Posted: 5/23/2026 8:09:29 AM EDT
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I bought a Springfield Ronin 4.25in a couple months ago. It came with thin grips (one of which was actually a little loose when I picked up the pistol from the FFL) which I don’t like, but that’s ok I had a set of VZ full size grips and bushings waiting for it. It’s an easy job and I’ve done it a bunch of times. No problem. Well problem… I felt no resistance unscrewing the grip bushings. They came right out the same as others have. When I attempted to screw in the new bushings none of them would catch any threads. All four holes were stripped. Does Springfield stake the bushings? Am I some kind of dumbass? It was my first aluminum framed 1911 did that make a difference? I don’t know. All I know is it took the same amount of effort to take them out as on all the others. Oh well…I’m fucked right? Don’t know what to do. Never had this issue. Hell I haven’t even shot this gun yet. I did some research and found out what I had to do, but the thought of it made me nervous. I bought the frame repair tap and yesterday evening I grabbed a cold beer and got started. I don’t have a drill press, so made a small jig to keep the tap straight the frame and turned all four by hand. I’ve never been quite as worried about the success of a project before. BUT…  So make fun of me for being a dumbass if you want. I probably deserve it. I did, however, fix the problem and unfucked myself. I thought I’d share and give y’all a reason to say…”damn at least I’m not that guy”. ?? Attached File Attached File |
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Quoted: Here’s to you mister 1911 stripped grip bushing thread fixer guy. Reeeeal American heroes….  I was actually going to read through the thread, find the problem and suggest a solution. Unfortunately, it's Memorial Day Weekend, and I have a lot of memories to sort out, and an ample supply of San Miguel Pale Pilsen and Red Horse Beer in liter bottles... 
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Quoted: Here’s to you mister 1911 stripped grip bushing thread fixer guy. Reeeeal American heroes….  Seriously tho OP, good work gettin’ er done. Never had any issues with my SA 1911. Fit and finish are excellent. ETA: Admittedly I have not tried to replace the grips. |
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Quoted: Have the same problem w/ a used Kimber. Pics of jig? Wife wanted get rid of old plastic cutting boards. I kept one in the garage figuring I’d use it for something. It’s about a half inch thick. I just cut a 1911 grip sized piece out and drilled a hole in it slightly bigger than the tap to keep it perpendicular to the frame. |
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I worked with a guy who could do that- it was honestly disturbing to watch. And grip screw bushings should be staked in place. |
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Quoted: I worked with a guy who could do that- it was honestly disturbing to watch. And grip screw bushings should be staked in place. Don’t know man. Maybe they should. I don’t see how they’re really going anywhere just screwed in good though. I did find out that staking them tears up the threads when you remove them from soft metal frames. Lesson learned and all that. |
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Grip screw bushings are normally staked on a production 1911. (Some custom builders forego staking and use thread locker instead.) When the bushing is staked, it distorts the last thread or two. When someone tries to remove a staked bushing via unthreading, the staked/distorted thread is somewhat restored to normal as it passes through the female threads of the STEEL frame. If the frame is aluminum, the steel bushing with the distorted threads ends up distorting and/or destroying the threads in the frame when the bushing is removed. I avoid fiddling with bushings in aluminum frames whenever possible for exactly this reason. |
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Quoted: I was actually going to read through the thread, find the problem and suggest a solution. Unfortunately, it's Memorial Day Weekend, and I have a lot of memories to sort out, and an ample supply of San Miguel Pale Pilsen and Red Horse Beer in liter bottles... https://media4.giphy.com/media/e6TR9n00dL3JS/200.webp?cid=8dc8958c0kol3fpn6oj61nnhoji0tp8auuwlkgxy7g3hz78b&ep=v1_gifs_search&rid=200.webp&ct=g San Miguel? I am always on the look out for that in the states. 
