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[mtnwinds]

CJB, I mis-spoke when I said the spring should be tightened so that it doesn't move. I meant to say, it should be tightened so that when one part moves the other doesn't; e.g. when the slide lock portion is moving to lock the slide back, the portion of the spring that locks the barrel lug pin in place doesn't move.

Muggsy, a lot of folks went to that same school you did and they generally do just fine for themselves. The school I go to teaches me that whether or not it's broken, see if you can improve it. I never have been very good at leaving well enough alone. I guess you could say it's has never been one of my virtues. Regarding the epoxy, most all epoxy compounds I've used have no trouble joining two dissimilar surfaces together; metal to plastic for example. Have you ever bedded a barreled action? If you're not careful, when you're bedding a steel barreled action to a wood or plastic stock you can stick the two together pretty darn tight.

A poem by Robert Frost, 'The Road Not Taken' and a book by Richard Bach, 'Jonathan Livingston Seagull' pretty much sum up my thoughts on leaving well enough alone.

[mtnwinds]

Well, the deed is done. I didn't time it but I think it took 30 - 45 minutes. Here's the insert I used.


I used a series of letter drills to sneak up on the final size of 1/8". I didn't want to take a chance that the 1/8" bit would catch in the hole and make a mess if I tried to drill it out in one pass.


The insert is self tapping. I used the existing factory screw threaded into the insert to drive the insert into the hole. It takes a bit of finesse to keep the little insert lined up while applying enough pressure to get the threads to bite into the hole. I used a magnifying visor to help me keep things under control. Here's the insert in its new home. You can see some excess material which I clean up later on.


I buried the insert just below the surface of the frame so as not to interfere with the spring or washer. There will be a slight amount of frame material that needs to be cleaned up. I'm a hobby woodworker and I found one of my small fishtail chisels worked perfectly. Here's the spring installed.


All that's left to do is to install the washer & screw. I'm going to get a new screw as the torx faceting is not all that durable in these tiny screws. It works o.k. but I will be happier when I replace this one with a new one.


Well, that's it. I can tighten that screw as much as I want to and that's what I was after. I'm not going to bother using epoxy as that insert is in there pretty tight. When you tighten the screw, the force on the insert tries to pull it up against the washer instead of screwing it deeper into the hole.

Just for good measure, I want to say that I am not suggesting that you perform this modification to your pistol. Because it worked for me does not mean it will work for you and your pistol. This is something I decided to do to my CW9 and will shortly do to my CW45.

[CJB]

that is certainly clean looking work

[Alfonse]

That is very nice. Thanks for documenting it.

[wyntrout]

Well, those of us who like to turn "just a bit more" too many times, will have an idea about how to repair the stripped threads. Thanks!

I am in favor of not fixing things that aren't broken, though. They usually just get more broken.

Wynn

[gb6491]

That was well done mtnwinds
The inserts are from http://www.mcmaster.com correct?
Regards,
Greg

[mtnwinds]

Thanks for the kind words guys. The inserts are from McMaster Carr. I have xtras as they come in a 10 pack. I doubt I'll ever have that many Kahr pistols to modify. If anyone wants one please pm me with an address and I'll send you one. I figure I have 8 inserts I won't be using. I've also got a pack of screws coming and they come 50 to a pack. I'll stick one of those in with the insert so you'll have what you need except for the drill bits, etc.

I bought (actually traded for) my CW9 used and I think somewhere along the line someone overtightened its screw. But I also know that it is very easy to strip the threads out of that poly frame.

I like the fact that the modification is completely hidden. If you're careful when drilling the hole, you will only drill it about ¼" deep and not all the way through. That way, you can't tell by just looking inside the frame that anything has been done to it.

[IPSC]

New member here coming in late....hope you don't mind this question. Can the "photos" listed here be found?....not able to view them. Thanks.

[mtnwinds]

New member here coming in late....hope you don't mind this question. Can the "photos" listed here be found?....not able to view them. Thanks.

Those photos are on an old laptop. I'll see if I can find them.

[IPSC]

Thanks Mtnwind....I also sent you a private mail text. If you can't find the photos, maybe find the McMaster-Carr part numbers...as their current catalog shows a few items that that could be the part you used.... thanks !!