another report on the GI milspec WW's

[AZ COLLECTOR]

just purchased a pair of them for "project guns"

one in stainless and one in parkerized.

1st the stainless
frame to slide fit for a $500.oo stainless is excellent.

barrel slide fit is excellent.

sights well they will be replaced slide will visit my milling machine :)
will be receiving fixed tritium sights.

barrel bushing not as tight a fit as i like but good noticed what appeared to be oxidation(rust) on the inside. under impression that it is a carbon steel bushing with a coating (like jet hot) that appears to be stainless. if you look on the inside it is BLACK not silver. will be replaced anyhow with an oversized one i can fit to it. it will be real stainless.

hammer GI style will most likely bite me

grip safety will be replaced along with hammer.

trigger heavy 7-8lbs is no lie.....did i mention heavy will be tweaked to a nice 4.5 to 5lbs

ejection port will be lowered and beveled

mag well will be beveled

noticed a slight burr/ridge from the casting on the slide stop it was high enough to scratch the receiver. removed it with a gentle rub and then polish with the dremel

all in all after a little work should be an excellent carry piece after some mods and a 1000rnd reliability check

now for the parkerized

barrel slide fit is excellent.

sights well they will be replaced slide will visit my milling machine :D
will be receiving adjustable tritium sights.

barrel bushing not as tight a fit as i like but good

hammer GI style will most likely bite me they all do when not bevertail safety / comander style hammer

grip safety will be replaced along with hammer.

trigger heavy 7-8lbs

slide will have some ejection port work done.

this one will be fitted with a .460 kit from clark will be requesting one that requires fitting as i want the tightest lock up possible. will also be receiving a coat of KG gunkote. this stuff works great and sticks to parkerizing like it grew there. thinking black but not sure at the moment.

the intent with the .460 kit is a hog/ havelina pistol not for self defence.

thanks for listening to my rambling
sean

[Rather-B-Huntin]

What you're doing sounds just like what I want to do. I want to start with a plain jane no frills 1911 and tweak it into a decent gun to shoot occasionally in IDPA CDP class.
However, it sounds as if you have a big leg up on me in the gunsmithing department, and 1911 experience in general. My gunsmithing skills dont extend much beyond changing grips and sights, and I have only owned one 1911, and I only had it for about a year (probably shot 300-400 rounds total). I've just always liked the Glocks.
Is the GI model from SA a good, solid platform from which to build a decent performing gun for occasional competition shooting? I want to make the least amount of modifications necessary, and the ones I do make will be mostly for asthetic purposes (this gun will likely on be fired in about 2-3 short matches per year, plus occasional practice). I have been considering one of the Rock Island clones due to very low cost (about $75 less than a GI), but just don't know what to do. I do like the fact that the Rock Island has a flared and lowered ejection port, whereas the SA GI doesnt, but not sure if that is important enough to worry about (told ya I wasnt too keen on 1911's).
Can you or anyone else give me some recommendations here?

[AZ COLLECTOR]

1st i have no expiriance with the RIA pistols

2nd i am by no means a gunsmith just a little more hands on than some when it comes to minor mods. there is a new gunsmith starting up a shop in town here and i will be giving him a visit. the hope is that he will be willing to let me clean shop and perhaps in time do minor gun stuff for him in exchange for further training. this would have to work around my work schedual and not sure if it is a viable option or not. time will tell.

suggestions get a few books on the subject.
when you have a few extra $$$ go to the local pawn shops.
ask them what they do with the firearms that failed to function (i have a shop here that has this problem alot. the assistants that work the front counter know nothing about firearms. niether does the sales manager (now a friend of mine) or the store manager. so when they have problems that show up i get the weapons at cost to them or lower depending on the problems.
theses are all second hand and many have simple problems. some require refinishing some need a few parts replaced. sometimes i find i have bitten off more than i can chew and they sit in the safe til i learn how to repair them. most times a little mechanical knowledge and prudent common sense is all that is required. with a schematic and an open mind it isn't too hard to do.
now the finer points such as tuning triggers timing ect...best if learned from an old hand.

prices for unworking or improperly working firearms at least for me have proven to be $50.oo to $150.oo rarely requiring more than $50.oo in parts to repair and most times less $ and more patiance and time. until i was confident in my work several firearms were secured and fired by pulling a string on an empty range from behind the car :rolleyes:

hope this helps a little. the intent here is to say use commen sense but go ahead and try it. i chose second hand guns at 1st do to the cost savings and the relatively inexpensive cost factor.

sean

[AZ COLLECTOR]

for those considering SS models

grip safety is not appearing to be SS just like barrel bushing wasn't
niether are the grip bushings, mainsprin houseing, and the hammer is questionable. all appearing to be coated.

of course i was intending on replacing the hammer grip safety and barrel bushing so i am not upset just a little suprized.

also the frame is made in brazil by IMBEL ITAJUBA and machined in the USA.
believe that IMBEL also owns Taurus. not a bad thing but if you don't expect it or wish it to be 100% USA it isn't

believe same goes for the slide.you will find the marks under the right grip.

as you would most likely guess mine is all in little pieces as i write this.

other noted things the trigger bow had burrs on the riding surfaces. this requiered minor stoning and does somewhat help the creep in the trigger.

waiting for jig to show up from midway prior to doing trigger job.

sean

[Rather-B-Huntin]

Thanks for the info. Sound like a good plan, but honestly, my "know-how" as it stands is bare minimum, and my schedule wont allow much extracuricular reading to learn how to do much tweaking. I could handle replacing drop in parts (trigger, sear, springs, and such), but if any cutting or honing becomes necessary (you know cut this and leave that alone) , it's beyond my capabilities. I do have a shooting partner whom is pretty slick with such doings and would make a great gunsmith if he'd just get around to opening his own shop. He will either do, or help me do most of the upgrades when I do get a 1911.

[bajjer31]

I recently bought my first full size 1911, and I've found the book "Colt .45 Automatic: A Shop Manual" by Kuhnhausen to be extremely helpful. Check it out at:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/9992008407/qid=1105710840/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/102-1171962-1518544?v=glance&s=books

Bill

[John]

This thread is useless with "before" and "after" pictures.

[AZ COLLECTOR]

ok pics tomorrow am.
sean