building a 1911

foxbat said:
Kev,
May sound lame, but could you not replicate what you've created by buying a
Kimber Desert Warrior 'off the shelf'?
Click to expand...

Not really.

1) Kimber does not ship to Iraq :evil:
2) MIM parts in Kimbers, mandate that for a duty gun I'd have to replace a bunch.

The gun itself cost me under $1000 to build inc me buying the base gun ($200 USD)
If I add in the files and 1911 armorers kit - its a bit more - but I can mail those home when I am done here.

3) I agree on drop in parts - they will need to be fitted - the exception it seems (from 4 people here who did it) being the C&S trigger kits (no trigger included)
 
EdGCNM said:
From what I've read, the greatest danger is the homemade trigger job. In trying to lighten the trigger pull, it's easy to remove a hair too much from the sear or hammer hooks, for example, and go through the layer of hardened steel on their external surface. This may either leave soft steel or too little of the hardened steel to last long. Changing the angle on the hammer hooks to the wrong angle can aggravate the problem. The result can be a gun that goes full-auto, either immediately or six months down the road. Very, very dangerous.

Most other screw-ups will either batter the gun or hurt its accuracy, but unless you do something that dramatically reduced lock-up time would not be directly dangerous.
Click to expand...

Most of the quality after market custom sears are not surface hardened; they are generally made of tool steel and hardened through and through, so that should not be an issue. The problem comes from cutting the angle incorrectly, too much break-away and/or hammer hooks over cut leading to not enough engagement, incorrect spring set up...etc. The disconnector factors into it as well, and over-travel can also cause problems if not set properly. But you are correct; the trigger (fire control) parts are most important to get right when you're talking about safety. Worst case scenario: I still see people load and make ready (all the time unfortunately) with the gun held close to the body in front of the stomach. If the gun should cook off a mag full-auto unexpectedly, the last round could easily punch a hole through your head starting at the chin. 1911's are startingly fast when this happens, so you won't be able to react and control it. Trigger work is just not something you want to risk screwing up in my opinion.
 
I actually ordered the Kuhnhausen vol 1 and 2 books yesterday, and Brownells threw in the 1911 catalogue for free. I know I can get most stuff from them but I guess I'd have to stagger most orders to keep them under $100 when it comes to actual gun parts. Then again Armco and Freedom Ventures seem to have a lot of 1911 parts at their disposal as well, so hopefully I can find lots of stuff right here in Canada.

Still waiting to hear back from any of the dealers I contacted.
 
Kevin, is there a thread on the pistol you built, I'm interested in what goes into a serious combat 45. We all have thoughts on the subject, but you're a little closer to people who know, rather than think they know.
 
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