-S.</p> <p>If you had a blued Series-80 Commander in 9mm, you'd order a HD-208. If you had a blued Commander in .45 ACP, you'd order a HD-206.</p> <p> </p> <p>Next you may notice some firing pin stops with "LPA" in their part numbers. The are shortened at the top to allow fitting to pistols with the "LPA" adjustable rear sight cut that Springfield uses on their guns. It will also work for Bomar rear sight applications.</p> <p> </p> <p>Series II Kimbers with their "Schwartz style" firing pin safeties can use the Series '80 FPS.</p>