The much maligned barrel link. The "weak point" in the 1911. Which it isn't, by the way. The small radial lugs are the weak points. That's why there are three of them.
Manys the time I've seen people talk about "tightening" the lockup by switching to a longer link in order to force the barrel higher into the slide. What they fail to understand is that the link's only function is getting the barrel out of the slide...not into it...and by long linking the barrel, they alter the timing of that event. Specifically, it delays and slows the barrel's drop.
When the linkdown is delayed just a little too long, the upper lugs don't get clear of the slide lugs before the barrel stops on the vertical impact surface...and the lugs crash. The immediate result is a rounding of the top front of the barrel lug corner, and a corresponding rounding of the top rear lug corner in the slide...neither of which is good. Long term, the eventual result of just a few such crashes is a fracturing or shearing of the two forward lugs, even if the condition is corrected, with a reduced horizontal contact patch at the first lug...which further weakens the slide and barrel lugs by effectively reducing the vertical engagement.
The direct opposite practice of using a short link most often results in the link placing the lower lug in a bind with the slidestop crosspin, and is immediately apparent...but sometimes, it's not...and the result can be the same, but for different reasons.
The other result of short linking is a condition known as "Stopping on the link" where the barrel's horizontal movement is stopped by the link instead of the vertical impact surface, and that brings on all sorts of mischief, including stretching or breaking the link and fracturing the lower lug...up to actually pulling it loose from the barrel. I've seen it cause the lug to pull all the way through into the chamber. If that one isn't caught in time, serious kabooms are a certainty.
The first cousin to stopping on the link is the barrel striking the frame bed before or at the same time as it hits the vertical impact surface. The result is the same. It just takes a little longer. That's why, when the barrel is properly fully linked down, it should be off the bed by about .003 inch to allow for carbon buildup.
So...much like my advice not to go at your feed ramp with a Dremel...it's best to just ignore the people who advise it, and leave the link alone. No good will come of dinking around with it.
Manys the time I've seen people talk about "tightening" the lockup by switching to a longer link in order to force the barrel higher into the slide. What they fail to understand is that the link's only function is getting the barrel out of the slide...not into it...and by long linking the barrel, they alter the timing of that event. Specifically, it delays and slows the barrel's drop.
When the linkdown is delayed just a little too long, the upper lugs don't get clear of the slide lugs before the barrel stops on the vertical impact surface...and the lugs crash. The immediate result is a rounding of the top front of the barrel lug corner, and a corresponding rounding of the top rear lug corner in the slide...neither of which is good. Long term, the eventual result of just a few such crashes is a fracturing or shearing of the two forward lugs, even if the condition is corrected, with a reduced horizontal contact patch at the first lug...which further weakens the slide and barrel lugs by effectively reducing the vertical engagement.
The direct opposite practice of using a short link most often results in the link placing the lower lug in a bind with the slidestop crosspin, and is immediately apparent...but sometimes, it's not...and the result can be the same, but for different reasons.
The other result of short linking is a condition known as "Stopping on the link" where the barrel's horizontal movement is stopped by the link instead of the vertical impact surface, and that brings on all sorts of mischief, including stretching or breaking the link and fracturing the lower lug...up to actually pulling it loose from the barrel. I've seen it cause the lug to pull all the way through into the chamber. If that one isn't caught in time, serious kabooms are a certainty.
The first cousin to stopping on the link is the barrel striking the frame bed before or at the same time as it hits the vertical impact surface. The result is the same. It just takes a little longer. That's why, when the barrel is properly fully linked down, it should be off the bed by about .003 inch to allow for carbon buildup.
So...much like my advice not to go at your feed ramp with a Dremel...it's best to just ignore the people who advise it, and leave the link alone. No good will come of dinking around with it.