Went ahead and did the simely mod to the ramp..
Hello again, KTRangers,
Well, after reading all old posts on the subject of smileys I could find I decided I just didn't like this smiley thing. So after all the Thanksgiving eating and a good nap today, I did the ramp job that Flyer showed us in his old post:
[Edited today, Nov 29, to remove the url. To see Flyer's pics and instructions, go to the new Articles section and also his thread labeled P3AT Feed Ramp, etc. on this forum]
Do I recommend it?? Let me put it this way, if an old metallurgist can't do it, then nobody can do it. However, if you decide to do the mod, like Flyer said, you are on your own, it is completely your decision.
If you decide to, then my advise is to follow Flyer's picture exactly, and use needle files the way he says to. Ordinary big file is too much. Fortunately I have a bunch of needle files and making the cut wasn't too hard. First I marked a little curve on the bottom and top with a black marker. Be sure to not cut off the two ears, one on each side and shown in his photo.
I'm still pretty good with a dremel tool so I used that to finish the curve and blend it into the ramp. And then I used the felt tip with polish compound to put a mirror finish on the job, including the whole ramp while I was at it.
If you have some experience with working with metal or any fine hobby work you can probably handle this mod. If you have no such experience and don't have needle files or are not real good with a dremel tool, then don't do it yourself. The barrel steel is heat treated and is hard, which is good, but filing it is slow. Lot of patience and bright light needed. Also need to clamp the barrel in a bench vise using thin flat wood strips on each side to protect it.
I don't know if Flyer even wants to talk about this anymore. Some jerk troll at the other site gave him a real bad time about it, and the moderators just ignored the jerk. (Flyer, remember that?) But those who have done it already say it works. I feel confident it will in mine also. Doing the little check after the mod shows the ramp should not hit the round under the top one anymore. And even if it does it will be just a tiny smiley, not the big dent. The mod does not affect alignment of the top round being loaded either.
Just one more note. Two little pieces fell out of my pistol while disassembled, the recoil spring retainer up front, and the little ejector insert on the frame. If they fall out for you, just pick them up and clean them off and replace. But be aware that they can fall out and possibly get lost.
Let you know later how my pistol does.
og
