{
  "apiVersion": 1,
  "kind": "work-order",
  "purpose": "Taking the firearm apart for a job such as refinishing, and putting it back together to specification.",
  "firearm": {
    "slug": "star-bm",
    "name": "Star Model BM",
    "manufacturer": {
      "id": "star-bonifacio",
      "name": "Star Bonifacio Echeverria"
    },
    "category": "pistol",
    "action": "hammer-fired-short-recoil",
    "calibers": [
      "9x19mm Parabellum"
    ],
    "alsoKnownAs": [
      "Star BM",
      "Star BKM"
    ],
    "coversAlso": [
      "Star BKM (alloy frame)",
      "Star Model B and Super B (larger, with differences)"
    ],
    "page": "firearms/star-bm.html",
    "bundle": "api/v1/firearms/star-bm.json",
    "lastUpdated": "2026-10-29"
  },
  "notices": [
    "This work order is written for the Star Model BM. It is reported to cover Star BKM (alloy frame); Star Model B and Super B (larger, with differences) — if the firearm on the bench is one of those, check the torque notes: values do not always carry over.",
    "No torque values are recorded for this firearm. Get them from the manufacturer or a gunsmith; do not estimate."
  ],
  "disclaimer": {
    "headline": "Read this before you use anything here.",
    "points": [
      "This is a guide, not an authority. Entries are compiled from manufacturer manuals, technical manuals, published references, and community knowledge. Some of it comes from sources that are not authoritative, and some of it may simply be wrong.",
      "Always consult the manufacturer's manual for your specific firearm and serial-number range. Manufacturers change designs mid-production without renaming the model. The manual that shipped with your firearm outranks anything on this site.",
      "Consult a licensed gunsmith for anything beyond routine field stripping and cleaning, for any firearm you are unsure about, and for any procedure marked as gunsmith-recommended here.",
      "Treat every firearm as loaded. Verify it is unloaded, with the magazine removed and the chamber physically and visually checked, before any procedure in this database. Point it in a safe direction the entire time.",
      "Disassembly can damage a firearm or injure you. Springs are under tension, parts can launch, and reassembling a firearm incorrectly can make it unsafe to fire in a way that is not obvious from the outside. If a reassembled firearm does not pass a function check, stop and see a gunsmith.",
      "Torque values are shown in two groups. Values from the manufacturer or the issuing military are shown as such, with the document they came from. Values reported by anyone else — parts makers, gunsmithing publishers, articles, forums — are shown separately with who said them, how reliable that source is, and their exact words. Those are not specifications. Confirm any torque value with the manufacturer or a licensed gunsmith before relying on it.",
      "Nothing here is legal advice. Firearms law varies by country, state, and city, and some modifications or configurations are regulated or prohibited. You are responsible for knowing and following the law where you are.",
      "No warranty of any kind. Contributors and maintainers accept no liability for damage, injury, or loss arising from use of this material."
    ],
    "page": "disclaimer.html",
    "legal": {
      "summary": "Legal notice: this material is third-party information compiled from sources of varying reliability and is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It is not gunsmithing, technical, safety or legal advice, it is not verified or endorsed by any manufacturer, and it must not be taken as fact. Any work on a firearm beyond the routine field stripping described in its own owner's manual should be performed only by a licensed and insured gunsmith. You use this material entirely at your own risk. Fundamental Build LLC and the project's contributors make no warranty of any kind and accept no liability for death, injury, damage or loss arising from its use. Full terms: LEGAL.md.",
      "page": "legal.html",
      "notice": "https://github.com/Fundamental-build-LLC/Pew-Takedown/blob/main/LEGAL.md"
    }
  },
  "sourcing": {
    "confidence": "medium",
    "verification": "community-reviewed"
  },
  "manufacturerDisassembly": {
    "status": "published",
    "limit": null,
    "statement": "Star's own BM manual gives the cleaning takedown (magazine, slide stop, slide with barrel, recoil spring, guide and bushing) and calls it the proper disassembly for cleaning, with no instruction against going further.",
    "source": {
      "title": "Pistolas automáticas Star — Nuevo modelo de pistola \"Star\" BM, calibre 9 mm. Parabellum (Luger). Reglamentaria en el Cuerpo de la Guardia Civil",
      "publisher": "Star Bonifacio Echeverria, S.A. (Eibar)",
      "reliability": "primary",
      "url": "https://archive.org/download/gunmanual_Star_Bm_Manual/Star%20Bm%20Manual.pdf",
      "page": "11",
      "pdfPage": 14,
      "pageUrl": "https://archive.org/download/gunmanual_Star_Bm_Manual/Star%20Bm%20Manual.pdf#page=14",
      "quote": "Con estas operaciones queda hecho el apropiado desarme para la limpieza del arma."
