Joined The Clone Club, Somewhat Underwhelmed!!

[75Plus]

I ran across a hot deal on a Witness Steel Compact in .40 S&W so I picked up my first Tanfogolio. NIB, unfired, with 2 additional mags for $420 OTD. Here it is.
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I field stripped to clean it up and was greeted with this! Underwhelming to say the least.



Taking the springs out did not improve their appearance.



I consulted Wolff Springs and found that they had no springs for the Witness Compacts that used the two spring system. So.... the creative side of me kicked in. My thought process was, the CZ Compacts were very similar so why not use w Wolff spring meant for a CZ compact. The size of the Witness guide rod and the hole in the slide that it ran through was too large. But...by making a reducer bushing to close the hole and using a CZ Compact full length SS guide rod the CZ springs from Wolff should fit. The recoil spring from my CZ Compact 9mm works smoothly. The mod. does not detract from the appearance in the least, in my opinion!!



The little reducer bushing is the key to the success of this project. I absolutely LOVE playing with my machinery!!





Edit to add that getting the double springs back into the pistol and not having the springs nest in such a way that you cannot reach the latch back position can be very time consuming. This nesting can cause failure to feed and/or failure to eject.

Joe

[Brian Ahearn]

Nice repair and don't worry they are good shooters.

[Bishop112]

Great idea!

[DenStinett]

Never did care much for the Double Recoil Spring set-up on any Gun
I've pulled them for a Single Spring Set-up wherever possible
But (as you discovered) when it comes to the Witness Compact, there are no Single Recoil Springs to be had (I don't know why Wolff hasn't addressed this yet)
The DRS on my Witness Semi Compact has yet to bunch like that (you've shown) and I haven't had an issue with its Slide locking back (even with a Shock Buff installed)

Looks like (as I would expect) you have solved these issues, and very elegantly I must say

[jwc007]

Interesting.  My Series 88 TA90 has a Single Spring setup.  Wonder what Spring I will need when I go to replace it?  What I will probably do is consult the Wolff order desk tech.  So long as I have the Guide Rod Diameter, I think he could probably fix me up.  I might wind up buying a Witness Full Size Spring of the appropriate weight and trim it to fit, which I have successfully done before.

I like the similar Dual/Parallel Recoil Spring arrangement in my SAR K2P, which has a neatly doubled spring.  Did you call EAA about replacement springs?

So, how does it shoot for you?

[75Plus]

Just got it last night. Have not had a chance to shoot it. I have delt with double spring set ups in the past on various types of machines. All that I can remember had a very similar number of turns per inch bad wound in opposite directions. This pretty well eliminates the problem of nesting.

As a note to anyone that might try this, the hole in the bushing needs to be tapered on the back side so the guide rod can be inserted while keeping the rod to bushing fit close on the outer end.

Joe

[1SOW]

That's an impressive fix for an ugly situation.

If Remington won't, can't or doesn't fix my New R-51 trigger pull/grip safety,  I'll really need someone with a LOT of innovative ideas.

[DenStinett]

Joe:
Have you posed this question /  issue on the All Tanfoglio And Witness Pistols Forum ?

http://tz75man.forumco.com/default.asp

Rod Slinger (also a Member on this Forum) is a real Tanfoglio / Witness Guru and my have some info to help

[Genin]

Fantastic job and very attractive fix to an ugly problem. Please let us know how it performs when you get the chance to shoot it.