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Quoted: Grip screw bushings are normally staked on a production 1911. (Some custom builders forego staking and use thread locker instead.) When the bushing is staked, it distorts the last thread or two. When someone tries to remove a staked bushing via unthreading, the staked/distorted thread is somewhat restored to normal as it passes through the female threads of the STEEL frame. If the frame is aluminum, the steel bushing with the distorted threads ends up distorting and/or destroying the threads in the frame when the bushing is removed. I avoid fiddling with bushings in aluminum frames whenever possible for exactly this reason. Indeed. I learned that. Haha. |
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Quoted: Grip screw bushings are normally staked on a production 1911. (Some custom builders forego staking and use thread locker instead.) When the bushing is staked, it distorts the last thread or two. When someone tries to remove a staked bushing via unthreading, the staked/distorted thread is somewhat restored to normal as it passes through the female threads of the STEEL frame. If the frame is aluminum, the steel bushing with the distorted threads ends up distorting and/or destroying the threads in the frame when the bushing is removed. I avoid fiddling with bushings in aluminum frames whenever possible for exactly this reason. Always wondered about that , good explanation. I have wrecked my share of bushings, but only on steel frames till I got a Clapp Colt. The odd grip really fit my hand well, But the grip screws (also odd) kept coming loose at the range. I heard somewhere an O ring under the screw head would fix that, and I got the right ones. Glad I’m not the only guy who causes more problems trying to fix a simple issue. Pull the screws, simple. Except a bushing came out with the screw. Of course it borked up the threads in the frame, and looking at the bushing, no way it would go back in, the staking or something had mashed up the first thread. Then the journey began. I heard Challis had those hex drive bushings. Bought a set Mr Challis said might fit, he wasn’t sure because he wasn’t familiar with the Clapp grip. He also sold me his excellent bushing removal tool. If you don’t have one, you need one. Simple but genius takeaway on a bushing specific screwdriver. It uses a screw to hold the tool tight in the slots. At least I was smart enough to not pull all the bushings till I figured out how bad the frame was in the one spot. The frame threads somehow were not completely trashed. I was able to get the new challis bushing in. But the stupid colt grip I now wanted to keep wouldn’t fit over it. I could’ve relieved the inside of the grip to fit, but decided to find a colt replacement bushing. Apparently those are rare due to the damn grip being odd, but somebody here in our 1911 forum took pity on me, had his takeoff Clapp bushings and sent them to me. That and the challis tool ended my journey. The O rings under the grip screw head did solve the issue. Challis sells his version O ring, but they are just some common size found at the hardware stores. His hex drive bushings should work with 99% of the grips out there, and look excellent. You want that tool for slotted bushings. Attached File Weird grips that fit me too well to replace. Attached File |
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Quoted: San Miguel? I am always on the look out for that in the states. Quoted: Quoted: I was actually going to read through the thread, find the problem and suggest a solution. Unfortunately, it's Memorial Day Weekend, and I have a lot of memories to sort out, and an ample supply of San Miguel Pale Pilsen and Red Horse Beer in liter bottles... https://media4.giphy.com/media/e6TR9n00dL3JS/200.webp?cid=8dc8958c0kol3fpn6oj61nnhoji0tp8auuwlkgxy7g3hz78b&ep=v1_gifs_search&rid=200.webp&ct=g San Miguel? I am always on the look out for that in the states. Me too. I went through a lot of it in Olongapo back in 1972-74. Wife and I visited the Pensacola Naval Aviation Museum last year and had lunch at the Cubi Point "O" Club. I had a San Miguel, or two, with lunch. Still miss the painted bottle though. |
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Quoted: Grip screw bushings are normally staked on a production 1911. (Some custom builders forego staking and use thread locker instead.) When the bushing is staked, it distorts the last thread or two. When someone tries to remove a staked bushing via unthreading, the staked/distorted thread is somewhat restored to normal as it passes through the female threads of the STEEL frame. If the frame is aluminum, the steel bushing with the distorted threads ends up distorting and/or destroying the threads in the frame when the bushing is removed. I avoid fiddling with bushings in aluminum frames whenever possible for exactly this reason. Knowledge is power and you just enlightened me. I had no idea. Good work OP, glad you sorted it out. I broke the head off a grip screw on my MC Operator, used a dremel to cut a tiny slot and removed the piece stuck in the bushing. |
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Bought a 4.25 Ronin in .45 a year ago and found the ejector sticking out too far and hitting the mags. Send it in or how hard could it be working on a brand new $800 pistol? Me, being the Dremel master that I am knocked the pin out and filed the lower part of the ejector flush with the magwell. All sunshine and roses now! Couple hundred rounds and it's doing fine. The trigger isn't as good as I expected with a little creep (the trigger, not me in this case). I did pull the grips off to install an ebay ambi safety (fit perfectly, surprisingly, with no fitting except for clearance on the right grip). No bushing issues, yet. This is the fourth new firearm I've had to do work on due to functioning issues. Haven't sent one back yet. |
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Quoted: My Springfield professional is the most accurate handgun I’ve ever owned, and it’s also the most reliable one. It’s literally never had a malfunction. Hopefully, OP, you just got a lemon that they can sort out the issue with. Issue is sorted out. I messed up the threads….i repaired the threads. It’s good to go now. |
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Quoted: Glad it worked out OP. I've done several thin to regular bushings over the years and never really had a problem. Glad to see challis offers the solution to stripped threads if I ever do have an issue. Thanks! It really was a lot easier to do than I thought it was going to be. |
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Staking any fine pitch thread will likely damage the insert, the frame threads or both on removal. Using an adhesive like loctite is a removable assembly but adds cost to production over staking. Like working on your car, when you get into it it's on you when you start turning wrenches. |
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Quoted: At least it’s all back together now, I have known guys to really gum up the works by playing with stuff they should have left along, mainly concerning trigger jobs. If I were to mess with the trigger/safety parts I’d do a lot of research before hand because I’d expect to screw up if I didn’t know what I was doing. I really never expected such an ordeal from just unscrewing grip bushings like I had done many times before. I learned my lesson about lw frames though. |
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Quoted: At least it's all back together now, I have known guys to really gum up the works by playing with stuff they should have left along, mainly concerning trigger jobs. |
You can get them on Amazon.
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Quoted: I did some research and found out what I had to do, but the thought of it made me nervous. I bought the frame repair tap and yesterday evening I grabbed a cold beer and got started. I don’t have a drill press, so made a small jig to keep the tap straight the frame and turned all four by hand. I’ve never been quite as worried about the success of a project before. BUT… This is usually where I end up spending thousands more than I thought I would 
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