I have been thinking of something for awhile know and it does not make sense. Why would you use a .195" cutter for a .200" slide stop shaft?? I am just curious. It would seem to me you would want to cut them the same radius as your slide stop. I am sure there is a good reason. I am just tired of thinking about it.
I wish they made a .190", the difference between a .195" cutter and a .200" pin is only .0025", and by the time you've cleaned up the machine marks you're there, besides most slide stops are really .198" + or -. I'd rather get a good lock up with a quality .198" pin and then you can always slip in the .200" as it loosens up. Also you get in theory anyway an improved lock up if the radius of the feet are a smaller radius than the pin so the lugs ride on the pin and are stopped by the feet tips, it's sort of a wedge thing and sits solid that way.
I read somewhere - maybe even a very old thread on this forum? - in which Ed Brown said he doesn't even own a lug cutter. All of his barrels are machined to G.I. specs on the lower lugs, he uses only standard links, and then he does all the fitting at the top (hood and lugs). He devotes a whole chapter of his Bench Reference to the genius of the lower lugs of the 1911 barrel, and apparently he's not willing to mess with it. I have a Schuemann match barrel that apparently needs to have the lower lugs cut, and I wonder how much of an improvement in accuracy and function will result?
You don't want the cutter overcutting the lugs if your slide stop shaft is on the narrow side.
The lug cutter isn't the only tool you use; the lugs will still need some hand fitting.
Quote:
I read somewhere - maybe even a very old thread on this forum? - in which
Ed Brown said he doesn't even own a lug cutter. All of his barrels are
machined to G.I. specs on the lower lugs, he uses only standard links, and
then he does all the fitting at the top (hood and lugs).
Yes sir. The key to that is the understanding that everything depends on its distance from the center of the pin hole. That's why the Kart EZ and Brown drop-in come with the lower lugs pre-cut to a standard. And understanding the ramifications of it was one of the most eye-opening things I've ever been taught.
Here is the thread you're alluding to. If I had to pick one, single thread on this site that was the most eye-opening to me of all, this would hands-down be it. Ed Brown's posts here are not searchable by member name - this is a thread I happened to find reading back through the old posts (which is the reason I suggest that so strongly for folks who really want to learn about this stuff, as I am continuing to do): http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=10848
Pay specific attention to post #11.