1911 DIY gunsmithing

Buddy of mine is looking to do some tinkering with a beater 1911. wants to try his hand at new sights, a possible rechamber to 38 super, enlarging the ejection port, trigger job etc. Any good links or info on places he can start?

I realize that he wold probably be better off just buying a 38 super 1911, but you know how it is when you get the urge to tinker.....

Rechamber from what? 9mm chambers have more taper. It can be done, but the 38S case expands too much at the back. Better to fit a new barrel. And a 45 will require a whole new top half plus some other parts.

I assume he's got a 45, so it's good to know he'll have to replace the whole top half. I kind of figured he would. so lets assume rechambering is out. what about the rest? any good links or sites or advice? I don't know that he has ever done any gunsmithing and probably has no tools that a regular guy wouldn't have.

If he doesn't have any of the proper tools, he'll be buying new parts sounds like to me! You might tell him, "Tinkering is one thing...... gunsmithing is another!" If tolerances are removed by grinding, sanding, they can't be put back on, best leave these things to someone qualified ! Good luck.

There are a number of books and videos out there with step by step instructions on how to do what you are asking about, A simple Google search will locate them. It may be that you are just trying to help, but if your friend doesn't have the ability or incentive to locate this information on his own, I wonder if he would be able to follow the instructions without taking similar shortcuts. Some of he things he wants to do require precision, skill and close attention to detail and can be extremely dangerous to himself and others around him if not done properly. A 1911 trigger job is far above the level of "tinkering".

Does he know that a .38 Super stripped slide will cost around $300? That is a powerful amount of money to shell out so a beginner can chop it up for a fun project.

Then of course, he needs to install a .38 ejector; the .45 ejector won't work with the .38 slide. Not a hard job but it can turn tricky. And then.... well, the sky's the limit. I wish him luck.

Jim

Actually, he can get a .38 Super slide with barrel and bushing from Sarco (http://e-sarcoinc.com) for $184.

Thou shalt not play at any profession ending with the word "smith". Unless he knows what he's doing, he can seriously hurt himself as well as damage or even ruin his gun.

Thou shalt not play at any profession ending with the word "smith". Unless he knows what he's doing, he can seriously hurt himself **or someone else** as well as damage or even ruin his gun.

There, I think that's more accurate. Even in .38 super, having a 1911 double can be dangerous to more than just the shooter.

yeah, I tend to agree with you guys. I've been trying to steer him towards something else. perhaps the weight of internet opinion will help sway him.

How many people who posted here tinker with their own 1911s? How many are qualified smiths? Just curious. Sounds a lot like "do as I say, not as I do". If he's careful he can learn a lot about the 1911 platform. The M1911.org site has all the info needed if he can read, learn and heed the safety precautions. To tell him not to try it if he desires to is just plain wrong.

How many people who posted here tinker with their own 1911s? How many are qualified smiths? Just curious. Sounds a lot like "do as I say, not as I do". If he's careful he can learn a lot about the 1911 platform. The M1911.org site has all the info needed if he can read, learn and heed the safety precautions. To tell him not to try it if he desires to is just plain wrong.
I "tinker" with mine on certain things - mostly cosmetics. If I dig into something more functional such as a trigger job or caliber conversion though, I seek the aid of someone that KNOWS what they're doing before I start so that I have the proper guidance and don't end up with an unsafe firearm.

I think most of the advice here isn't of the "do as I say, not as I do" type, but more with the intent to save the OP's friend money and time. I'll be the first to say go for it if it's something that can easily be learned on your own, but if it's something that could result in death, injury or jail, please consult a gunsmith FIRST. Having the experience of a qualified 1911 gunsmith is not only necessary to learn the ins and outs of doing more complex modifications to the platform, but is valuable if a person wants to retain their eyesight, fingers, life and freedom. When you're messing with guns in any capacity, life, freedom and health are all at risk if you don't use common sense.

