Ed Brown is a good brand Wilson Combat is a good brand. John Mason is a good brand. Brownells, EGW, MGW, Hogue, all good. It is not a critical component, and failure rate for a metal housing has got to be very, very low (I have never seen a steel one break). Just get a mainspring housing and replace it, it's not difficult (he says right before people start launching mainsprings all over the house). Also get the mainspring cap pin, some makers' guns don't have them. It holds the mainspring in the housing.
Remington 1911 Mainspring housing.
- Thread starter Polinese
- Start date
To save some frustration, I suggest making a "glovebox" to use when disassembling and reassembling the housings.
A couple diswashing gloves, a largish plastic bag (that you can see through) and some duct tape is all it takes. WHEN (not if) things slip and the spring & cap go flying, having them taped inside a bag means you'll probably be able to find them fairly easily.
If you don't have "containment" its almost a certainty that things will slip, and the spring & plug will depart, at speed for the most invisible and inaccessible place possible.
Murphy's Law
Aguila Blanca
Staff
I made a tool for working with 1911 mainspring housings. I started with a Harbor Fright 3" c-clamp
https://www.harborfreight.com/3-inch-industrial-c-clamp-37846.html?_br_psugg_q=c+clamp
Carefully grind the flat head thingie off the end of the screw, which leaves a round ball. The ball might be small enough to fit into the bore of the MSH. If not, just grind it down until it fits. You then have a nice clamp that will hold onto the cap and spring while you remove the retainer pin, then release the spring tension gradually so parts don't go airborne.
https://www.harborfreight.com/3-inch-industrial-c-clamp-37846.html?_br_psugg_q=c+clamp
Carefully grind the flat head thingie off the end of the screw, which leaves a round ball. The ball might be small enough to fit into the bore of the MSH. If not, just grind it down until it fits. You then have a nice clamp that will hold onto the cap and spring while you remove the retainer pin, then release the spring tension gradually so parts don't go airborne.
ok, so my new Ed Brown flat main spring housing arrived this afternoon.
i had previously watched a video (which i could not find) so i did however find another one, where this guy uses rubber bands, as in the "missing video"
it took me (i kid you not), not more than 7 minutes to remove the OEM, and replace it with the Ed Brown.
in my situation, i did not even have to remove the wooden grips, as they have the cut out, which exposes the pin in the frame.
tested it for safety function...good to go.!!
oh yeah, and it just literally dropped in.
he is that video, which shows using rubber bands, and why, for anyone not familiar with doing this remove/install item.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtwcWUipkyQ
i had previously watched a video (which i could not find) so i did however find another one, where this guy uses rubber bands, as in the "missing video"
it took me (i kid you not), not more than 7 minutes to remove the OEM, and replace it with the Ed Brown.
in my situation, i did not even have to remove the wooden grips, as they have the cut out, which exposes the pin in the frame.
tested it for safety function...good to go.!!
oh yeah, and it just literally dropped in.
he is that video, which shows using rubber bands, and why, for anyone not familiar with doing this remove/install item.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtwcWUipkyQ
Last edited: