I made a stainless striker guide

[mr surveyor]

where's the range test update???????

surv

[WI carrier]

what size screw do you figure you need to make a spare spring?

[gb6491]

Nice work CJB
Regards,
Greg

[CJB]

what size screw do you figure you need to make a spare spring?

Not so crazy after all. I got springs, some manufacturing experience, and a business lesson all in one.....back in about 1986 or so.

When Colt came out with the stainless Cobra model .357, there was no Wolff springs for it. I had a Cobra, which I took down to the mold shop, where they EDM'd Colt Python type "vents" in it. Bad ass for its day, but it still had a stiff action. Back at my shop, I played for a few weeks with a new found stash of music wire. I ended up winding Colt Cobra mainsprings, on a screw set in the lathe, and later, I made up a jig to turn 'em out by the scores. Bossman at the time "EdW" said - how much you gonna sell them for? I said... well... lets see, I can make about four a minute, the wire is like two cents...lets sell 'em for about two bucks each. Nope. Ol' smarty Ed says - "we'll sell 'em for the same price as Wolff's other springs", and that was about $10 back then for a kit of two or three. I got two bucks bonus on each one sold in our shop. His reasoning - very sound thinking I might add - it's not the cost of production, but the perceived value in the market that sets the price. We sold a spring kit with every new Cobra, and folks came from other shops to get our springs.

So... screw's and springs... yah... they go together.

[TucsonMTB]

Nice! I wonder if it would be possible to add a small hole that could be used, along with a pin tool to compress the striker spring when doing a full tear down of the slide. The current technique of holding the striker with a tool while removing the back plate works, but could possibly be improved upon?

Now you've done it. I'll have to make one too, just to test that theory. Good thing you blazed the trail to follow.

[CJB]

I had that idea! There's a post on it here... but I have a better idea!

Cut a tiny slot in the plate, so you can retract it from underneath. That way, no external hole.

[CJB]

Just put a little bevel on the plastic or metal pin... as shown in red. That way you can grab it easily with a small flat screwdriver, scribe... anything that fits in the bevel.

[TucsonMTB]

That makes sense now, thanks!

I believe the roughly double thick head of your metal pin helps make a notch practical.

It may be a while before I follow your lead because I so seldom completely disassemble the top end for cleaning.

Thank you again for all the attention to details!

[TucsonMTB]

Hey, CJB!

Here's what I was trying to describe. That's 1/64" hole in striker spring guide.



And here is what it looks like while assembling the slide. The process was a little easier.



Might get a chance to test fire tomorrow and then, perhaps, another tear down just to see how it works.

In reality, there's not much to be gained since I found no junk in any part of the slide this evening.

[CJB]

What did you use to make that one? Looks nice BTW

[TucsonMTB]

What did you use to make that one? Looks nice BTW

Thanks for the kind words!

I just followed your example except that for my first step, I drilled a 1/64" hole through the side of the shaft of the pan head screw I found in my junk drawer. I have a small Craftsman drill press and a small machinist's vise that made drilling the hole pretty easy.

I also cheated by pulling out the plastic guide rod for dimensions. And, I am more comfortable with a big Nicholson file than a Dremel, so I chucked the drilled screw in the drill press and filed away until it pretty well matched the plastic original. The screw I started with should have been a little larger, so I ended up with an about .002" smaller shaft.

Everything was easy to put back together. Admittedly, it has been so long since my last tear down that I don't really remember how hard it was last time. It was also surprising that there was really no dirt or debris anywhere.

Thank you for mapping out a fun project!

[TucsonMTB]

Total success!

As you certainly would expect, the range session today was just a normal day at the range. Comparing the indent in the primer between spent rounds from the same lot of ammo, before and after replacing the striker spring guide . . . the strikes are now just a little deeper. At a quick glance they look about the same. But, using a loupe it is easy to see that the strike is now deeper.

When I was cleaning, I noticed that the guide had rotated about 40 degress, but it was easy to reach the hole and move it into an accessible position.

I rate the CJB Stainless Striker Guide a complete success!

[CJB]

Hey nice! TY, TY, and TY....

Now about those royalty fees (ahem)!!!!

Glad it worked out. I haven't fired mine yet, probably wont till... couple of weeks, I'm snowed with crap to do.

[TucsonMTB]

In the off chance you need to make any adjustments, here are the dimensions measured from my original Kahr PM40 part. Hopefully this info will save you from having to retrieve your remaining original from your other gun. This presumes that Kahr uses one molded plastic part across the entire line.
Overall length: 0.900"
Shaft diameter: 0.125"
Head flange thickness 0.050"
Head flange diameter: 0.310"
The position that seems to work reasonably well for an added hole to help with take down and assembly is 0.450" from the flange. A 1/64" drill bit seemed to work well enough.

All of these measurements were made with a cheap, plastic, dial indicating calipers hence the zeros in the least significant digit, but should be very close since they were repeated several times.

[gb6491]

Hey, CJB!

Here's what I was trying to describe. That's 1/64" hole in striker spring guide.



And here is what it looks like while assembling the slide. The process was a little easier.



Might get a chance to test fire tomorrow and then, perhaps, another tear down just to see how it works.

In reality, there's not much to be gained since I found no junk in any part of the slide this evening.

NICE!
You two esteemed gentlemen have done well, please download immediately:

Regards,
Greg