I think most of the advice here isn't of the "do as I say, not as I do" type, but more with the intent to save the OP's friend money and time

The OP stated his friend has a beater 1911 he'd like to tinker with. He also mentioned, among other things, about changing sights and lowering the ejection port. If he seeks the knowlege mentioned it's full of warnings about sensitive areas that do need an expert eye. The guy may be good with his hands already, he could be a mechanic or an engineer. He could be a fine wood worker, etc. It is very possible he is smart enough to understand where to draw the line. Tuning or changing an extractor is very easy but if you never did it you can be intimidated and you'll get guys chiming in to take it to a gunsmith. Every post here said to not try it, take it to a gunsmith. That wasn't the answer to the question. He asked for directions so his friend can learn safely. I'm surprised no one mentioned the various 1911 gunsmith books like Kuhansen's. No, all I read was don't do it yourself. Seek a pro to fix it. With that kind of help the guy may just blow his hand off because no one helped him find the sources to learn. That's my point.

The OP stated his friend has a beater 1911 he'd like to tinker with. He also mentioned, among other things, about changing sights and lowering the ejection port. If he seeks the knowlege mentioned it's full of warnings about sensitive areas that do need an expert eye. The guy may be good with his hands already, he could be a mechanic or an engineer. He could be a fine wood worker, etc. It is very possible he is smart enough to understand where to draw the line. Tuning or changing an extractor is very easy but if you never did it you can be intimidated and you'll get guys chiming in to take it to a gunsmith. Every post here said to not try it, take it to a gunsmith. That wasn't the answer to the question. He asked for directions so his friend can learn safely. I'm surprised no one mentioned the various 1911 gunsmith books like Kuhansen's. No, all I read was don't do it yourself. Seek a pro to fix it. With that kind of help the guy may just blow his hand off because no one helped him find the sources to learn. That's my point.
I disagree with what your point is, based on this response - seems to me like you're just looking for an argument.

New sights and enlarging the ejection port are one thing - Caliber conversion and trigger jobs are a whole different animal.

Everyone that responded was responding to only part of the OP's post - The dangerous part - rechambering and action jobs. The "cosmetic" tasks (new sights, lowering the ejection port) weren't addressed in anyone's responses at all.

If the guy wanting to tinker were here asking questions himself, I might be more inclined to think he actually cared about learning anything.

I've seen slides ruined by someone doing something as seemingly simple as enlarging the ejection port. Not suggesting that a novice not do his own work as all have different skills and talents. But DO know what you are about before you procede.

Maybe get a good video on the subject to watch and consider if this is something you really want to try or not.

Maybe find one of those NRA sponsored 2-week gunsmithing classes? I think they are mostly in summer and starting fairly soon.

I wouldn't give up on dreams of learning how to work on 1911's, but also would not flounder on my own.

I've seen slides ruined by someone doing something as seemingly simple as enlarging the ejection port. Not suggesting that a novice not do his own work as all have different skills and talents. But DO know what you are about before you procede.

Yup. All it takes is creating a weak point for energy to exploit. A milled or cast slide is a single piece, with any cuts or drillings carefully calculated to not provide any exploitable weaknesses. Slightly enlarging the ejection port, for example, may create a weak point that allows it to be cracked right open from that point forward or rearward. You may inadvertently be focusing energy into a particular area, or simply compromising the structural integrity of the part.

I think the most important piece of advice is that if he attempts to do any of these things on his firearm, BEFORE SHOOTING IT he should have a qualified 1911 pistolsmith look the gun over and point out or correct any mistakes, and give the green light when the gun is safe to shoot.

Tinkering is one thing, blowing your fingers off because you did something incorrectly and didn't know it....is another.

Why would anybody want a 1911 in anything other than .45. Whats this world coming to.
All kidding aside I think that is great that anyone wants to "tinker" with their own guns. But listen to some of the other guys on here and take on the smaller projects first like the sights. And you gain some confidence move on the slicking up the slide "by all means use safe files for this", reduction of spring tension, and feed throat ramp if needed. Even the trigger job is something you can do with a little help "youtube has some helpful videos".

As far as rechambering goes I wouldn't but I like the .45. And if thats not reason enough not to rechamber consider this, everything I just mentioned doing can be done by you to the gun you already have cheaper that buying the slide, barrle and bushing, and fitting it to your frame. So to recap, you could have a .45 with great sights, super slick lighter tension action with better feeding and a clean crisp trigger. Or a .38 Super thats well none of that for the same price and still in need of all those mods.

Seems like a no brainer to me...just my to cents.

DJ

I would recommend AGI for good DVDs, or Jerry Kuhnhausen's the Colt .45 Automatic Shop Manual Vol. 1 for a good book. It will tell him what he should be able to handle on his own, and what he should stay away from.