[MG34_Dan]

I trust the opinions and skills of most members here, so I'll voice my needs here first. I'm in need of gunsmith/machinist who can do some work with a SIG P226 pistol. I acquired a one-off/prototype .22lr conversion unit for a P226 that needs to be fit to the P226 frame. The kit seems to have been made by the Italian firm of Pietta. It contains Italian proof marks dating from 2000, BN in a box, from the Gardone Brescia proof house, Star over PSF. There is also a serial number stamped on the bottom of the barrel. But, it is not visible unless the kit is disassembled.

This kit's setup is patterned very similar to kits manufactured by the German firm of Peters-Stahl where you have a divided slide assembly. The front half is fixed to the pistol's frame and the rear half reciprocates upon firing. On this conversion the front half of the slide assembly, which contains the barrel and front sight, is made of steel while the rear half is constructed of aluminum. It also holds a fixed rear sight. The aluminum rear half has a steel insert which contains the firing pin, firing pin spring, extractor, and breech face. The two magazines that came with the conversion kit are machined from aluminum and are quite different from each other. Both appear to be hand made, albeit very well done. One magazine has an ejector 'tit' while the other does not. No documentation came with the kit and there is no internal ejector attached to either the front or rear half slide assembly. That tells me the magazine should contain the ejector. The magazine that contains the 'tit' fits a P226 perfectly and should eject spent .22lr brass. I don't know what pistol the 'tit-less' magazine was meant for, but it definitely isn't for a P226.

Initially I thought some work would be needed on the rear aluminum half of the slide. But it appears to fit and to move freely on a P226's frame. But, gunsmith/machinist work will need to be done on the steel front half. It doesn't quite fit into the P226's dust cover and the cuts for the slide groove seem to be slightly too tight.

All machined edges are extremely sharp, both aluminum and steel, and machine chatter marks are also clearly visible in many places. Here are some pictures of the kit. It is very unusual.

Any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[xdevildog]

Fitting the short guides on the front of the steel piece to the host 226 should be fairly easy hand work since your description indicated there is too much metal on the guides. The alignment issue with the bottom curve of the steel piece and the dust cover on the host can be addressed by milling the curve. Hopefully it isn't surface hardened too much.

Without the parts in hand, I would guess that the alignment issues with the dust cover would have to be solved first, followed by fitting the guides. Most any smith with a Bridgeport, a rotary table with a four jaw or a clamping system, and a good set of needle files should be able to handle it.

 

[MG34_Dan]

Fitting the short guides on the front of the steel piece to the host 226 should be fairly easy hand work since your description indicated there is too much metal on the guides. The alignment issue with the bottom curve of the steel piece and the dust cover on the host can be addressed by milling the curve. Hopefully it isn't surface hardened too much.

Without the parts in hand, I would guess that the alignment issues with the dust cover would have to be solved first, followed by fitting the guides. Most any smith with a Bridgeport, a rotary table with a four jaw or a clamping system, and a good set of needle files should be able to handle it.

I'm always a sucker for unique .22lr conversion kits. It's an addiction I tell you. When I got this kit I didn't even have a P226, but I did have a P220. Just for shits and giggles I wanted to see if the kit would fit onto the P220 frame. The front steel half fit perfectly on the P220 frame, but the rear aluminum half would not. The rails fit nicely, but it got bound on the slide release and .45 ACP ejector. I just assumed the same situation would also apply to the P226 frame. As luck would have it, just the opposite exists. This time the rear aluminum half fit the rails plus it cleared the P226's slide release and 9mm ejector. Now the front steel half has issues with a P226 frame. I guess this is what one would expect when the Germans and Italians get mixed together.

I was very impressed with the design and construction of the magazines. Like I said above, this seems to be some type of prototype as none of the edges are rounded and are very sharp. This also applies to the magazines. These babies can be used quite well in a butcher shop.

 

[frazer42]

Holy edges Batman! Toss that thing in a tumbler with mixed abrasive media for a day or two. If its just a few thousandths here or there, maybe de-horning the parts will fix it. J