Repairs and upgrades, hardest to easiest?

[garrettwc]

Not talking about full house custom jobs, or builds from scratch. Say you have a gun that started out as a fully functional factory gun. From time to time you may need to repair a worn out part, or just want to replace an existing part to something that works better for you.

My thinking is that fitting a barrel correctly is probably the hardest part replacement. A new set of grips or screws would probably be the easiest. Not sure where all the other parts would fit in between.

So what are your thoughts? List the different items you could change/repair from hardest to easiest and lets see what we come up with.

[berkbw]

A lot of your question depends on the specifics of the gun in question. The barrel is usually the hardest to fit, especially doing it 100% right. Btw, grips may not be that easy always (and don't forget support for the plunger tube). Hammer/sear may be challenging, too - or a drop-in piece of cake. Sights requiring dove-tail cuts call for a mill. Barrel bushings are ease. Triggers can be easy, difficult, or next to impossible :). Patience, good tools, patience, good parts, and patience. Read the "stickies" at the top of the forum, especially those by 1911Tuner.

When you can, always work on the cheaper (cheapest) part, and follow the rule of "1/2". Remove 1/2 of what you want, and recheck, repeat.

Good luck/skill

b-

[niemi24s]

Your premise about starting out with a fully functional factory gun may disqualify this, but IMHO correcting a badly mis-cut (but salvageable) frame ramp would be up toward the top of the list.

I've only had to do it once and did it by hand. If I never have to do it again - it'll be too soon! :D [That's a line from a Daffy Duck cartoon, by the way]

Cheers

[garrettwc]

OK guys. You're over thinking this. Think of a factory stock gun where everything is correct and in spec. You're not milling for custom sights or doing any other major surgery. You are just being an armorer/parts replacer/repairman.

Since 1911s don't have true drop in parts like other makes, you have to be able to fit/install the parts yourself. Here's my thoughts in order:

Barrel fit
Bushing fit
Hammer/Sear engagement
Extractor
Staked front sight
Plunger tube
Thumb safety
Magazine catch
Grip safety
link (this may be part of barrel fitting)
slide stop
mainspring housing

Does that help?