Can’t turn barrel bushing

I’m pulling out some 1911’s I haven’t shot for awhile and taking them apart for for another cleaning.

I have a Marvel 38 Super that is really tight all around.  I got the barrel bushing to turn clockwise to about 8:30…so close to releasing the spring but noooot quite.

I took the slide off and released the spring and went back to the bushing.  It won’t budge.  Either way.  No matter how hard I tried with three different bushing wrenches.  Won’t budge…

Any suggestions?

Penetrating Oil would be my first choice.

Put slide in vise, use steel bushing wrench.
Jon

Make sure the barrel is not in the locked position when you're turning the barrel bushing.  Take the top end off and remove the recoil spring and guide.  Then push the barrel out of the slide and turn the bushing then.

I would get some Kroil, it's the best penetrating oil I have ever used. Yes there are some concoctions using transmission fluid and acetone other brand products like Liquid Wrench but seem to be almost as good as Kroil. A good steel bushing wrench like Jon mentioned should be used but if that fails curved or V jaw vise grips will work but will probably put teeth marks in the bushing. Works if all else fails. Put the slide in a vise about 3/4" short of the end. Use cardboard like that from a cereal box to protect the slide while in the vise.

Good ideas, I'd add soaking in Kroil overnight. If not loose next day, try some hot air.

boisepaw wrote:I have a Marvel 38 Super that is really tight all around.  I got the barrel bushing to turn clockwise to about 8:30…

Any suggestions?

My barrel bushings turn counter clockwise to remove them!

DA/SA wrote:

boisepaw wrote:I have a Marvel 38 Super that is really tight all around.  I got the barrel bushing to turn clockwise to about 8:30…

Any suggestions?

My barrel bushings turn counter clockwise to remove them!

correct! it turns clockwise to remove the spring cap. turns counter-clockwise to remove from slide.
are you heeding  the advice to have the barrel out of battery before turning??

boisepaw wrote:I’m pulling out some 1911’s I haven’t shot for awhile and taking them apart for for another cleaning.

I have a Marvel 38 Super that is really tight all around.  I got the barrel bushing to turn clockwise to about 8:30…so close to releasing the spring but noooot quite.

I took the slide off and released the spring and went back to the bushing.  It won’t budge.  Either way.  No matter how hard I tried with three different bushing wrenches.  Won’t budge…

Any suggestions?

Serious question here, why are you trying to remove the bushing? 

My bushings seem to be super tight fit to the frame so I just clean the gun with the barrel & bushing still in the slide. I clean the lug recess area and lube everything pretty heavily.

With bushing in the gun the barrel can't be removed so it would not be possible to clean the top lugs on the barrel.

I too never turn my barrel bushings for the past 35 years of bullseye shooting.  I soak the pistol in a mixture of Stanisol and Rislone motor oil additive with brushing and shaking from time to time.  Blow it all out, clean the barrel, oil it up and I'm good to go with a clean pistol. Simple!
Phil

I’ve worked on guns that bushing was never removed and supposedly soak cleaned. They were filthy. Only saving Grace is the grime made the gun tighter; poorly fit barrel.
Bushing to slide fit doesn’t wear enough to replace the bushing if snug fit properly. I think telling customers not to remove the bushing was one of the dumbest things that’s been passed down. 
Clean your pistols, don’t douche them.
Jon

Jon Eulette wrote:I’ve worked on guns that bushing was never removed and supposedly soak cleaned. They were filthy. Only saving Grace is the grime made the gun tighter; poorly fit barrel.
Bushing to slide fit doesn’t wear enough to replace the bushing if snug fit properly. I think telling customers not to remove the bushing was one of the dumbest things that’s been passed down. 
Clean your pistols, don’t douche them.
Jon

Lol Go get em Jon.

DA/SA wrote:

boisepaw wrote:I have a Marvel 38 Super that is really tight all around.  I got the barrel bushing to turn clockwise to about 8:30…

Any suggestions?

My barrel bushings turn counter clockwise to remove them!

That is true...obviously...  

So I had a gun smith remove it for me once then I tried working the bushing in and out several times and even turning it several times.  Then, with the bushing properly put back in place, I turned it...hmmm...let me think about it...CLOCKWISE to finish reassembling it.  And it got stuck.  Stuck before I could get the spring and cap back in place and stuck so hard that I could no longer turn it counter clockwise.

james r chapman wrote:

DA/SA wrote:

boisepaw wrote:I have a Marvel 38 Super that is really tight all around.  I got the barrel bushing to turn clockwise to about 8:30…

Any suggestions?

My barrel bushings turn counter clockwise to remove them!

correct! it turns clockwise to remove the spring cap. turns counter-clockwise to remove from slide.
are you heeding  the advice to have the barrel out of battery before turning??