    }
  },
  "recalls": [],
  "shopTier": {
    "tier": 2,
    "group": "pistol",
    "rating": "Pew-Takedown editorial rating (1 easy – 3 hardest), not the manufacturer's",
    "reason": "51 parts in a 1911-like but non-interchangeable design: removable bushing and link, captive recoil spring, slide-mounted firing pin retained by a vertical pin under the rear sight, pivoting trigger with a rail-mounted disconnector and a magazine safety. A gunsmith who knew both found it harder to detail strip than a 1911.",
    "confidence": "medium",
    "partCount": {
      "value": 51,
      "kind": "line-items",
      "covers": "'Piezas componentes de la pistola STAR modelo BM' (p. 3) keyed to the 'Vista explosiva' (p. 2), Guardia Civil manual; complete pistol incl. magazine and cleaning rod.",
      "basis": "manufacturer-parts-list",
      "source": {
        "title": "Pistolas automáticas Star — Nuevo modelo de pistola \"Star\" BM, calibre 9 mm. Parabellum (Luger). Reglamentaria en el Cuerpo de la Guardia Civil",
        "publisher": "Star Bonifacio Echeverria, S.A. (Eibar)",
        "reliability": "primary",
        "url": "https://archive.org/download/gunmanual_Star_Bm_Manual/Star%20Bm%20Manual.pdf",
        "page": "2–3",
        "pdfPage": 5,
        "pageUrl": "https://archive.org/download/gunmanual_Star_Bm_Manual/Star%20Bm%20Manual.pdf#page=5",
        "quote": "Tornillos de cachas"
      }
    },
    "painPoints": [
      {
        "issue": "An experienced 1911 user finds the BM harder to detail strip than a true 1911.",
        "during": "both",
        "source": {
          "title": "A Critical Look at the Star Model BM",
          "publisher": "Hi-Powers and Handguns (Stephen A. Camp)",
          "reliability": "secondary",
          "url": "https://hipowersandhandguns.com/a-critical-look-at-the-star-model-bm/",
          "page": null,
          "pdfPage": null,
          "pageUrl": null,
          "quote": "While the pistols are not too difficult to detail strip, I do not find them as easy as the true 1911."
        }
      },
      {
        "issue": "The firing pin is retained by a vertical pin under the rear sight, so the sight has to be drifted to get the firing pin out.",
        "during": "both",
        "source": {
          "title": "A Critical Look at the Star Model BM",
          "publisher": "Hi-Powers and Handguns (Stephen A. Camp)",
          "reliability": "secondary",
          "url": "https://hipowersandhandguns.com/a-critical-look-at-the-star-model-bm/",
          "page": null,
          "pdfPage": null,
          "pageUrl": null,
          "quote": "Removal of the firing pin and spring are more difficult with this pistol as the rear sight has to be moved enough to remove the vertical steel pin beneath it that retains the firing pin."
        }
      },
      {
        "issue": "The captive recoil spring on its full-length guide is harder to service.",
        "during": "both",
        "source": {
          "title": "A Critical Look at the Star Model BM",
          "publisher": "Hi-Powers and Handguns (Stephen A. Camp)",
          "reliability": "secondary",
          "url": "https://hipowersandhandguns.com/a-critical-look-at-the-star-model-bm/",
          "page": null,
          "pdfPage": null,
          "pageUrl": null,
          "quote": "While less like to lose a spring under field conditions, it is also more difficult to change recoil springs with this arrangement."
        }
      },
      {
        "issue": "1911 parts do not fit; parts are no longer made.",
        "during": "reassembly",
        "source": {
          "title": "A Critical Look at the Star Model BM",
          "publisher": "Hi-Powers and Handguns (Stephen A. Camp)",
          "reliability": "secondary",
          "url": "https://hipowersandhandguns.com/a-critical-look-at-the-star-model-bm/",
          "page": null,
          "pdfPage": null,
          "pageUrl": null,
          "quote": "Parts do not interchange and internal systems are quite different."
