Book to help with (Dis)Assembly

[edSky]

I have a couple Springfield 1911's and want to become familiar with their assembly and disassembly. Can anyone recommend a good book and/or DVD that would apply to Springfield 1911's, in addition to other 1911's? Are SA 1911's standard enough that a book like Bill Wilson's "1911 Auto Maintenance Manual" or his DVD "Building the Ultimate 1911" would apply?

I have tried things as simple as trying to remove the thumb safety on either my Loaded and my EMP and couldn't get them to budge. But some of the sites I've seen for generic 1911's make it seem like they should just come out. I also don't want to have to search/post/ask :geek: to do simple things, I'd like to be as self-sufficient as possible. Ideally, I'd like to get to the mainspring, sear, and trigger, and be able to maintain, clean and lube the entire pistol.

Any good book or DVD suggestions would really be appreciated. Thanks.

[Tom]

First, check out the Technical Documents from our homepage (http://www.m1911.org). That'll give you all the the info you need on disassembly (and reassembly) of your Springfield. The only "gotcha" you need to worry about is the ILS, and the Springfield manual details the steps needed to capture the mainspring with a supplied pin (I use a clipped 8p nail or a paperclip).

The thumb safety isn't hard to separate (assuming you have an ambi safety). You need to find the "sweet spot" - not fully engaged, but not fully disengaged - and the two pieces should easily come apart. I often use a small plastic putty knife to pry up the lefthand safety - gently. It doesn't take a lot of effort.

As I often and repeatedly tell people, there's no need to go anywhere else for info on the M1911. If we don't have it, we'll get it!

[garrettwc]

Step 1. - Tom's suggestion on the articles and photos in our technical section.

Step 2. - watch part's 1, 2, and 3 of these videos for the basics http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufd6W1a2NHc

Step 3. - Gunsmith Hilton Yam's recommended 1911 references (http://www.10-8performance.com/id12.html)

Step 4. - Read all the stickies in the 1911 Gunsmithing section here.

Step 5. - post in the forums and ask all the questions you want. We're here to help.

[lksstbls]

Jerry Kunhausen's two volumes on gunsmithing the 1911 are well recognized
as being at least one of the "gold standards" on the subject. Volume I has text and photographs, while Volume II has more drawings and schematics. They're a little pricey at $30 each (soft cover) but well worth it as references. Volume I is the place to start if you're going to try one volume. These go about as deep as one can go into smithing the 1911, probably deeper than you will ever want to go, but the info is there if you need it. These are not shooting or maintenace books. I believe that Brownells sells them a well as other shooting supply houses. They aren't available, I don't believe, at the normal Barnes and Noble type stores but I could be mistaken.

[edSky]

Thanks, all!

[omaha64]

edSky,

Is that a Wii avatar I see? :-)

[edSky]

edSky,

Is that a Wii avatar I see? :-)

It'sa Mii, Mario! I don't look that mean (ok, my wife says yes, my daughter says no). I'm too lazy to fix it.

[MoneyTree]

I agree with Tom , unless your internet connection goes down , then Ron Phillips's DVD on assembling and disassembling the 1911 is great to have around .

http://www.wilsoncombat.com/a_videos_396.asp
.