New here and diving into 1911 trigger job

Welcome to the Forum!
There are others here much more experienced in 1911 triggers than me...so I'm only going to offer a basic bit of advise: do only what it needs. IMHO...going in thinking about doing everything possible might not be the best way to go and the more you change, the more chances you take. I'd only do what was needed to get what was wanted which might only be a slight alteration of the spring pressure and adjustment of the trigger. If the internals are so far off that everything indeed does need reworking...might be better to invest in better quality parts that only will need a touch of the stone rather than a recontouring or recutting. Just my personal opinion and I'm sure others will chime in with much better advise.

No one's going to take the time to tell you all you need to know, but I can say this for certain: get The Book (I would buy straight from Heritage 1, 2).

You should not touch the gun with a stone until you've understood Jerry Kuhnhausen's shop manuals regarding function (how the gun works is not as simple as it seems) and procedure (wouldn't you rather learn from someone else's mistakes?).

This is one of those rare cases where an excellent gunsmith actually wrote the definitive work on 'smithing this weapon. Don't pass it up!

^^^THIS!^^^

Double post

First, read and digest the book. I mean fully digest it. It is not perfect, but it is the best, most complete single source of info short of attending one of the 1911 specific courses that are offered. Please buy the book. The material is not public domain. The online pdf was not authorized by the writer/publisher of the book and is illegal. They are being cheated out of any money for their intellectual property.
Then read here, at the 1911 forum, and 1911pro. Know what to tune and how to do it. After that you will still not really understand the 1911 trigger system, but you will know more and be less dangerous to yourself and others.

Second, buy quality parts to go with the tools.

1911Competitor said:

Sandpaper to slightly take the edge off disconnector and firing pin safety, also to round the rear of the trigger bar where it makes contact with the disconnector

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Perhaps it is the words you chose, but words mean something and that is what I understood from your post.
Put away that sandpaper. Stones and files are a far more controlled way to remove/smooth metal. None of what you said is correct for tuning. The disconnector should be stoned smooth and dead flat front and back where the trigger and sear spring contact. The firing pin safety need only be smooth. Polish with a buffing wheel and rouge if you feel the need, but no changing dimensions any more that that miniscule amount. Tuning the Colt S80 and/or Kimber Swartz systems is fairly easy if you know how and both can be tuned to have no perceptible effect on trigger pull. No rounding of the trigger "bar". On some combinations of parts the bottom edge of the "bar" needs a light clearance chamfer to clear the sear spring when pulled all the way to the rear and that's all. You may find that you need to true the trigger bow and/or square the finger pad to the bow. You will need a stirrup forming die for that.

1911Competitor said:

what jig/tools do I need to work on the hammer?

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A quality square stone is generally all that is needed to prep the hammer hooks. You are just removing any machining burrs, setting hook height, and gently breaking the edge. Also a .020" shim or cheap feeler gage to measure/set hook height.

1911Competitor said:

I searched the thread and saw a few homestyle trigger jobs that involve bending the sear spring, but frankly I am not comfortable with something that can't be measured with repeat results.

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Bending the sear spring is not "homestyle". It is an integral part of doing a trigger job. In fact most of the reduction in pull weight is done by that very step. You can get a small reduction by changing to a lighter hammer spring (mainspring), but that is so minor it is not worth the effort for any but the most serious competitor.

1911Competitor said:

Thanks, I just downloaded the pdf and read through it. As far as I understand, it's best to leave the sear in neutral/negative, which is what the TR jig accomplishes.

What about the hammer hooks?

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Hammer hooks should be left square with the edge very slightly (about .02-.003") broken. Read above.

The above only scratches the surface of a trigger job. There's far more to it and the devil is in the details. Just depends on what you are looking far - a light cleanup for a carry gun or a full on bullseye/Bianchi/IPSC gun and anything in between.

Your enthusiasm is great, but it is easy to think you've "got it" when you don't. I've been doing trigger jobs on these since the early 70s and they can still teach me a thing or two on occasion.

Buy an extra set or two to practice on. I was lucky, I had unlimited parts to mess up, and time on my hands, as an Armorer.

+1 on the Kuhnhausen books.

As others have addressed, there is far more involved in 1911 triggers than can be addressed here, but I will offer a couple of safety tips.

On a 1911, you need to be familiar with the function checks for all of the safeties. If you make any changes to the fire control parts, you need to recheck all of the safety functions. In particular, if you change the hammer or sear, the thumb safety may no longer work correctly. When you complete your work, you must be certain that all of the safeties function properly.

My second safety tip applies to all semi-auto firearms. If you modify the fire control parts in any semi-auto firearm, then begin your test firing with only two rounds in the magazine. This insures that if the gun goes full auto, the danger will be somewhat mitigated. Unintended full auto fire is a very rare type of malfunction, but it can occur, and keeping limited rounds in the magazine at the beginning is a good safety practice.

I wouldn't let a diamond cutter near my 1911s. Cuts to fast. I go with soft India stones and replace or reshape them as they wear.

"...far more involved in 1911 triggers than can be..." None of which are difficult other than learning that there is no cutting or filing of the parts except maybe the springs involved. Polishing and smoothing with emery cloth, yes, but absolutely no files or grinding of anything is involved. You really don't need any jigs either.
Simplest 1911A1 trigger job is polish all mating parts and change the springs. You can polish all mating parts and cut 1/4 turn off the main spring for an even simpler trigger job.
Leave the disconnector, firing pin safety and trigger bar alone. Changing any angles and/or rounding anything with excessive stoning is bad as well.