        }
      }
    ],
    "minutes": {
      "strip": 30,
      "rebuild": 45,
      "basis": "estimated",
      "note": "Slide (rear sight drift, firing pin retaining pin, firing pin, external extractor, bushing) and frame (grips, hammer and mainspring, sear, trigger, disconnector, magazine safety and catch, thumb safety, slide stop); rebuild longer for the sight re-centre and hammer spring.",
      "source": null
    },
    "stripScope": [
      {
        "assembly": "Slide",
        "removes": [
          "barrel bushing",
          "captive recoil spring and guide",
          "rear sight (drifted to free the firing pin pin)",
          "firing pin retaining pin, firing pin and spring",
          "extractor, pin and spring"
        ],
        "tools": [
          "sight pusher or brass drift",
          "pin punches"
        ]
      },
      {
        "assembly": "Frame",
        "removes": [
          "grips and screws",
          "hammer, hammer spring and plunger",
          "sear, pin and spring",
          "trigger, pin and spring",
          "disconnector (rail groove)",
          "magazine safety",
          "thumb safety, plunger and spring",
          "magazine catch, latch and spring",
          "slide stop",
          "ejector and pin"
        ],
        "tools": [
          "pin punches"
        ]
      }
    ],
    "hardware": {
      "pins": 0,
      "springs": 0,
      "detents": 0,
      "basis": "counted from the manufacturer's parts list (one per key number unless a quantity is given)"
    },
    "specialTools": [
      {
        "tool": "dovetail sight pusher (or brass drift and padded vise)",
        "usedFor": "Removing and refitting dovetailed sights for coating"
      }
    ],
    "fitOnRebuild": [
      {
        "check": "Rear sight re-centred",
        "why": "The rear sight is moved to free the firing pin retaining pin, so it must go back on centre",
        "source": null
      },
      {
        "check": "Function check: trigger reset, sear/striker engagement, safeties",
        "why": "Standard post-reassembly check on any pistol whose fire-control parts were removed; a mis-seated spring shows up here, not on the bench",
        "source": null
      }
    ],
    "assessed": "2026-10-29"
  },
  "videos": [],
  "configurations": [],
  "tools": [],
  "phases": [
    {
      "id": "clear",
      "title": "Clear and make safe",
      "steps": [
        {
          "n": 1,
          "instruction": "Point the muzzle in a safe direction and keep your finger off the trigger."
        },
        {
          "n": 2,
          "instruction": "Press the magazine release and remove the magazine.",
          "partsFreed": [
            "Magazine"
          ]
        },
        {
          "n": 3,
          "instruction": "Retract the slide fully to eject any chambered round and lock it open."
        },
        {
          "n": 4,
          "instruction": "Visually inspect the chamber and magazine well, then physically feel the chamber to confirm it is empty.",
          "warning": "Look and feel. Both, every time."
        },
        {
          "n": 5,
          "instruction": "Remove all live ammunition from the work area."
        }
      ],
      "videos": []
    },
    {
      "id": "disassemble",
      "title": "Disassemble",
      "videos": [],
      "procedures": [
        {
          "procedure": "field-strip",
          "title": "Field Strip",
          "level": "field-strip",
          "configuration": false,
          "steps": [
            {
              "n": 1,
              "instruction": "Complete the Clear and Make Safe procedure and let the slide forward with the hammer cocked and the safety off."
            },
            {
              "n": 2,
              "instruction": "Retract the slide until the takedown notch aligns with the slide stop lug."
