Somethings you should know, before............

[G.T.]

you start bending your take down levers to fix a loose sideplate!! First of all, this little bit of advice, does not include collectable Lugers!! This is for the shooting guys only, with shooter grade units! If you really want to get even with one of buddies, give him a stripped P.08 frame for a gift! You could buy a nice collectable and SHOOT it for less the it would cost to assemble a shooter out of parts! But that would be absolutely no fun at all!! Here's what happens... you buy a bunch of parts, and most seem to fit OK... you keep buying parts, because you soon come to the realization that a little bit tight, is lot better then a little bit loose.... but everything seems to be going smooth until you try to fit a miss-matched side plate... this is where most of us digress to grinders, files, hammers and pliers!! This time, I took a break and studied the situation for a bit....and here is are some of the conclusions I reached...1) the takedowm lever does NOT hold the sideplate in, it holds it back!! The little cam shapped surface right behind the arm of the lever cams the sideplate back tight against the frame.....the arm (and button part) of the takedowm lever should be straight and parallel with the frame, and it shouldn't scrape or mark the sideplate extension that it goes over... there should be just a couple of thousands clearance, but it shouldn't touch...The part that holds the sideplate in, is the thin vertical slot on the frame, and the corrosponding tab on the back bottom part of the sideplate... if you put the sideplate on the frame without the barrel/receiver assembly, it should fit tight, no play, no wobble...If it doesn't, try another sideplate! Also when looking down from the top, it should be parallel with the longitudinal axis of the frame, straight and square! Looking from the front, same thing, vertical and square! If it is not, you can clamp it and using correct shims and protectors, bend it straight! It is soft, and it will bend....I remember when I used to shoot trap, I asked a gunsmith to bend the barrel on my BT-99 to raise the point of impact, He replied," I don't bend'em sonny! I straighten'em!" Same with sideplates, don't bend stuff to work, bend parts to bring them back to spec... tight, straight, and square.... don't believe me if you don't want to... but if you use good parts, and there to spec, and fit tight...it'll shoot!! till...later....G.T. <img src="graemlins/jumper.gif" border="0" alt="[jumper]" /> <img src="graemlins/jumper.gif" border="0" alt="[jumper]" />