first 1911

C

chevyhelm

Inactive
I've been toying with the idea of building an heirloom quality 1911, but wasn't sure about what is a good frame, and slide to start with. are there any that i need to stay away from? Is there any particular complete gun that can be bought to start with? Brownells has fitted Caspian frame/slide combos, anyone have any comments on those? This is not only my first 1911 build, but my first 1911, and i would like a nice piece that can be handed down to my kids. Thanks for any input!
 
I have never built one but would love to. Wilson combat bulletproof, Ed brown, egw, Les baer, nowlin, kart, etc, should be fine quality parts. I think the hardest part will be fitting the barrel to slide and bushing to barrel. For my first 1911 I bought a Springfield loaded model 1911 .45 and absolutely love it. It is very reliable and very accurate. Trust my life to it. The only part I have swapped out is the trigger for a Harrison designs extreme service short trigger which took a good amount of fitting. I am extremely happy with the trigger and highly recommend it. The only other parts I will change out are the ambi safety for a standard right handed only safety (machined or forged steel instead of MIM), and the barrel bushing for a black bushing that fits a little tighter, and the 2piece guide rod for a GI style setup that doesn't require a Allen wrench to take apart.

Good luck and keep us posted. I would love to build a 10mm 1911 but I think cost in parts would be about the same cost in buying a manufactured one.
 
How much are you willing to spend? If you have the coin and the time I would take Garthwaite's 1911 class.

Pistolsmithing-Kenik2-page-1.jpg


http://www.garthwaite.com/services/classes.php

For $3150.00 you get the following. You will end up with a pistol you built that will be Garthwaite quality. If you are not familiar with Mr Garthwaite he is one of the best pistol smiths alive. 2004 Pistolsmith of the year and on the board of the APG, American Pistol Guild.

Tuition Includes:

Quality Forged 1911 Frame/Slide
Kart Match Barrel
Heinie or Novak Fixed front and rear sights
High Sweep Grip Safety
Tool Steel Hammer, Sear, Disconnector, and Trigger
Thumb Safety
Mainspring Housing
All small parts / pins
Matt Bluing
Personal Instruction (see details below)

Personal Instruction:

You will learn my methods of the following:

Bench work
Using Precision Measuring Tools / Instruments -Files / Filing
Using special tools, fixtures, and jigs for the 1911
Frame and slide fitting
Precision Barrel Fitting
Custom Sight Installation
Trigger work -Checkering and Texturing Fundamentals
Teflon Coating / Bluing Application
Malfunction Diagnostics
Range Testing
 
wow, WVsig, that looks like a blast! thanks for the reply, that is absolutley something that i would be interested in! It is a pretty penny, but seems to be well worth it! are there any other classes like this, that include the price of a custom pistol, built with the help of an world class pistolsmith?
 
I have not but it is on my want to do list. Mr Garwhaite has one of my Browning Hi Powers right now. Once that is done and info can pull of the schedule part I want to do his course.
 
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