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My first 1911 build
bigdaddyjunior
Member Posts: 11,233
Got a frame and slide in a box of mix matched stuff a while back so decided to try my hand at 1911 building. Hand fit every part and made the entire thing in stainless Match Grade parts.Haven't put the front blade on yet but still shoots 1" at 25 yds. Since the top was left flat to add weight it makes a nice aiming plane. I'll put the blade on tomorrow and go shoot some bullseyes at 50yds. I built this thing tighter than a nun's knees at a porno convention. The added weight from the heavy slide and unrounded dust cover keeps the nose down and makes followup shots a breeze besides almost doing away with recoil. Had fun doing it and am all ready started on number two.
Comments
I don't care for the trigger that much. Other than that, looks great and I hope you post a full range report with pictures.
That's extra nice. I don't know what would be more fun...building it or shooting it.
Take my word for it, it is loads more fun shooting it. Building one to shoot 1" at fifty yards is a painstaking process of fitting one part to another then taking it all apart and shaving a .0001" and putting it all back together and so on and so on. Once you get the gun together right it is so tight that you need a rubber mallet to move the slide back and forth with a little 800grit lapping compound on the rails. When you get it to where you can operate the slide with a good deal of hand force it is time to shoot some rounds through it and break it in. I am very pleased with the end product. I knew I could build one as good as Wilson or Baer if I had the books, tools and patience. Not much of a brag since anyone with those qualifications could do the same.
Shoots better than any pistol I have ever shot. That kind of makes me happy and a little proud. Plus it looks really cool.
Looks great...where did you get the grips?
Nice job.
Who made the frame and slide? Are they stainless or carbon steel?
What barrel did you use?
ICE
The grips are off of GB auctions. Those inexpensive 45's can be made to shoot very well with just a few inexpensive tweaks. A trigger job and a fit bushing is around a $50 thing that can reduce your groups by half. I was never a real big fan of the 1911 because I never had one that was super accurate. Finally shot one that had been done over by a competent smithy and it shot as good as my GP Ruger. Now that is saying something. The scale of difficulty is about a 7 out of 10. Only because it is very easy to screw it up and have to buy new parts all over again. Anyway, it was a month well spent in the knowledge I gained from the experience. Now if a 1911 fails on the range I can whip out my little tool kit and parts box and have it running again in no time. Need to have a tee shirt made that says,"Gunsmith- will work for ammo".[:)]
Well, the A-O shoots tighter groups than I can hold, but I still want a coupla more 1911's. You know... Commanders, beaters, maybe an actual war-horse to leave original...you get the idea. When the bug hit, it hit hard.
Thats a nice pistol BDJ. Any fool can put together a bunch of surplus 1911 parts and get a functioning gun. I know there is so much more than described to get a bunch of match grade parts to fit and function.
Well that's a stunt this fool hasn't attempted yet, but is eager to try.
(I don't even know how to detail strip a 1911).
Hey bigdaddyjunior, what tools did you need to do this build?
The tools indigenous to the 1911 build are a barrel alignment tool, a set of arkansas stones and a set of ceramic stones, a #2 Swiss file, a frame and slide file,some good emery cloth,600 and 800 grit lapping compound, a slide and rail measuring caliper, a set of frame forming plates, a frame holding block, a slide shaping tool, a rail peening rod, a barrel lug cutter, a barrel lug file and either a black marker or layout ink.
Basically, you get the slide to frame fit as tight as you can and still have it work. Then you fit the barrel to the slide and the bushing to the barrel and slide. I think the most important thing to accuracy is the barrel fitting almost too tight at lockup. I spent about 4-5 hours just getting the lugs and recesses to mate up without any play.The bottom lug/link pin fit is crucial. If it is not right the gun will still work ok, but it will batter itself apart over time. Go very slowly there. Remember that if you file off too much at once you are either going to have a loose gun or are going to buy another part and start over.Better to put away the files when still slightly oversized and switch to stones for removing material. I had to fit two barrels and bushings. Not because the first was loose, but because I perfectly fit a standard barrel to a frame that was cut out for a ramped barrel. No ramp on the barrel and no ramp built into the frame...guess what the round does when leaving the magazine?
SCROLL DOWN
UUUUAHUUAH
AAWHOOOWAEEEEEEE SUN OF A GUN, that a dam hot wire