1911 build questions...

[XDm_Shooter]

Hey guys, looking for some advice, tips and direction here. I am thinking about starting a build of a 1911. For my first one, I would like to keep the price within reason, but not "cheap". I would like to build better than low end but not looking for a Kimber price tag. I am not real sure what price range is reasonable for a build of a 1911 but something that would be used as a range gun and maybe act as an occasional carry gun as well. I currently have one 1911 in my collection and am a little familar with the platform and parts and have books on them and gunsmithing as well and have done some homework on it. Just kind of curious as to starting point and any advice that anyone can offer. I am sure that I will come up with more questions as I progress thru this so hope you don't mind me asking lots of questions...

Any input of where to start, where to get parts and guides for the process along the way that would make a good addition to any books would be great too!

Thanks in advance everyone!

[Dirty Rod]

I'm not sure which Kimber price tag you referring to but if you are buying decent all new parts you probably won't be much cheaper than $700-$750 which is about what a new Pro Carry or Custom II is going to run. A new Caspian slide/frame combo is probably $450 min plus the barrel, internals, sights, grips, etc. You can probably save some money picking up some used parts or going with something less than Caspian but it's probably going to depend on your definition of "not cheap". You should probably throw in some money for a book or two if you don't have the Kuhnhausen manual plus some extra parts for those first timer accidents. Also, don't forget about tools. If you don't have the right files and jigs it could be a challenge to get it right.

Once you decide on what you want (Govt, Comm, Officer, 4", 3", steel, alloy, park, SS, sights, etc) I would start with finding the slide and frame. New parts are all over the place (Brownells, EGW, EB, etc) however you might save a bunch by buying a used gun as a base. Again, "not cheap" may dictate whose base gun you want to use and how much you end up spending.

[yocan]

in my non gunsmithing opinion to make it financially worthwhile you'll spend in excess of 800 on parts

you will want to do some lower price builds to learn on.

you need to be taught how to do a sear/hammer install correctly.

1911forum.com is much better for this sort of thing go read ALL the FAQs in the gunsmithing section

do you have machinging experience at least?

if I was going to do it, I'd buy a citadel, fusion firing control group, and start with that, it will be worth your while, you will probably go through a couple sears/hammers the first time from what I understand. you need a sear jig, and good stones/files and a teacher.

[XDm_Shooter]

Originally Posted by yocan

in my non gunsmithing opinion to make it financially worthwhile you'll spend in excess of 800 on parts

you will want to do some lower price builds to learn on.

you need to be taught how to do a sear/hammer install correctly.

1911forum.com is much better for this sort of thing go read ALL the FAQs in the gunsmithing section

do you have machinging experience at least?

if I was going to do it, I'd buy a citadel, fusion firing control group, and start with that, it will be worth your while, you will probably go through a couple sears/hammers the first time from what I understand. you need a sear jig, and good stones/files and a teacher.

Sounds like sound advice for starting on the lower price builds for the experience. Will look over on the 1911forum for more info as well. As for machining experience, I personally have none however my dad, brother and an uncle do and my uncle runs his own shop so thats not going to be an issue.

[XDM bitone 40]

Depending on how much of a build you want to do, IMHO start with a fitted fram and slide.

Look a brownells for parts,fram kits...

I did my first 1911 build with a springfield GI..600 gun and 400 ish in parts and tools, included buying used pair of springfield grips..

[Josh Smith]

Hello,

I consider this to be a build:



My daily carry pistol

I bought an RIA for the frame and slide. I also ended up using the barrel too, though I had planned on a match barrel and bushing I already had -- the barrel really had the level of accuracy I wanted.

I can't really tell you how much it cost, after the pistol. This build ended up being a test bed. Suffice to say I went through about all the popular brands of ambi safeties (I'm a lefty) and found what I wanted in the Caspian. If Wilson ever gets their wide paddle bulletproof model out, I might switch to that. But this serves, and I ride that gas peddle HARD!

All the guts were replaced, mostly with Brown. The hammer is not Brown; I believe it's an old Colt but don't know for sure.

I have nothing MIM left in there; I know it probably doesn't matter, but MIM just doesn't give me the warm cozy feeling I get from other methods.

Now, I wasn't initially going to take this build as far as I did, and I started running into small problems. Nothing that affected functionality; this thing runs 100% with minimal maintenance, but cosmetic:



I found this when I was undercutting the trigger guard.

Just a relatively small void, but something to be aware of when dealing with some brands of cast frames.

I thought about filling it in and sanding it down, but given the overall look of the pistol and the fact that any refinishing will wear down in short order, I left it as a "beauty mark". It's there if you look for it.


But you really have to look in the right light.

I have lots of pictures chronicling this build. I'll share what I have if you like – about four years worth of pictures!

Regards,

Josh

[Hooks]

The 1911pro.com forum is a good source for correct information and ideas. Start out by reading the "tutorials, FAQ's and how to's" sticky to give yourself an understanding of what it takes and what you may want to hire a professional to do. Several professional smiths frequent the forum.

[jwill]

Originally Posted by Josh Smith

Hello,

I consider this to be a build:



My daily carry pistol

I bought an RIA for the frame and slide. I also ended up using the barrel too, though I had planned on a match barrel and bushing I already had -- the barrel really had the level of accuracy I wanted.

I can't really tell you how much it cost, after the pistol. This build ended up being a test bed. Suffice to say I went through about all the popular brands of ambi safeties (I'm a lefty) and found what I wanted in the Caspian. If Wilson ever gets their wide paddle bulletproof model out, I might switch to that. But this serves, and I ride that gas peddle HARD!

All the guts were replaced, mostly with Brown. The hammer is not Brown; I believe it's an old Colt but don't know for sure.

I have nothing MIM left in there; I know it probably doesn't matter, but MIM just doesn't give me the warm cozy feeling I get from other methods.

Now, I wasn't initially going to take this build as far as I did, and I started running into small problems. Nothing that affected functionality; this thing runs 100% with minimal maintenance, but cosmetic:



I found this when I was undercutting the trigger guard.

Just a relatively small void, but something to be aware of when dealing with some brands of cast frames.

I thought about filling it in and sanding it down, but given the overall look of the pistol and the fact that any refinishing will wear down in short order, I left it as a "beauty mark". It's there if you look for it.


But you really have to look in the right light.

I have lots of pictures chronicling this build. I'll share what I have if you like – about four years worth of pictures!

Regards,

Josh

What kind of finish is that? It looks shiny.

[Josh Smith]

Originally Posted by jwill

What kind of finish is that? It looks shiny.

Hello,

It is bluing. Clean, blue, card off; clean, blue, card off; clean, blue, card off; clean, blue, card off; clean, blue, card off; clean, blue, card off; clean, blue, card off; etc.

It's best done in a salts bath and doesn't require as many layers, but I've found that touch-up bluing will work fine for this as long as it's mixed 50/50 with hot water.

Thing with the 50/50 mix is that you're building up layers like limestone only you're doing it with extremely thin layers. If traditional bluing is limestone, then cold bluing used in this way would be tree rings.

It lasts for a while though, either way.

Hope this helps!

Josh

[xd9user]

I have 2 1911 builds under my belt. one is a full size govt model in 45acp and the other is a commander size in 9mm. Both of these pistols started with Caspian frame and slide fitted by Caspian. I highly recommend that you start your build this way. The barrel on the 45 is a Kart and the 9mm is a Briley. The Briley was very easy to fit. The rest of the internals are Ed Brown. You can't go wrong with these components.

RWW