[GrumpyOlMan]

I've already posted before about the commander sized 1911 that I built in 22 TCM. I live in New York so the pistol can't hold more than 10 rounds and I wanted it to be able to accept the the longer ammo. as opposed to the 39R ammo that Glock conversions and some of the MAPP pistols take since I also reload. I also wanted to see if I can change barrels and recoil springs , making this a possible 3 caliber firearm using a custom Super.38 frame and magazines. I took the frame and slide to a LGS and had them fitted and the slide milled to accept my optic. The LGS did that but beat the crap out of my front sight, never checked the optic for accuracy, and messed up the finish on the cerakote covering the slide.
Back it went! He fixed everything but the optic. Once I got it back I did a trigger job on it and got it down to just below 4lb.s on the trigger and smoothed it out. (it was over 5.5lb.s).
Next up was the optic which was shooting low beyond adjustment. I looked for shims in my workshop but all I could find were some razor blades which were pretty close in size to the base of the red dot. I trimmed them with some tin snips and put a couple underneath. I got the gun hitting dead on at 7 yd.s but started having jamming issues and a lot of blood on the bench.
🙄 News Flash: don't be a dumb ass and use razor blades to shim a sight! Since I didn't lock tight the screws or torque 'em down real good an edge moved just enough to cut two of my fingers and it was so sharp I didn't even feel it! I have now corrected that problem with washers and band aids.
The president of another club gave me some bullets he casted and powder coated for the TCM. These weighed consistently at 38.4gn.s and were short enough that there should have been no problem loading.
I double checked with a Sheridan Engineering cut away go/no go gauge and with my full size TCM. The rounds were fine there but when I tried to load them in the commander the slide refused to go all the way into battery. Even some factory rounds were presenting this problem. I'll play with my dies today to see if I can cure this but I'm not optimistic. I'm wondering if I can have the Chamber reamed a tiny bit without ruining accuracy?

 

[ajole]

One question would be, is the issue the diameter, or is the ledge not deep enough? Will the rounds plunk in the barrel at all? Can you mash a dummy round hard enough with a crimper to fit? Or is it closer to the base where they hang up?

Assuming the depth of the chamber is correct, which a decent set of calipers should let you measure, I would try heavily POLISHING the chamber before I honed or reamed it. Measuring shoulders is a bit more finicky. Maybe make a cast?

If the depth is the issue...you could cut your brass down, for a sub optimal solution, or as a check on the ability of the chamber to handle correct spec diameter ammo.

But if the depth is the issue, I'd get it reamed regardless, as I am sure you would do.

 

[GrumpyOlMan]

Problem solved (and I'm feeling a bit foolish). As i said earlier, I couldn't figure out how this ammo was passing the plunk test and looking at it in a cutaway go/no go gauge gave no indication of why it would chamber in one gun and not the other. I went back down to the Grump Cave and looked at my pre-set tooling head for the Dillon press. I set my tooling heads up and leave them. Each has it's own stand and when I switch calibers I just change the base plate and tool head (and primer feed if necessary), check my powder, and off I go.
I thought to myself " It probably won't do any good but maybe if I tighten down my sizing die just a bit" and grabbed the appropriate wrench only to find out that the die had loosened! I figured it couldn't possibly be that easy, I was wrong. I guess I gotta own it.🙄
The commander definitely has a tighter tolerance chamber than the FS Ultra but it is in spec. I did have a couple factory rounds that didn't want to chamber but every one of the 100 rounds I loaded last night did.
Now that I've solved that I happened to notice that Wilson Combat had a sale on 4.25" .38 Super barrels so I ordered one. If I can fit it to my Caspian Arms 38 Super frame my Commander 1911 will be a 3 caliber gun. .22TCM, 9mm, and ,38 Super which will only require a barrel and recoil spring change.

 

[ajole]

That’s why I always do one complete round and check it before doing a pile….we’ve all been there once.👍

 

[GrumpyOlMan]

I'm. Still not out of the woods with this build. Went to the range yesterday. The magazines hold 9 rounds. After firing 3 full magazines without a hitch, I started having to bump the slide to get it into battery after every shot. Accuracy is good , I haven't fitted the other two caliber barrels yet ( 9mm & .38Super), but I'm kinda hoping I can figure this out.

 

[backbencher]

How did you fit your links?

 

[GrumpyOlMan]

On this build I haven't had to so far, the 9mm and TCM were both drop ins. I haven't received the .38Super yet. The 9 looks like it won't be a problem but I haven't tested it at the range yet. My main focus is the TCM.

 

[GrumpyOlMan]

On this build I haven't had to so far, the 9mm and TCM were both drop ins. I haven't received the .38Super yet. The 9 looks like it won't be a problem but I haven't tested it at the range yet. My main focus is the TCM.

Yup, screwed up again! The 9mm dry fit the slide nicely, only problem is it's a para cut ramped barrel which is what my FS ultra takes but NOT the commander. I'm going to have to find non-ramped barrels to fit the frame. I found some Roto "hammer forged" barrels on Sarco's website. I'm not familiar with them.

 

[Visper]

Yup, screwed up again! The 9mm dry fit the slide nicely, only problem is it's a para cut ramped barrel which is what my FS ultra takes but NOT the commander. I'm going to have to find non-ramped barrels to fit the frame. I found some Roto "hammer forged" barrels on Sarco's website. I'm not familiar with them.

Sarco, I buy a lot of my FAL stuff from there, that website and gunthings.

Anyway, sidetracked lol. Sarco good to go - nice people. Milsurp and kinda like a Numrich parts wise, not as much but a place worth checking when needed.

 

[backbencher]

Yup, screwed up again! The 9mm dry fit the slide nicely, only problem is it's a para cut ramped barrel which is what my FS ultra takes but NOT the commander. I'm going to have to find non-ramped barrels to fit the frame. I found some Roto "hammer forged" barrels on Sarco's website. I'm not familiar with them.

Can a Dremel fix it?