Idea for 1911 *but not necessarily an original or even good one

Let me preface by saying that I think the 1911 as JMB designed it is great and practically perfect. There's no real need to change the design. So this idea is by no means an improvement for or necessary to peoples' enjoyment of the 1911. Also, this is just a thought exercise for me, so there are no physical consequences.

Anyways, the idea is to replace the bushing with a polymer O ring, similar to the design on HK pistols. Both methods would have advantages and disadvantages:

Bushing Advantages
Made of steel: very durable, resistant to wear/shock
Easy to disassemble pistol
Can be fit loose to deal with dirt/grit

Bushing Disadvantages
For a good, close fit, experience and skill is required due to angled bore
Force is transferred from recoil spring plug to bushing (may not really be an issue)
Disassembly of pistol requires turning the bushing which will introduce wear at fit (but exactly how much this matters is debatable)

O ring Advantages
Very inexpensive
Easy to replace
No gunsmithing required (after initial mods)
Tight fit for max accuracy

O ring Disadvantages
Requires modifications to gun such as reverse plug
Disassembly is more complex and may require a tool
Not as durable as steel (HK O rings are supposed to be good for 20K rounds)
Questions about reliability (may not be an issue, ie HKs are reliable)

For a combat gun with optimum reliability and simplicity in mind, the bushing with a bit of clearance is the way to go. How about a competition gun though? It would be simple enough to keep some extra rings, and you'd have an accurate slide/barrel fit at the muzzle for practically forever for a coupola bucks per ring. For most people, it really isn't worth the hassle of modifying their gun, but why wouldn't this be an option during the creation of the gun? Shoot, we got people buying FLGRs and Accurails, why don't they sell this idea?

This is an idea that has merit and has been done on chopped slides with bull barrels as a way to restore barrel to slide fit. This of course could be done with the bushing intact which would be cut a little oversize, value, maybe.

Thanks for the reply. May I have a link or even some pictures, please?

Doing this idea with the bushing intact has its own set of advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages
Less expensive to mod
Easier to mod, no reverse plug
Disassembly remains easy
Easier to fit than original bushing because it eliminates gunsmithing the angle

Disadvantages
Tolerances from bushing/slide still apply to accuracy
Bushing to slide wear point at disassembly
Force on bushing from plug is still present

Overall, an interesting alternative as well.

The idea of maintaining a bushing also allows the use of a standard barrel. If I can find the links of where I saw this I'll share it. Okay, here's one on Brian Enos forum; http://www.brianenos.com/forums/ind...=0&#entry857125

Brownells has it for you, made by Briley. It's called a spherical bushing.

http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/st...RICAL%20BUSHING

Quote:
The idea of maintaining a bushing also allows the use of a standard barrel. If I can find the links of where I saw this I'll share it. Okay, here's one on Brian Enos forum D'oh, how could I miss the most obvious advantage?

Thanks for the link, I'll read it later when I've got time. FYI, my idea does change the barrel, but it's only a clearance cut around the circumference of the boss area of the barrel. The ring just slips into the cut and hangs onto the barrel. As for the slide, it would be a reverse plug and would lack the cutout for the bushing tab. It's basically a bull barrel with the O ring substituting the bull. Or another way of looking at it is, this system divides the jobs of the current bushing and distributes to the reverse plug and O ring. That way, the stresses subject to the bushing are divided as well.

Another advantage I just thought of: it would be slightly cheaper for production guns. Money is saved because there is no need to cut the bushing tab in the slide, and there is also no need to manufacture and fit bushing.

Thanks for the reply, Hawkmoon. It's close but not quite what I'm talking about. The Briley still has many of the disadvantages of the original bushing. In fact, I think a gunsmith fit original bushing would be superior to this system. Also, I'm not looking to actually do this to my guns, it's just a thought exercise.

The advantage to the Briley spherical bushing is that it can be fitted as tightly as a gunsmith-fitted bushing (or tighter) and not have any concerns about barrel springing, because the ring in the bushing allows for angular rotation of the barrel in the bushing while limiting vertical and horizontal displacement.

Just thought of a disadvantage for my idea in Post #6:

There would be a major gap for dirt and grit to enter the slide if the system were as simple as outlined in the post. This is because the bushing flange covers the area between the plug and muzzle (clearance cut for the barrel's lower lugs when the barrel is removed from the slide).

Quote:
The advantage to the Briley spherical bushing is that it can be fitted as tightly as a gunsmith-fitted bushing (or tighter) and not have any concerns about barrel springing, because the ring in the bushing allows for angular rotation of the barrel in the bushing while limiting vertical and horizontal displacement.

I see. Still, it has similar drawbacks to the original. It bears the force of the plug, and there are wear points in the slide and barrel when turning the bushing for disassembly. In addition, it is expensive (although it's probably even with a gunsmith fit bushing). A factory produced O ring substitute would be dirt cheap for the end user.