Slide Stop Binding Slide/Frame?

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

So I've got this Star model BM,
a late 1970s production gun that has a lot in common with a 1911 including an exact but scaled-down replica of the slide stop lever with its pin that goes through the frame and engages the swiveling link on the barrel.

There seems to be something wrong with the fit of this part in the gun. It's a problem that recently developed just in the last month. The slide sometimes binds when moving forward --a short distance forward of where the normal walking point is for the slide stop lever to engage the big notch in the slide.

This happens no matter the gun is being being fired, or hand cycled with snap caps, or even with the magazine removed just trying to manually lower the slide on the empty chamber.

It's not a "jam" as in failure to feed; it has nothing to do with cartridges or bullet shapes. Again, the magazine doesn't even have to be in the gun.

The binding / stopping of the slide and the frame can happen anytime the pin & slide stop lever is installed, and it always binds at the exact point that you would place the slide at to pop the pin out and remove it for this assembly.

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

P.S. Without the pin/lever in place, and without the barrel, recoil spring, guide rod, the slide moves easily and fully in both directions across the frame.

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

Any ideas?
Should I get a knife sharpening stone and polish the rails on the slide?
Or do it maybe w/some 800 or 1000 grit wet dry sandpaper?

Should I just spend $40 and buy a new slide stop lever and pin and hope that does the trick?

 

[Ammo cash]

I’m no gunsmith, but the last thing you want to do is polish. You can really mess the gun up. If the slide moves freely without the barrel etc. Then I would look at the recoil spring and slide stop first

 

[Gingerbeard Man]

I wouldn't modify the gun by polishing.

I've had my fair share of Super Bs and BMs.

Do you have a sonic cleaner? I'd recommend disassembling the slide and putting all the small parts in the bath, rem oil and reassembly. You'd be surprised at what a small amount of unseen carbon buildup can do.

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

It's clearly not carbon fouling nor a weak mainspring that's gotten too soft, because when this locks up it feels like there's a big steel-on-steel obstruction stopping thecslide from moving forward.

You can't push it forward by hand even if you thump the back of the slide with your fist it doesn't move!

Reminder: The slide is not "locking back" the way it was designed to. The rectangular projection built into the slide stop lever is not visibly upward and is not engaging the correspondingly-shaped slot in the slide.

(I'll retake that picture showing the point at which the slide stops. It is *not* the point at which the slide stop lever is meant to go upward and engage a recess that has been machined into the slide.)

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

This is looks like when the slide is properly fully closed,

which happens about half the time I try to drop the slide / hand cycle the slide.

 

[Gingerbeard Man]

Couple questions. On the takedown lever, take a pick and push down on the detent. Does it have resistance? I know you said it wasn't magazine related but what kind of mag are you using? Have you tried others.

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

The Ball detent on the slide stop lever does work correctly-- I pushed it in using a plastic butter knife. That ball rubbing against the round part immediately to its right does function to flip the slide-lock lever fully down. Confirmed by appearance and by feel. Even if you manually push this lever downward (towards the magazine well) as you try to cycle the slide manually, with no magazine in place at all, the slide will bind at the exact same location approximately 50% of your attempts.