Project Norinco Commander !

BCWILL

BCWILL

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Well I recieved this Diamond in the rough last week ! Off CGN's exchange of course.

It showed up exactly as advertised.....truly not my taste in finish but it served it's purpose for the previous owner.

I need a "shooter" to take some wear off my Favourites and wanted a project to gain abit more 1911 experience....should serve it's purpose for me too ;)

As delivered...decent grips !
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Seems to function fine and it's all there...
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My first "total" disassembly of a 1911...interesting indeed.
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Tore down and ready for the stripper bath...
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Gone with the paint and reassembled to now check parts for wear and function...
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Back together and really functions fine with existing parts however I do have a complete spring kit and some other goodies on the way so I'll strip er down again in the meantime.

Decided to deNork the frame while I was at it (made in/imported by etc.).....might do the slide too, not decided about that yet ?
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Next stage will be fitting of new parts.....a range test for function etc. then on to learn about Parkerising !!!! Lots to learn so little time :p

That's it for now...I'll report back when parts begin to show up and I make some more progress ! :cool:
 
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Honestly one of the easiest detail strips there is. Gotta love the 1911. And at the same time I just sold my Norc Project. I will do it again one of these days, just to many other toys at the moment. University costs too much money...............
 
Nice work! Now would be a good time to take off any sharp edges too!
Looking forward to the finished product!
 
BCWILL said:
Well I recieved this Diamond in the rough last week ! Off CGN's exchange of course......take some wear off my Favourites ........should serve it's purpose for me too ;)......have a complete spring kit and some other goodies on the way so I'll strip er down again in the meantime.
......might do the slide too, not decided about that yet ?.........................Next stage will be fitting of new parts.....a range test for function etc. then on to learn about Parkerising !!!! Lots to learn so little time :p
That's it for now...I'll report back when parts begin to show up and I make some more progress ! :cool:
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Got my Norc (Police Model - also from the EE) for the same reasons...to save my favorites. Shortly after arriving, it was off to the range to see how she shoots (two weeks ago).
To start off, the stock trigger was gritty, with creep and must have been at least 8 lbs. or more. Nevertheless she did shoot true up to 15 mtrs. At 25 mtrs, my confidence level was not as good (most probably as I knew the challenge being posed with a stock trigger).
Minor parts ordered arrived. Changed the trigger main spring and plunger internals. Opened her up and proceeded to smoothen (using ultra-fine stone) the top/bottom edges and rear (portion that's in contact with the disconnector) of the trigger insert.
Trigger performance has improved by at least 40%. Grittyness is gone with next to no creep.
From yesterday's range results, a much tighter group at 15 mtrs. and hitting the 25 mtr target is getting consistent.
Given the cost of the Norc, as most have said, this is the best value 1911 that's available in Canada. Putting a Norc at par (or even above) with some of the more expensive alternatives (made in Brazil, Turkey etc.....) is not difficult. Took me less than $20.
Could definitely make it "much" better, but that will cost more and defeats its original purpose - to be used - tremendously!!! My Norc's reliability and accuracy at 7 - 15 mtrs. is commendable.
Continued good luck with the Commander project. Looks like your Norc's headed to be a great looker/shooter in the very near future!!! Keep us updated!!! Happy shooting!!!
:cheers:

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Very nice project, once I decide to take the "1911 leap" I'll probably pick up one of those cheap norinco to play around/disassemble/assemble/learn...
 
AHA! You did not remove the firing pin and extractor, nor the mainspring housing! Your not done yet.


Glad to see it has gone to a good home where it will be used though. I bought it for the same reasons you did, and it went through more then a few paintjobs and detail strips.

Enjoy, Norincos are great guns to learn the basics on gunsmithing and painting.

Subscribed.

I want to see the finished product.:)
 
Kevin M. said:
Glad to see it has gone to a good home where it will be used.......
I want to see the finished product.:)
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Yes it's got lots of life left in it and use it I will !
Thanks to you for the sale btw ;)

Definately an easy pistol to work on...the parts are well thought out, and easy to strip. I guess that's why it's been around essentially unchanged for a 100 years, way ahead of it's time :cool:

And yes once all my "parts" arrive and it's back together and functioning again I plan on trying my hand at a Parkerized finish.

I do prefer the "Old school GI look" so my "upgrades" or "downgrades" depending on your point of view :p will include replacing the 3 hole trigger with the A1 type...a more traditional commander hammer and of course a standard grip safety, this with a compete spring kit, ejector, etc. etc. should get me where I want to be with it.

Thanks for the words folks....I'll update as I go ! :)
 
Nice Project!

Hey Will,nice little project you got there:).Looks like you have already made leaps and bounds with it,can't wait to see what you end up with after you are done.Keep us posted on your progress and range results! Later, Bugsy.:D
 
Nordland said:
@ OP

nice little gun you got there.

What did you use to strip it?
How does one go about 'de-norkifying' slide/frame?
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Thanks Nordland... I used Circa 1850? stripper to remove the paint, the original finnish was already removed by the original owner so that saved me some work;)

The link posted by Can-down was pretty much exactly how I did it except I started by draw filing it...faster then a stone, then finnished up with some emery paper to remove any small file marks. The norc lettering wasn't actually stamped in it's more like an electric engraving, not very deep at all so it doesn't take much to remove it. :)
 
BCWILL said:
Thanks Nordland... I used Circa 1850? stripper to remove the paint, the original finnish was already removed by the original owner so that saved me some work;)

The link posted by Can-down was pretty much exactly how I did it except I started by draw filing it...faster then a stone, then finnished up with some emery paper to remove any small file marks. The norc lettering wasn't actually stamped in it's more like an electric engraving, not very deep at all so it doesn't take much to remove it. :)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info BCWILL, I gotta buy another and make it pretty. I always felt the slide electro pencil was tacky, but didn't know how to go about removing it... I look forward to see what you do with this.

/subs
 
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