In this six part series by Brownells, we'll be giving tips on how to
accessorize your 1911.
We'll cover changing out the mainspring housing, magazine release, slide release,
hammer, guide rod and sights.
First up, is the mainspring housing.
The mainspring housing is an easily-installed part that can be
added to your 1911 to alter the feel and look of the pistol, or
simply to replace a polymer unit with one made of steel.
When coupled with an enlarged magwell it can also
aid in quicker reloads.
In this video, we'll take a look at the various offerings you
can choose from, and then show you how to remove your old
mainspring housing and install a new one.
Mainspring housings come in different shapes and texture
patterns and it's up to you to determine what looks and works the
best for you.
Some shooters prefer a flat housing, while others
find the arched style is more comfortable.
You can also get them with coarse checkering, fine checkering, straight
serrations, or something completely different like this Ed
Brown Chainlink pattern.
Another option worth considering is a built-in mag well.
This feature offers a larger opening to aid in
fast reloads and is popular with competitive shooters.
They can be had in a one or two piece design, and install just the same as a standard
housing.
The one-piece has the advantage of being...
well, one-piece with nothing to come loose or be lost.
The two-piece, on the other hand, like this Ed Brown, allows the owner
to remove the mag well to make the gun more compact for concealed
carry.
Either style will give a lifetime of dependable service
when properly installed.
Replacing your mainspring housing is also an easy way to add a
lanyard loop to your 1911.
These can be had with a recessed or an extended loop to receive the lanyard clip
and require no alteration to the gun.
This is a great add-on for anyone who needs the security of a lanyard on the sidearm
in an active duty environment where physical circumstances could
result in a dropped or dislodged pistol.
So once you've slected a new mainspring housing we're ready to
drop it in.
Installing it is fairly easy and requires only a few tools.
You'll need a screw driver or the appropriate hex wrench to
remove the grips, a mainspring housing pin tool, and a small
punch to disassemble the old mainspring.
A good bench block is also something you may want to have on hand
for this operation.
We'll begin by removing the magazine and locking the slide back
to ensure the gun is completely unloaded.
Next, we need to remove the slide.
Simply field strip the pistol the way you normally do for cleaning.
First we'll depress the recoil spring plug and rotating the barrel bushing to release
the plug.
You'll need to be careful here and control the plug as it becomes
free, otherwise it may end up on the other side of the room.
Once you have the plug removed and the tension off the recoil spring, you
can retract the slide until the small disassembly notch lines up with the
retention tab on the slide stop.
Then, when it's correctly aligned you can raise the rear of the
slide stop slightly on the left side of the gun while pushing on its
protruding pin on the right side.
At this point the slide will come off the front of the gun and can be set aside.
Note that , while you can do this job with the slide in place, it's much
easier with it removed.
Next While the hammer is back, remove the thumb safety by
rotating it to the middle position and pulling it out of the frame.
Now put your thumb on the hammer, and pull the trigger while
depressing the grip safety and carefully guide the hammer to
the lowered position.
Next, we'll lay the pistol on the bench block with its left side facing
up, and locate the mainspring housing pin at the bottom rear of
the frame.
You'll see a small depression in the head of the pin.
This is where you place your mainspring pin tool or punch.
Place your tool in position and push the pin out
the other side.
Now you can pull the mainspring housing out.
If it seems stuck, you can cock the hammer to get the housing started.
Once it's out, the grip safety and sear spring can be removed and
set aside along with the frame.
With everything out of the way, we can set up to
transfer the mainspring and related parts to the new housing.
To remove the small parts, it's best to secure the old housing in a
vise so you can use both hands.
Press and hold the mainspring plunger down while you remove the tiny retaining
pin with a 1/16" punch.
Once the retaining pin is clear you can ease up on the
mainspring and release the tension.
We'll then take the housing out of the vise and carefully dump out the
contents.
You should have three parts, the mainspring, the mainspring
cap, and the mainspring retainer pin.
To install them into the new housing, place the pointed retainer
pin in first, followed by the spring, then place the mainspring cap
on top.
With the new housing in a vise, depress the cap with a
punch or similar tool until you can push the small retaining pin into
place.
Remember, the small head of the pin goes on the inside
wall of the housing.
Once the retaining pin is in place, your new mainspring housing is ready to be installed.
Start putting everything back together by first making sure the
hammer is all the way forward.
Then, lift the hammer strut up and place the sear spring in the rear of the
frame with the three legs at the top and the small tab at the bottom.
That tab must go into the small cutout in the frame to for
it to seat properly.
Hold the sear spring in place while sliding the
mainspring housing up into the frame about halfway.
Now you can take your finger off the sear spring and put the grip safety into place.
At this point we can slide the mainspring housing all the way up,
taking care to see that the tail end of the hammer strut seats
into the mainspring cap.
You may need to move the frame around to let gravity help
with the alignment.
When you have everything in place, align the holes in the frame
and the housing to receive the pin.
If you can't quite get the housing in far enough by hand, you can push
it against the workbench until the holes line up, and then
insert the pin.
It should stop about halfway in.
You can knock it in the rest of the way with a plastic mallet.
Be sure the pin is flush with the frame.
Now cock the hammer to make sure the strut was aligned
properly.
If the hammer won't go back, remove the retaining pin
and try again.
Once you have the hammer in the cocked position, replace the thumb safety.
You may need a small tool like a screwdriver to retract the safety plunger
to allow the safety to move all the way into position.
Once the safety is in place, the gun can be reassembled and
function tested to ensure everything is working properly.
That's all there is to it.
Be sure to visit brownells.com to see our full selection of mainspring housings and
other 1911 accessories.
And remember, everything we sell is backed by our 100%
unconditional forever satisfaction guarantee.