Replacing RH thumb safety with LH?

[guitarguy]

I am a left handed shooter and want to replace my right handed single side thumb safety with a left handed single side safety.
A few questions...
1. How diffucult is this for someone with very little to no gunsmithing experience?
2. Where do I order a left handed (left side) thumb safety? I was thinking a Wilson. Links would be greatly appreciated.

I'm open to suggestion on the brand of the safety and would really appreciate and insight on the process of switching a safety from right handed to left handed.

Oh, The gun is a RIA 5in GI model.

Thanks in advance!

[Hill]

It's not likely.

The best we get is ambidextrous safeties with the possibility of grinding away most of the external part of the left side lever.

The safety is operated by the leftside lever only by design. There are no lefthanded guns, although there have been a couple of attempts to succeed in marketing some.

I'm lefthanded too.


There's some WAY outdated info on the topic in this list: http://www.m1911.org/technic_forum.htm

Look for the title: "Who makes a lefthanded 1911?"

[Joni Lynn]

There's no left only safety available nor considering how they sometimes bind up would be satisfied with one if you could acquire it. The choice is to pick one of the many ambi safeties available. Click on the Brownell's link up above and look at their offerings. They probably offer more than most other single sources.
I'm also a leftie but settle for an ambi on most of my guns.

[ranburr]

There are no lefthanded guns, although there have been a couple of attempts to succeed in marketing some.

There are three left handed 1911s: Randall, Olympic (extremely rare, built on the Randall machinery), and currently produced Dlask pistols.

ranburr

[Hill]

Hi Ranburr,

Olyarms hasn't done it since a particular guy left their Schuetzen gun works, and I couldn't get a response by email from Dlask. FWIW though, the most recent price listing at the Dlask site, a 2007 listing, shows no prices for left hand models and there is a subtitle under the price list heading for 1911 pistols that specifies that the prices are for right hand models.

(Is Olympic going to go out of business?)

A while ago I got interested in buying or making a lefthand gun and about the best I could get was statements that went like "We do plan to start doing it again but don't know when yet" so I gave up on the idea.

It did sound like things might change and maybe now they have, so do you know for sure that Dlask has resumed the offering of a lefthand model?

I know that Caspian had been making some LH slides and maybe frames too but somebody here said that they had stopped with no plans to resume.

[guitarguy]

Hmmm... so the best us leftys can get is ambi.?
Such is life I suppose. I know there is alot of threads on installing an ambi, so I'll search those and see if it's something I can tackle myself.

If not - anyone know any [B]good gunsmiths in the Reno, NV area?

[JXD1911]

Did you read this post? http://forum.m1911.org/showthread.php?t=52822 Isn't he trying to do the same thing but converting an ambi to a left only?

Not too many smiths here in Reno area. Ask the guys at Bizarre. I have talked to a guy named Skip who gave me a card, says his specialty is 1911s. Mark, Fore & Strike do their own smithing, can't vouch for them since haven't tried. Gun Trader does some in house work also but have mentioned a lack of smith's in the area.

Of course there is Tussy Custom in Carson City, a rather famous smith and I imagine a bit pricey.