Ive heard Colt had some issues with off center dust covers, where one side of the frame was made super thin. Does anyone know if Springfield has ever had that issue on any of thier 1911s?
I've owned a few and I have never seen it on any that I have handled.
No.
Rack the slide once on a blued 1911 and you'll have your answer in short order. A little less discernible on SS but if it rubs you'll see it with careful inspection. No need to worry about "do some" only about "does mine".
Not that I'm aware of.
I disagree, I've seen it on several 1911's. Les Baer, Colt, Springfield to name a few. One of my favorite "keeper" pistols, a Baer Monolith Heavy, has a somewhat thinner side on the dust cover. I think some people just do not notice it. Once they do and start looking for it - they find it. I do not consider it a big deal.
I don't consider it a big deal either. On a $700 gun... Otherwise, I do consider it "significant".
I remember my Kimber had a thin dust cover on one side. I have a Springfield milspec on layaway at my LGS and it slipped my mind to check before putting money down on it.
I have one noticeably off but it's old, I've had it floating around for 20 years after I picked it up real cheap. Slide tunnel is so-so but there's more. I think this is the second generation, run, whatever. My first one was much nicer. This one is in the N302xxx range.
Is it super thin on one side of the dust cover? Or just a little thicker on one side than the other?
I've seen off-center slides rubbing on the inside of the frame several times with Springfields. The last Springfield GI I saw also had the additional problem of a wafer-thin dust cover on one side.
The issue is due to a phenomenon called "tolerance stacking". The slide and frame rails can be slightly off the centerline but still within tolerance, but if they're both off in the same direction it moves the slide over to one side where it rubs against the inside of the dust cover. If one of the front slide scallops is cut deeper than the other it can also result in the apearance of an off-center slide. It's a cosmetic issue only, but it looks like hell and is going to cost you $$$ to fix if you're having a high-dollar custom built using the pistol.
Quote:
Is it super thin on one side of the dust cover ? or just a little thicker
on one side than the other?
Not that bad but like DSK said, this one is a culmination taking most of the finish off the left side, not just a wide looking scratch.The tunnel (dust cover) is visibly drilled to the right side but the the tops are somewhat close. On the left side the flat angles from the radius out to the top thickness, but on the right side you can still see the radius and then goes flat to the top. The left side of the slide cut is quite different than the right, and the left side gets thicker from muzzle to impact surface but the hole is just about dead nuts at the muzzle. I thinned the left side of the dustcover quite a bit but it's not thin. I also started thinning down the left side of the slide but it barely made a difference. Both sides are close to the same size but a little more could be removed from the left, but it's futile. In lockup the slide is on the left rails and the frame/slide gap is close, but the right rail allows the slide to swing into the dragging more. Reworking the right rail will cure it but I never went farther with it at that point. The hammer and sear pin holes are pretty whacked. I think Marty Feldman drilled them and it took me damn near a day to fit the lockwork. The holes are far enough apart that an in-spec neutral sear needed the hammer hooks opened over 90 degrees and still has tip contact-wow! It works fine but that's always in the back of my head. Might throw a rimfire top on it for fun. This is a pure Brazilian build, hence the N serial#. I don't remember if my first was a NM or if they even used them in the beginning, but they are nicer since final machining and build is done here. For trivia NM doesn't mean mational match, their coding system just happens to coincide according to them.
You also have to remember that this one is old and possibly first run. My first was a Defender bought new in the mid+ 80s and shortly after the Defender model disappeared but it was much nicer than this one.
You also have to remember that this one is old and possibly first run. My first was a Defender bought new in the mid+ 80s and shortly after the Defender model disappeared but it was much nicer than this one.
Damn sounds like you got a bad one, hopefully Springfield has improved quality since the 80s.
It drives me nuts.
I won't own a 1911 with an off center recoil spring tunnel.
Ahh! I stand corrected then. Thanks for clearing that up.
Can one reliably tell if one side of the dust cover is wafer thin without disassembling?
Some places will not allow you to take a gun apart for inspection.
Just look at it from the front, you can see if the dust cover and the slide's spring tunnel are symatrical from side to side and reasonably the same thickness. Racking the slide a few times will immediately show on a blued slide and looking close at a stainless. There could be other causes for rubbing but the cuts being off centerline are usually it.