R9 Take Down Board Design

Introduction

OK, this is not my idea! It is Bob J's from The Rohrbaugh Forum. He has come up with this really effective yet simple system to use for himself to assist in the take down of his R9.

The main information necessary to copy it is in his text below which I reproduce. Of course .. you may well regard this as a conceptual idea also, and use the information to build your own version, modifying any aspects that seem useful. I suggested we had a diagram to go with the text and so have concocted a simple drawing based on the text description, hoping it may help. Perhaps relate to this with the text and vice versa, plus, I have added at the end of this page the pictures Bob took and used on the forum to illustrate it.

I goes without saying I hope - when setting up to use a board like this or any take-down proceedure, the mag should be out, and ... check for empty chamber at commencement of operations!!

Bob's test description ....

Basically, it is a board with two pegs to hold the gun in place, a hole to receive the pin as it comes out, and two holes to serve as anchor points for a rod used to lever the slide back. See photos shown below. This device makes pin removal and replacement very easy.

After writing this, it occurs to me that using a spacer (chopstick, etc) is really pretty easy and effective, and I wonder how many R9 people will want to go to the trouble of making this board. It does work well, and once made, is good to have. A major advantage is how easy it is to get the slide back and the pin holes aligned for takedown. For me, it was an interesting creative exercise.

I used material on hand, except for the rod. (Other materials or sizes could be substituted)

Base: Decking plank, actual size 1 X 5 ½ X 9 3/4 ( 2 X 6 would be OK, just heavier). Pegs: ½ inch dowel (3/8 inch might be preferable).
Lever Rod: 3/16 inch steel, 4 1/4 inch long (1/8" rod or 16d nail, 3 ½", is good ).
Everything was dipped or sprayed with Plasti Dip rubberized coating (but it scratches easily)

The layout of my board works well for me, but for someone else to build one, trying to replicate my setup from a drawing without other info would be difficult, particularly in placing the lever holes. So, I will provide a combination of dimensions and description. The layout should be checked with common sense as you go through the process. I hope this is not too much detail, but I do want to make it fairly easy for anyone to follow.

Please excuse the mixture of measurement modes (16ths vs tenths) -

Pegs: My ½ inch diameter dowel sections were 2 1/4 inches long; sanded a little at the bottom to allow them to be driven about 1/4 inch deep into 7/16 inch diameter holes.

Left peg is 2.5 inches from top edge and 2.5 inches from left edge.
Right peg is 2.5 inches from top edge, and 4.4 inches, center to center, from left peg Right peg location could be varied somewhat. It should be in front of the ejection port, and far enough back of the sight so it doesn’t contact the sight when the slide is moved back to align for pin removal. Change of location for right peg will also change location of pin hole and lever holes.

Pin hole: is 3/8 diameter, and is 2.6 inches from top edge, and 2.7 inches, center to center, to the right of the left peg. Before drilling, put chopstick or other spacer in ejection port to have slide in position to remove pin, then put gun in place as in Photo 2, and verify location. Hole diameter is not critical; 3/8 inch is convenient, but larger hole would give more latitude for placement.

Lever hole: placement is important for good operation of this take down tool. There are two ways to get good placement. One is to use the drawing dimensions, and do some trials with a nail as in No. 5 below. The other is by the method described below.

If you have chopstick (or other spacer) to align slide hole with pin, insert chopstick, place gun against pegs as in Photo 2, and then -

1. Draw line along front of slide, with line on same vertical plane as front surface.

2. On that line, mark a dot, centered between bottom of barrel and top of guide rod.

3. Remove gun.

4. Mark dot 1/16 inch in front of the dot (toward lower right corner) from Number 2.

5. Verify location - - Drive 12d or 16d nail in at this dot just deep enough to provide good purchase to lever the slide. Place gun against pegs, and see if this is good base location for lever to move slide back and align pin hole. It may be necessary to raise the muzzle slightly in order to start the slide movement. If location seems right, drill.

6. Drill hole at that spot, about 1/4 inch deep (1/4" drill for 3/16" rod; 3/16" drill for 16d nail )

7. Use a round wood rasp to make a shallow sloping groove, like a channel leading to the hole, about 1/4 inch long, aligned with the direction the gun points when in place against pegs. This will make it easier to slide the lever rod into the hole with the gun in place.

Or, if you don’t have chopstick, place gun against pegs, with slide in normal position, and then.

1. Draw line along front of slide, with line on same vertical plane as front surface

2. On that line, mark a dot, centered between bottom of barrel and top of guide rod

3. Remove gun

4. From dot in No. 2, measure 0.31 inch (5/16 inch) in direction slide moves (toward upper right corner); place dot (Actual slide movement to align pin for takedown is about 0.35 inch (11/32 ))

5, 6, 7. Same as 5,6,7 above.

For the lever hole on the left, put gun in place as in Photo 3, and use same process.

Possible improvements: Plasti Dip provides protective surface, but it is already scratching and peeling.. Coating on the lever rod got scratched up right away. Pegs seem to be OK with the Plasti Dip.
Leather on the board would be good.
Lever rod without coating does not seem to mar front of slide, but I prefer something other than steel on steel (initially, I used duct tape on a nail). Maybe aluminum rod, or plastic, would work.

A change that could make everything much better would be to replace the lever rod with a sliding push rod acting along the axis of the slide. This would have a cushioned end to contact the slide; some way to easily apply the force needed to push the slide back; and some way to lock it in position when the pin hole in the slide is properly aligned. It would also have to be duplicated on the left side, or be moveable, from right side to left side.