Help! I dented a critical surface on my handgun slide!

Crosswind

Crosswind

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First time posting in this forum...

Anyways, I have an all stainless Sig X-Five in 9mm that recently exceeded 10,000 rounds; so I decided to do a complete dis-assembly to give it a super-detailed cleaning (and there was a lot of gunk in the places where the Sun don't shine). I have two other Sigs so I was confident and well-equipped to perform complete take-downs. However, this was the first time I tried removing an 'internal-type' extractor from my X-Five.

Well, I used a screwdriver, brass hammer, and punch; and I failed to notice that I made a tiny little dent on the edge of the slide rail groove. This mark was hard to see, I could feel it when I ran my fingernail over it, and I only noticed it when I tried to slide the slide back onto the frame; it wouldn't go in and stopped at the exact location where I dinged the slide. Since X-Fives have such tight tolerances, simply forcing it is out of the question.

Right now, I'm thinking sandpaper and oil, but there is a real fear of doing further damage. Just wondering any forum members have any recommendations in terms of techniques, products, or gunsmithing.

Thanks
 
Thanks for the ideas so far!

Can somebody recommend specific stone, needle files, and/or product brands they would use in a similar situation? By the way the burr is on the inside of the slide, so it's not visible from the outside and there's no bluing/coating to worry about.

Thanks,
 
If this is in a non hardened area a small single cut file will work fine, a couple of swipes and the burr should be gone. If this area is hardened (which I doubt if you managed to burr it so easily) then a stone or even a small flat piece of steel with 400 grit sand paper will get the job done.
 
get yourself an eye "loupe" and work very slowly in good light - take your time .. check regularly .. use a stone if it will fit without interferring with other surfaces. Stop when the slide is able to fit.. then go shoot it. You may have actually "tightened" up the tolerance a little and it will shoot better for a while till it wears in again .. stop obsessing and count to ten -- take a deep breath - its going to be fine!!
 
For tight hard to reach small jobs as this I quite often use one of the wife's fingernail file boards . usually just a few light passes does the trick. I Use them often to clean up slight damage to screw heads as well. sometimes if it is a harder metal I use an old "points" file, small and very fine cutting surface.
 
tiriaq said:
From a burr on a slide rail?
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I don't know - that burr might cause the gun to fire out of battery. That's why I'd take it to a gunsmith. Better to be safe than sorry. If the OP's comfortable making the repair himself, so be it. Just sayin what I'd do.
 
c-fbmi said:
If this is in a non hardened area a small single cut file will work fine, a couple of swipes and the burr should be gone. If this area is hardened (which I doubt if you managed to burr it so easily) then a stone or even a small flat piece of steel with 400 grit sand paper will get the job done.
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^^^^^^^ flat piece of steel (carpet knife blade for example) wrapped in 400 grit sandpaper and a little gun oil on the paper. Have at er' and check often! I wouldn't try sliding the action yet. The burr might very scratch the frame rails too. It will still work, just not look as nice!
 
Mini file sets are available from most tool stores.

For stones you want what is called a "slip stone" or "stone file". These tend to be smaller shapes for getting into tighter places. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes. But they are more of a specialty item and you tend to find them only at some stores. For an exposed edge almost any blocky sort of stone will work fine. For getting into a tight groove you'd want a slip stone with a knife edge or a rather thin stone.

But for an issue of this sort which is so small and specific I would not sand or file it away. You'll end up affecting much of the metal around the burr.

Instead I'd start with the idea of peening the burr back down if at all possible. A pin punch positioned on the burr and given some light taps of a hammer will push that burr back into place. If done neatly you likely won't be able to even tell where you caused the burr. At worst the size of the mark will be greatly reduced by pushing the disturbed metal mostly back into place.

If the burr is down in a tight spot where you can't get a punch or other tool in to peen it back down then this is also a time and place for the good ol' Dremel. I'm not the sort to suggest this lightly since so often a Dremel will do more damage than it cures in the blink of an eye. But in this case with one specific spot being the problem a Dremel with a small diamond grit ball and one light touch in the right place will cut the burr away. And best of all it won't marke or abrade anything else at all like you'd have with a file, stone or sandpaper wrapped around a support form.

Either option of peening or a Dremel and a light touch right on the burr is far and away preferable to files, stones or especially sandpaper.

Another old world method to deal with a burr like this would be to use a small delicate cold chisel and small hammer. As in the sort of chisel and hammer that you'd find in the hands of an engraver. Not something you'd see a black smith using. And in fact it would be an option here as well if you don't have a Dremel and can't get in with any way to peen the burr back down.

Be creative. If you can't reach in with a pin punch to push down the burr you may be able to reach in with a large shaft screw driver or a socket set extension or some other such tool and tap the side of this bridge like extension with the hammer to push down the burr.
 
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