Machining 1911 slides from Forgings - Looking for a shop or gunsmith

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Wilf Black

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Looking for a shop or gunsmith that can set up and machine 1911 slides from a quality forging in Canada. Either 4140 CM steel or 420 SS

I asked Novaks in the US however, they work from bar stock and were too busy try a forging

Any help, ideas or referrals would be appreciated

If anyone wants to try working on a few of these I will provide a new at minimal cost you you can try you luck at producing the slide. I have a PDF of the original drawings also
 
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So far no luck

As noted above Novaks only machines bar stock with known surfaces and is not set up to do fixtures for a forging, so they sent samples to Colt that I sent them last year, but if it is not Colts own forging they don't deviate.

Does any one know of anyone who can set up for a forging in Canada or the US and machine it if the forging is not perfectly Colt? Any ideas or advice would be greatly appreciated

I am going to offer a pair for sale elsewhere on CGN if anyone creative wants to try their hand at this
 
Wilf Black said:
So far no luck

As noted above Novaks only machines bar stock with known surfaces and is not set up to do fixtures for a forging, so they sent samples to Colt that I sent them last year, but if it is not Colts own forging they don't deviate.

Does any one know of anyone who can set up for a forging in Canada or the US and machine it if the forging is not perfectly Colt? Any ideas or advice would be greatly appreciated

I am going to offer a pair for sale elsewhere on CGN if anyone creative wants to try their hand at this
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That's really not surprising. It may sound like a fun project for you, but from a manufacturing point of view, it sounds like a massive waste of time and effort that is unlikely to produce success, and as a result, unlikely to receive payment. Either invest in the time and equipment to make them yourself, or just buy finished product from someone who makes them.
 
I take it you already have the forgings so how many forgings are you talking, 1, 10, 1000? Once machined they become gun parts so south of the border transactions can get complicated. Have you contacted Dlask or Alberta Tactical Rifle? If money is not an obstacle then one of those 2 maybe interested in a production run.
 
WereWeasel said:
I take it you already have the forgings so how many forgings are you talking, 1, 10, 1000? Once machined they become gun parts so south of the border transactions can get complicated. Have you contacted Dlask or Alberta Tactical Rifle? If money is not an obstacle then one of those 2 maybe interested in a production run.
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Thank you however they are both tied up with existing work
 
Blastattack said:
That's really not surprising. It may sound like a fun project for you, but from a manufacturing point of view, it sounds like a massive waste of time and effort that is unlikely to produce success, and as a result, unlikely to receive payment. Either invest in the time and equipment to make them yourself, or just buy finished product from someone who makes them.
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Its not for everyone. Some shops can do his; others cannot like you and that is fine. We all specialize in something and to the right person/ shop who can set up will work, just not for many
 
I would think there would be CNC programs online for the 1911 slide and then all you need is someone with a cnc machine.
I really can't see the job you are wanting done being at all worth while dollar wise to any shops out there that are busy because their tooling is all set up for whatever they are most commonly producing. It might be cheaper for you to lease a machine short term and hire a CNC graduate to run the product.
 
If anyone wants to try working on a few of these I will provide a new at minimal cost you you can try you luck at producing the slide. I have a PDF of the original drawings also
 
are these forgings already registered as a restricted firearm? If they are not, you better take down this post. There is strict protocol and procedure in place for the making of a firearm. A machine shop or individual will be in a lot of trouble if they turned a non-registered forging, or even a chunk of bar stock into a fully function handgun frame.
 
VanMan said:
are these forgings already registered as a restricted firearm? If they are not, you better take down this post. There is strict protocol and procedure in place for the making of a firearm. A machine shop or individual will be in a lot of trouble if they turned a non-registered forging, or even a chunk of bar stock into a fully function handgun frame.
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OP is asking about machining SLIDE forgings.
 
Do you have enough quantity of forgings to make for a significant production run?

Dan Busse at Blue Chip Machine likes to run 100% CNC; if there are enough parts to justify setting up the program, he could maybe do the run. But, I know he has his regular work too, so there is always the question of capacity.
 
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