[SouthGun]

in considering that I can purchase a Caspian receiver/slide, Schuemann barrel, and misc components from other excellent vendors, add few books and slight help from a local gunsmith, and assemble a HighPerforming 1911 ? The intent is to build one for target/casual shooting with basic fixed sights and 'standard' appearance - except for the Quality.

My experience with metalworking is not strong, but my 'credentials' are that I built a near perfect 'pre-piano' keyboard instrument (Clavichord) from a kit that took hundreds of hours and over a year to construct.

I have very good handtool skills, can read and understand directions, can improvise, have lots of time, have patience and enjoy tedious tasks...

Please be honest - if the tuning of a fine handgun is truly too difficult, I will rely on the expertise of DaneBurns to perform the task on my behalf.

Thanks

 

[Dane Burns]

It isn't that building a 1911 is difficult. Mistakes are costly and the tools required to do a professioal job are expensive.

If you haven't played at building several 1911s I would pass.

The difference between an ameteur in the profession and a journeyman is the knowledge of how to fix mistakes and make fewer of them.

If you truly have a lot of patience...which I don't... and a healthy pocket book...I would suggest a class on pistolsmithing to give you a jump start. There are at least a dozen guys on list that have been on one of mine. Cylinder and Slide offers a class as does Weigand among others.

My next 3 day class is in LA Oct 1st weekend.

I would encourage you do do so as long as you know what it risks.

Talk to Shay or Hilton on board here and in your AO about what they think having done guns themselves. I am sure there are a bunch who will chime in :grin:

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Dane Burns on 2001-09-01 15:27 ]</font>

 

[Hilton Yam]

Southgun,
Are you in the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area? Shay and I, amateur home gunsmiths/brain surgeons, have had lots of fun buggering up our own perfectly good guns. We've learned a ton in the process, and I can definitely second Dane's statement that mistakes are expensive! I started gun tinkering on my very first 1911, a Gold Cup, and it's been downhill from there. Take a hard look at my Kimber Project threads, and see if it's your bag. Our very own PvtRyan has a great site detailing his exploits as well.

The tools for building a 1911 can become costly in a hurry, and not a worthwhile investment if you're not building more than one. I shudder to think of how much cash I dumped into tools. It's not necessarily rocket science to work on the 1911, but you really need to be intimately familiar with the workings of the 1911 before you start working on one. I had the benefit of being around lots of gunsmiths during my IPSC days, and consider myself lucky to have had Bruce Gray as my mentor. My big jump was putting tools to steel, not learning the 1911 anew.

 

[mike357]

hilton,about that brain surgeon thing, i keep hearing these voices in my brain can we talk about a transplant or something along those lines?

 

[Gunny6]

SouthGun, if you add up the total cost of all the parts you will need, plus tools, labor time, and the like, I`m sure you will see no advantage in trying to build your own.Many fine makers of 1911 pistols out there, Kimber, Colt, Springfield not counting the custom makers...Buy one and enjoy it...

 

[proximo]

I suspect that most folks reading a forum called "Home Workshop" aren't adverse to buying a few tools to do the job. Case in point PvtRyan :smile: He's got me downright jealous at the tools he's bought for his Sistema project.