More melt - PM45 pics (and PM9 before/after pics)

[CJB]

I thought that two areas of the slide on my new (used) PM45 could use some TLC... by way of Mr. Dremel.

The first - that sharp spot where the three machining operations come together on the ejection port. The front of the port is downright sharp... painfully so on some. Like a knife edge. So I smoothed it out

Here's another shot from behind... shows it from a different perspective. The smoothing does not touch the locking area at all, only widens and smooths the knife edge thats usually left in that area.


Next, the back of the port, above the extractor. Thats the spot that many 1911's have a "national match" cut, which serves to not dent brass when low power target loads are used. I didn't want that. Just wanted to smooth it out a bit, make it easier on my pocket (where the pistol rides)


I went on to polish both areas a little better... for now at least, I'll leave them as is. Contemplating doing a K-Kote on the slide, so... I might end ground glass blasting and making everything black.

And... I'll also do the slide stop, its forward edge needs smoothing (they all do). More on that as it happens.

[Bill K]

Nice work! You got me to look if those edges also exist on my PM9. They do but I don't think it'd ever bother me enough to do what you did.

[Zippo Guy]

For those of us that lack the ability to do this type of work, Mike at Accurate-Iron does a great melt job on the Kahr pistols. He has just sent back my CW 9 and it is beautiful. He now has my P 380 to do the ejection port that is razor sharp. I think you did a great job, congrats!

[Cornhusker]

Any pics of your CW9?

[Bill K]

Any pics of your CW9?

+1 Please...

[jocko]

indeed

For those of us that lack the ability to do this type of work, Mike at Accurate-Iron does a great melt job on the Kahr pistols. He has just sent back my CW 9 and it is beautiful. He now has my P 380 to do the ejection port that is razor sharp. I think you did a great job, congrats!

Mike melted and stippled my PM9, super job. reasonable and not 6 months to do it either. He did a tune job, and stipple job on my
g19 and installed Dawson fiber op-tic adjustable sights, Most accurate handgun Ihave ever shot..

[OldLincoln]

I like the black slide on my PM9, but if I knew then what I do now I would have gotten a SS slide and smoothed the sharp edges then had it coated. I am used to them now but when a thread like this comes along I take it out and remember just how sharp they are.

The ejector port roughed up my Silent Thunder at first, but under Ron Garrett's counsel I reshaped it just right. He modified the mold so newer holsters should be okay.

[CJB]

Well stick around, I've done good on a home project for the gal pal this weekend, so next I will probably be making parts black.... via K-Kote.

I like that stuff... once its on, you pretty much gotta sand it off to make it go away.

[CJB]

I liked how the PM45 came out, so decided to do the PM9 today... and take some pics before and during, just so folks could see.

Before:

PM9 has even a sharper edge than the PM45, on account of the smaller/narrower barrel which leaves more slide edge exposed at the back of the port.

Rough shaping:

Yah, I did it with the slide assembled. Reason being, its coming apart for cleaning anyway, and maybe less grunge will get into places if the parts are there stopping up the holes.... like the striker and extractor. I did this with a sanding drum on the Dremel, at low speed with a 120 grit drum.

Beginning to polish:

Have a look at the angle. Its not 45 degrees, but more like 60 degrees or so. At 45 degrees, the edge still feels "rough". Blended back a bit more at the greater angle, there is a real smoothness to the edge. I worked the area with a grey 400 grit rubber wheel. I could have used one of the yellow or red wheels (120 grit or 180 grit) but I wanted to go slow, and work the area - and - protect in case of a slip. The finer wheel would have done less damage (although a re-blast still would have been required to make the slide look better).

The front "knife edge" was also smoothed out

At this point, I've used a felt wheel of 1" diameter at medium speed with some white compound (which immediately turns black on use). You can see the grunge build up too.

Mostly cleaned:

And here ya go. The slide and parts have been put thru solvent, hot soapy water and brushing, and blown dry. Then taken all apart, detail cleaned again - including all the channels and holes. Then re-assembled with lube (TW25b).

Next up... the slide stop before and after, on the PM45.

[CJB]

And here's that slide stop. If you look at a 1911 slide stop, vs the Kahr slide stop... the Kahr sticks out a bunch more at the pivot point. Different design. Thats ok, its smooth-able.

In a thread a while back I did the PM9 slidestop. That one got the front rounded, but I also rounded off the leading edge of the serrated part, and lowered it a little. The bottom and rear edges got rounded too, since it was an older "squareback" type. The PM45 has the bevel on the rear edge already, so I just did the front area.

Before


Rough shape


Smoothing


Polished


Finished


Same tools used in this as the slide, except when I get my compressor back home (its installing baseboard this weekend....), I'll bead blast it to match the finish to the slide.

I hope this little diversion was both enjoyable and educational.

One other quick point... I previously commented that I thought there was a sprue mark under the slide stop on the PM9. Obviously, I was wrong, and it wasn't a sprue mark, but the end of a blind pin hole, used in the attachment of the lever to the pin. This explains a lot. Like, why the pins rotate as they do. I still think the lever is not a fully machined part, but machined from an investment casting, as there are spots on the lever that that suggest it. Anyway, thought I'd fess up and admit my error.

[jocko]

myPM9 does not have ap;in through it, I can spin the lever like a top. I like that feature also, I see that pin hole, might be a change for some reason. I have ocntouredmy slide stop lever alot ore than u did kand if there was apin hole there it wold have showed up in the dremeling it down..

[CJB]

makes ya go hmmmm... I'll have to check the black PM45 for that.

The silver PM45 is 2009/10 production, the black PM45 is 2010/11 production.

The PM9... about... 5 years old, more or less.

[jocko]

I also

makes ya go hmmmm... I'll have to check the black PM45 for that.

The silver PM45 is 2009/10 production, the black PM45 is 2010/11 production.

The PM9... about... 5 years old, more or less.

have another pM9 slide stop lever that I have heavly contoured that might be 2.5 years old and it has no in hole either. spins like a top. I like that as i stated for the magazine follower now only has to work the actual lever and not any part of the pin that goes through the barrel lug. yours is the first that I have seen with the pin hole in the lever itself. Maybe some of u other owners can chim on on this and tell us if yours has the keeper hole like CJB photos shows so well. U did a nice job of melting CJB, I think I would have moded the slide lever even more, if u look at JOCKO'S CUSTOM PM9 u wills ee I countoured the hell out of mine and then polished it to a shinny stainless finish..

Is there any chgance that maybe u got one of the MIM slide stop levers????

[CJB]

Two of em being MIM?? One on a PM45 from last year, and one on a PM9 from a while ago? The PM9 is a VA7xxx (June to Nov of '03), so thats actually more than five years... closer to eight years ago. The PM45 is a SV2xxx amd I got an SV3xxx in March of '11, was replaced with SV4xxx (400 numbers off, exactly) in June '11. So I'm guessing the PM45 was '09/10 production, being 600-odd numbers previous to the SV3xxx of a known date.

Any chance of Jocko getting out the see-more's (ie eyeloup) and checking for a faint sign of a pin? If my PM9 was ground and polished there... the pin hole would be damn near invisible. I only saw the "hole" on the 45 since the pin didn't fit all that well at the edge of the hole.

[Michael W.]

Dang Charlie, that looks sweet! Now I wish I'd just let you tweak my PM45
instead of selling it to you!

Nice work!

Michael-