See previous response.  

I have the slide off the frame and I've had the bushing out already but when I tried to put the entire gun back together I am unable to turn it far enough clockwise to get the spring and spring cap back in place.

Jon Eulette wrote:I’ve worked on guns that bushing was never removed and supposedly soak cleaned. They were filthy. Only saving Grace is the grime made the gun tighter; poorly fit barrel.
Bushing to slide fit doesn’t wear enough to replace the bushing if snug fit properly. I think telling customers not to remove the bushing was one of the dumbest things that’s been passed down. 
Clean your pistols, don’t douche them.
Jon

Jon...your name has already come up as one of the masters of the 1911 craft.  So I appreciate your thoughts.

I had the gun completely apart to clean it but had a hard time getting the bushing out from the very beginning.  I finally got it out, tried to make sure I could still work with it but when I was re-assembling the gun and I turned the bushing to put the spring and spring cap back in place, that's when it got to the point that I could no longer move it at all.  Completely stuck.

Really tight bushings can require using the barrel like a slide hammer to remove the bushing. Or using plastic mallet to hit the bottom barrel lugs to push the bushing out.
I typically 99.9% of the time install barrel and bushing into slide. The recoil spring cap if going in from the front of the slide next and getting the bushing twisted back into position; slides that allow recoil spring cap to insert from the rear you don’t need to twist bushing as far in the first place. I next install recoil spring and guide rod and then the lower/receiver onto the slide.

You’re getting stuck; is the bushing lug hitting your recoil spring cap or bushing is just really tight?
Sometimes it’s a matter of practice and sometimes the bushing might need loosened up.
Jon

boisepaw wrote:

DA/SA wrote:

boisepaw wrote:I have a Marvel 38 Super that is really tight all around.  I got the barrel bushing to turn clockwise to about 8:30…

Any suggestions?

My barrel bushings turn counter clockwise to remove them!

That is true...obviously...  

So I had a gun smith remove it for me once then I tried working the bushing in and out several times and even turning it several times.  Then, with the bushing properly put back in place, I turned it...hmmm...let me think about it...CLOCKWISE to finish reassembling it.  And it got stuck.  Stuck before I could get the spring and cap back in place and stuck so hard that I could no longer turn it counter clockwise.

Different techniques apparently. I remove the slide and then remove the spring/guide rod out the rear of the slide. Then just turn the bushing counter clockwise to remove the bushing if needed. Bushing then goes back in with a clockwise turn and then spring anf guide rod go in from the rear and the slide goes back on. Only need to remove the bushing if I need to remove the barrel.

Is this a stainless steel slide and bushing?  Stainless steels arr MUCH more susceptible to galling (self-welding) than carbon steels.  If the bushing is in fact galled to the slide, you may as well just hand it over to a GOOD gunsmith to machine them back out and fit you up a new barrel/bushing.
Even if it is carbon steel, it still may have galled with enough pressure and friction.  I usually put a thin film of TW25 on the bushing OD to assist assembly/disassembly.

Jon Eulette wrote:Put slide in vise, use steel bushing wrench.
Jon

I'm not going to scratch the finish on the blued slide around the bushing with a steel wrench?  And...just any old steel bushing wrench off Amazon or do you have any specific suggestions?

This is from memory, so it may be backward, but in case it may help, let's return to the basics:

(I know all of these points are in the previous posts, but let's recap with a little extra.)

The bushing turns one way (maybe CCW from front) to allow the spring cap to be removed. If it is turned further in that direction the lock tab will jam solid into the end of its slot in the slide.

After the cap is removed, the bushing turns the other way to remove it from the slide by aligning its lock tab with the cap tunnel. Once this is accomplished, you are done with the bushing wrench. *

If the cap is in the way (still in the tunnel), the lock tab will jam against the cap.  If the cap isn't loose with the spring removed, maybe it's jammed in that direction.

As to turning the bushing with steel tools, you can use a piece of plastic or even sturdy paper to protect the slide, but just be careful with your alignment and application of force.  In all cases, my first move would be to recenter the bushing.

As to removing the slide and then the rod, spring and cap - the cap will not come out from behind if it hasn't been shortened.  The reason to remove the slide first is to keep from turning the bushing while the barrel is locked in battery.  The lockup is, in effect, a wedge of the barrel within the bushing and turning it while in battery will work against and distort that mating, which in turn can cause wear and loss of proper lockup.  The barrel should be protruding a bit before any turning of the bushing.

* If the lock tab is aligned in the tunnel, the rest is as described by Jon - use the barrel as a slide hammer to drive the bushing out of the slide or place the barrel solidly against the bushing and tap the lower barrel lugs to drive the bushing out.  In either case, be sure you can see the lock tab clearly free in the cap tunnel before proceeding.