            },
            {
              "n": 3,
              "instruction": "Push the slide stop out from the right side of the frame and withdraw it from the left.",
              "warning": "Thumb pressure only. If it resists, the notch is not aligned.",
              "partsFreed": [
                "Slide stop"
              ]
            },
            {
              "n": 4,
              "instruction": "Ease the slide forward and off the front of the frame.",
              "partsFreed": [
                "Slide assembly"
              ]
            },
            {
              "n": 5,
              "instruction": "Remove the recoil spring and guide from the slide.",
              "warning": "Under spring tension.",
              "partsFreed": [
                "Recoil spring",
                "Recoil spring guide"
              ]
            },
            {
              "n": 6,
              "instruction": "Move the barrel forward and lift it out of the slide.",
              "partsFreed": [
                "Barrel"
              ]
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "refinish",
      "title": "Refinish",
      "components": [
        {
          "name": "Slide stop",
          "procedure": "field-strip",
          "level": "field-strip",
          "step": 3
        },
        {
          "name": "Slide assembly",
          "procedure": "field-strip",
          "level": "field-strip",
          "step": 4
        },
        {
          "name": "Recoil spring",
          "procedure": "field-strip",
          "level": "field-strip",
          "step": 5
        },
        {
          "name": "Recoil spring guide",
          "procedure": "field-strip",
          "level": "field-strip",
          "step": 5
        },
        {
          "name": "Barrel",
          "procedure": "field-strip",
          "level": "field-strip",
          "step": 6
        }
      ],
      "manufacturerPartsList": {
        "parts": 51,
        "scope": "\"Piezas componentes de la pistola STAR modelo BM calibre 9 mm Parabellum (Luger)\" (p. 3), keyed by part number to the \"Vista explosiva\" on p. 2. Only list in the manual (Guardia Civil issue edition)."
      },
      "partsDiagrams": [],
      "materials": [],
      "note": "The components the procedures above separate. Coating, masking and cure are outside this database; follow your coating system's instructions. A part the manufacturer marks \"factory fit\" should not be swapped or reworked."
    },
    {
      "id": "reassemble",
      "title": "Reassemble",
      "videos": [],
      "procedures": [
        {
          "procedure": "reassembly",
          "title": "Reassembly",
          "configuration": false,
          "steps": [
            {
              "n": 1,
              "instruction": "Fit the barrel into the slide and seat it in the locking recesses."
            },
            {
              "n": 2,
              "instruction": "Install the recoil spring and guide."
            },
            {
              "n": 3,
              "instruction": "Set the slide onto the frame rails and push it rearward until the takedown notch aligns."
            },
            {
              "n": 4,
              "instruction": "Tip the barrel link forward and insert the slide stop from the left, pressing it fully home.",
              "warning": "Never force the slide stop. If it will not pass through, the link is not aligned."
            },
            {
              "n": 5,
              "instruction": "Release the slide into battery and perform the function check."
            }
          ],
          "instruction": null
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "torque",
      "title": "Torque",
      "coverage": "none-recorded",
      "manufacturer": [],
      "reported": [],
      "notes": null
    },
    {
      "id": "function-check",
      "title": "Function check",
      "checks": [
        "Verify the pistol is unloaded with no magazine inserted before each check.",
        "Cock the hammer, engage the thumb safety, and press the trigger. The hammer must not fall.",
        "Disengage the safety and press the trigger. The hammer should fall.",
        "Hold the trigger back, rack the slide, release slowly and confirm the reset.",
        "Confirm the slide locks open on an empty magazine."
      ],
      "videos": []
    }
  ],
  "troubleshooting": [],
  "sources": [
    {
      "n": 1,
      "id": null,
      "title": "Star Model BM Pistol Manual",
      "publisher": "Star Bonifacio Echeverria S.A.",
      "reliability": "primary",
      "url": null,
      "accessed": null
    },
    {
      "n": 2,
      "id": "star-bm-parts-manual",
      "title": "Pistolas automáticas Star — Nuevo modelo de pistola \"Star\" BM, calibre 9 mm. Parabellum (Luger). Reglamentaria en el Cuerpo de la Guardia Civil",
      "publisher": "Star Bonifacio Echeverria, S.A. (Eibar)",
      "reliability": "primary",
      "url": "https://archive.org/download/gunmanual_Star_Bm_Manual/Star%20Bm%20Manual.pdf",
      "accessed": "2026-09-27"
    },
    {
      "n": 3,
      "id": "tier-82c5a865",
      "title": "A Critical Look at the Star Model BM",
      "publisher": "Hi-Powers and Handguns (Stephen A. Camp)",
      "reliability": "secondary",
      "url": "https://hipowersandhandguns.com/a-critical-look-at-the-star-model-bm/",
      "accessed": "2026-10-29"
    }
  ]
}