The Idiot Mark

[Bapak2ja]

There is no idiot mark on any of my firearms, Taurus or Smith & Wesson. Of course, I do not own a 1911 either.

 

[churchmouse]

An idiot mark, just tells me that the person has never been taught how to properly reassemble a 1911.

the take down lever was NOT designed to "swing" up into place. line it up w/ the hole, then TAP it down w/ a soft faced hammer or the palm of your hand.

once the takedown lever is in place THEN add your recoil assembly.

I am surprised by the amount of people that hold the slide back under spring tension while either dissasembling OR reassembling.

I'm not....

 

[IndyGunworks]

This must be why I have managed to take my gun apart hundreds of times without making this mark.

I didnt realize it was possible to do it with the spring in there.

I never said it wasnt possible to dis/reassemble the pistol w/out holding the slide back, its just not the "proper" way of doing it.

the gun is much easier to put back together if you dont tension the spring until everything else is back together. Doing it this way leads to a dimished opportunity for the "reassembly scratch" to appear

 

[dom1104]

I never said it wasnt possible to dis/reassemble the pistol w/out holding the slide back, its just not the "proper" way of doing it.

the gun is much easier to put back together if you dont tension the spring until everything else is back together. Doing it this way leads to a dimished opportunity for the "reassembly scratch" to appear

Right. I am not contradicting you at all, in fact I am agreeing totally.

since I was only ever taught "the right way" I have managed to avoid it, to the point I didnt know "The wrong way" was even possible.

So I am confirming what you said in your original post.

 

[xanderphillips]

My idiot mark wasn't because of the recoil spring either. When I field strip and reassemble that is the second to the last piece I put in mine. (Last being the barrel bushing.) Mine was because the slide stop detent plunger and spring were so stiff I always had difficulty getting the slide stop in without what I considered 'excessive encouragement'.

 

[IndyGunworks]

Right. I am not contradicting you at all, in fact I am agreeing totally.

since I was only ever taught "the right way" I have managed to avoid it, to the point I didnt know "The wrong way" was even possible.

So I am confirming what you said in your original post.

Thanks for clearing that up. I thought i had offended you somehow. its hard to use the term "idiot mark" w/out inherantly calling someone an idiot whether you mean to or not.

Note: My intentions were never to call anyone an idiot for assembling their pistol by holding the slide back under spring pressure (w/ internal recoil spring bushings you have no choice)

 

[churchmouse]

Until I learned the technique, the spring plug would, with regularity, fly across the room. It was a real B#^*H to find sometimes. I was 12/13. My uncles told me to overcome this problem or no more bang bang. I figured it out.

 

[NHT3]

Some 1911s have to be assembled with the recoil spring under compression, I have a Wilson with a bull barrel that is designed to have the slide removed and reinstalled without any tools. . I'm familiar with 2 ways to avoid this happening on ANY 1911 and it's hard for me to believe it's happening so often to so many people. Maybe I should have a clinic?
If anyone is interested in either of the solutions PM me or email directly to gloktr@gmail.com Too much detail to go into here.
For those interested, Pic of an idiot scratch and one of the ways ( not my preferred way but a very effective way) to solve the problem.
PS. I'm certainly not trying to make anyone feel inferior. I was shown a simple way to fix the problem by one of the Smiths at Nighthawk Custom when I was there summer before last.. It takes a little time and tinkering but worth the effort IMHO.

 

[xanderphillips]

It almost seems like the slide stop was crafted by someone quite evil, and perfectly design to be a metal scribe for just the purpose of carving that little groove! It's WAY easy to clumsily scrape that line.

Anyone know of a good way to try to buff out the Idiot Mark on a chromed 1911? Would like to at least minimize my shame :o

 

[NHT3]

It almost seems like the slide stop was crafted by someone quite evil, and perfectly design to be a metal scribe for just the purpose of carving that little groove! It's WAY easy to clumsily scrape that line.

Anyone know of a good way to try to buff out the Idiot Mark on a chromed 1911? Would like to at least minimize my shame :o

Chrome?? Could it possibly be Nickel or Stainless? If it's stainless I may be able to help. PM me
Sorry Xander, it does appear to be Chrome. Can't help you

 

[bwframe]

30 years of 1911's. Five guns. NO idiot marks.

I'm not special, (ask anyone.) I just pay attention to what I'm doing.

All those that would tell you, "You have either had one or will have" is the same crowd saying the same thing about NDs. With all due respect, they are wrong. They are only trying to justify their own negligence.

 

[SSGSAD]

I just had to look in this thread b/c I thought it was about me!

I already did... first thing this morning ...

 

[bmbutch]

I've done it, no excuses. Key point from some of the above is "don't swing it into place, snap it into place". Since learning this, no more scratches.

 

[88E30M50]

My first 1911 was bought used and has the mark now. I really don't know if it did when I bought it but suspect that I either put it there or contributed to it. That 1911 is a Springfield Mil-Spec and the plunger is so tight, I cannot push the slide stop in without using a small screwdriver to push the plunger out of the way first. When I first bought the gun, I found that it slipped pretty easily from the bottom which is probably where the mark came from. I really don't worry about it. None of my other 1911s have them, but all of those can have the slide stop popped in from straight up instead of rotating it in like the Springfield. Judging from the design, I'm guessing John Browning would not have cared much about them either. But, that's just my opinion. Everyone knows what opinions are worth.

 

[NHT3]

Sometimes the plunger IS too tight but it's usually just a matter of reworking the slide stop a little, smoothing things up and technique..

 

[Bummer]

Some slide stops lack the perfect angle to begin the depression of the pin when reassembling. One of the guys on a 1911 forum came up with a solution.

Idiot Scratch Proof - 1911Forum

All it requires is a needle file, patience, and the 'nads to take a file to a gun part. I've done it. Worked great. Only reasonable thumb pressure is required to insert the stop, and once it's there, it's there.

 

[Josh Ward]

Scratches, dings, shiny spots, and holster wear show character in a carry gun.

The "idiot mark" is called that for a reason...

Bravo !!



I have "too many" 1911s, only one of them has a NA mark (negligent assembly). Put on there by me. Made me sick when I did it.

 

[NHT3]

Some slide stops lack the perfect angle to begin the depression of the pin when reassembling. One of the guys on a 1911 forum came up with a solution.

Idiot Scratch Proof - 1911Forum

All it requires is a needle file, patience, and the 'nads to take a file to a gun part. I've done it. Worked great. Only reasonable thumb pressure is required to insert the stop, and once it's there, it's there.

Exactly what I do to mine and I've done for a few other people but many people don't have the "nads", as you said to file on their 1911.. No rocket science just confidence, patience and a small round file