John in IN Posted December 16, 2018 Report Share Posted December 16, 2018 I thought I would try switching over to 9mm today. I have an original Guide Lamp 9mm bolt and magwell insert along with an Indy Ordnance 9mm barrel assembly. It did not work. Way too much headspace with this combo. Here's a short video showing the excessive space issue: It appears that the barrel is just pressed into the trunnion (I see no pins or weld beads), so possibly I can take some measurements and have the barrel pressed farther into the trunnion to correct the issue? Does that seem like a practical fix? John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyDixon Posted December 17, 2018 Report Share Posted December 17, 2018 i think your barrel is not made to govt. spec. also it should be pin to the barrel nut. send it back to the mfg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Got Uzi Posted December 17, 2018 Report Share Posted December 17, 2018 Hence why Ind Ord has a bad rep around here on the M3/M3A1 board as none of his units seem to work without rework Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grease Gunner Posted December 17, 2018 Report Share Posted December 17, 2018 Poor Cust Service.....I e mailed them.last week ...i called them........They never called back, but did send an e mailhere it is verbatim First my e mail to them I would buy the kit or all the parts from you that willconvert my grease gun to 9mmCan you call me at xxx xxx xxxx or e mail me what all i need and how much$$$ thanks their response You can see what we have and order from this page https://indianapolisordnance.com/other.html#GG Then I sent another message that went unanswerd Do you have everything I need in order to shoot 9mm oput of a grease gun? please answer that At this point I am giving up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John in IN Posted December 17, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2018 The only credit I can give them is that they are at least offering something. There's no excuse though for poor customer service like that. I think I can have my machinist buddy take some measurements and press this barrel further into the trunnion to the correct distance and make it work properly. Maybe even tack it in place after functional testing. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyDixon Posted December 17, 2018 Report Share Posted December 17, 2018 why should you have to rework the barrel to work? wou should find some one here on the board who can go to i.o. and demand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyDixon Posted December 17, 2018 Report Share Posted December 17, 2018 a good barrel face to face, just sayn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Got Uzi Posted December 17, 2018 Report Share Posted December 17, 2018 I have some 9mm barrel blank material to make my own barrel assembly for my conversion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJX Posted December 18, 2018 Report Share Posted December 18, 2018 John, Sorry to hear you are having trouble with your conversion. Did you get the bbl directly from I/O?Do you know when it was made? I was hoping that they had improved over time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John in IN Posted December 18, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2018 I purchased the barrel about a year and a half ago directly from IO. I don't know for sure when it was made or if they have made improvements since then.It was in stock when I bought it, so it could be from and old batch, just no way to know. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John in IN Posted December 18, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2018 Ok, I had my prototype guy take some measurements and press the barrel in approximately 1/4". The gun ran about 13 rounds thru and then one kinda stovepiped. I cleared the jam and it ran the rest of the 20 rounds out ok. So it sorta works now! It never jams or misses on .45, but I only have this one old dirty Sten mag, so who knows? I have some Tapco mags coming to try out. I believe the primer hits are way too heavy, so I'm going to have him back the barrel out .020" or so, until the primer hits look normal. Here's a picture of some of the spent brass, compared to one handgun fired round for comparison. I think once we get it dialed in he will tack the barrel to the trunnion so it stays put. I'm excited. I hope the new mags take care of the feed problem. I realize I shouldn't have to do any of this, but until a Guide 9mm barrel comes my way, I think this will be the next best way to do it for me. John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Got Uzi Posted December 19, 2018 Report Share Posted December 19, 2018 As long as you arent piercing primers then its good. My Uzi used to hit primers that hard. My GL M3 hits the primers that hard when shooting 45s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John in IN Posted December 19, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2018 Ok, good to know. I didn't want to approach some solid stack up or something that would be hard on the gun. I'll wait for the new mags to show up and see how it runs. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Got Uzi Posted December 19, 2018 Report Share Posted December 19, 2018 The thing with STEN mags is that they will Work in one gun but not another. Not all mags are made equal nor work equal when referring to STEN lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJX Posted December 21, 2018 Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 I purchased the barrel about a year and a half ago directly from IO. I don't know for sure when it was made or if they have made improvements since then.It was in stock when I bought it, so it could be from and old batch, just no way to know. JohnThat is too bad.Has anyone here had success with the M3 parts from IO?I am interested in a 9mm conversion, but do not want to buy parts that may not function. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsonlmg41 Posted December 21, 2018 Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 I had issues with the ejector in the bolt, but no issues with the barrel. I did rework the mag adaptor, all of which I detailed in the thread a while back. I also bought the parts when they came out a couple years ago. I have no idea if they've rectified the issues? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Hammer Posted December 23, 2018 Report Share Posted December 23, 2018 I had issues with the ejector in the bolt, but no issues with the barrel. I did rework the mag adaptor, all of which I detailed in the thread a while back. I also bought the parts when they came out a couple years ago. I have no idea if they've rectified the issues?Very sorry to hear that Ind Ord. is not even responding to customers or potential customers communications. I would pay their price for the 9mm conversion pieces if they actually worked but it sounds as though they are not interested in helping their customers or making the product right to begin with. I will not do business with them until they rectify this.MH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John in IN Posted January 4, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2019 (edited) I bought 3 Tapco mags to try out instead of the Sten mag I originally had. The Tapco mags work great! I usually run my 30 round mags with 25 rounds in them so it's 2 mags per box of ammo. I found I could get 35 rounds in the Tapco magazine, but then the bolt had trouble picking up the top rounds and chambering them. It looks like they are reliable up to around 28-29 rounds with the Grease Gun. After that there seems to be too much pressure from the magazine spring to strip the rounds off. Here's 3 mags worth so you can see how it functions: I'm really happy with the function of the gun now with the Tapco mags! No more Stens for me. Now I'll have the barrel tack welded to the barrel nut so it stays put and then sandblast it and try to match the finish to the gun. I bought some Brownells Gun-Kote to try. I don't know anything about parkerizing or any of that stuff, so hopefully the Gun-Kote turns out decent. John Edited January 14, 2019 by John in IN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Got Uzi Posted January 4, 2019 Report Share Posted January 4, 2019 Very nice!! I might have to get back on my 9mm project now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John in IN Posted January 8, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2019 I went ahead and finished up the barrel so I could call it done. Had it welded in the correct location: Then had it bead blasted to prep it for Brownells Gun Kote: Set it up in my little quickie paint stand Sprayed it; followed by a 1 hour oven bake at 325F: Finished! It's a slightly different shade than the gun, and a bit more sheen to it, but all and all it looks good when assembled. Yes, the barrel required a little work to get it operating, but it's done and works great now. It's a fun gun to shoot in either caliber! I have the 9mm bolt on its own driving spring/rod assembly so it's quick and easy to switch from 9mm to .45. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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