1911 Build with PSA lower frame

[HRnightmare]

I am a big fan of PSA parts. They are quality for very cheap. With that being preached, I just bought one of there 1911 frames. They are completely stripped and after there ridiculous shipping fee ($17) and my FFL fee it will be had for about $185 for a stainless steel one.

I have NO experience in building a 1911 platform. Any tools required? Highly suggested?

How hard is this kind of build?

 

[Fishbed77]

Building a 1911 is nothing like throwing together an AR.

I suggest you do a LOT of research and preferably have a skilled pistolsmith beside you the first time. There is much handfitting to be done, and it has to be done right in order to have a safe and reliable pistol.

 

[g.willikers]

If you're determined to do this, there are videos and books that can help.

http://www.amazon.com/45-Automatic-...d=1431467034&sr=1-1&keywords=jerry+kuhnhausen

http://www.americangunsmith.com/

And, of course, the 1911 stickies in the gunsmithing section right here.

And Youtube.

Lastly, when you are finished, if you decide to sell it, remind us first about it.

 

[tarosean]

Along with what others have stated.. You should probably pick up a Sear Jig (will cost almost as much as your frame purchase) and a whole assortment of files.

 

[Sergei Mosin]

Read this before committing to the project.

http://how-i-did-it.org/1911-project/

 

[bannockburn]

I can definitely recommend getting a nice set of Swiss files, a how-to-build-a-1911 manual, and use quality, well-made parts the first time around. This is my first 1911 build: an Essex frame with mostly Colt parts, a TacSol .22 slide assembly, and a set of Kim Ahrends grips.

 

[SSN Vet]

I have NO experience in building a 1911 platform. Any tools required? Highly suggested?

Oh my...

a properly put together 1911 requires fitting... especially the barrel, grip safety and thumb safety.

The knowledge base to do this correctly is quite extensive.... and imo, while not impossible, one really should become a student of the 1911 before taking the plunge.

 

[mgmorden]

I'll echo the sentiments of the others. I went down this same round about 7 or 8 years ago. I eventually managed to get together a gun that I put about $900 into parts that kinda sorta worked but jammed at least once every other magazine. Ended up selling it at a huge loss for $300.

I know a lot more about 1911's and parts fitting these days, and it'll still be a project I'd be hesitant to undertake again.

My advice if you want to learn the gun first: buy an already working 1911. Something dirt cheap like a RIA or Tisas. Buy upgraded parts and fit them to your liking. You honestly won't spend any more money (buying a frame and slide separately generally costs as much as one of those guns) and you can work with one part at a time, getting it to a point of 100% functionality BEFORE moving onto something else. When doing a build from the ground up you're often going to be sitting there scratching your head trying to determine just which part isn't fitting right.

 

[dogmush]

Well you already bought the frame, so In for a penny, in for a pound.

Off the top of my head, and not all inclusive, you'll want a sear jig, the pins for testing fit of the hammer/sear, a lower lug cutter, a bunch of files with some safe sides, the tool for stakeing the plunger tube on.

You'll obviously need all the rest of the parts. Start with the slide and the barrel. Fit the slide frame and barrel together to achieve a good lock up and unlock timing, paying careful attention to the upper lug ungagement. A 1911 has three lugs unlike most modern pistols, and you want them to engage equally, ot they will start peening.

I bought both of Kuhnhausen's volumes on the 1911 and read them cover to cover before I messed with one and that proved invaluable for figuring out where I messed up.

I would also budget no less then $1000, and more like $1400 for this project. A 1911 is a very rewarding gun to build, but it's a pretty steep learning curve.

 

[X-Rap]

Wow, where are all the guys who said 1911 parts were interchangeable?
I thought this was more along the typical lines of 1911 building.

 

[bullzeye8]

Wow, where are all the guys who said 1911 parts were interchangeable?
I thought this was more along the typical lines of 1911 building.

I suppose you could possibly buy all colt parts or something and have everything drop in but most people build 1911's for quality and that means fitting parts.

 

[bannockburn]

HRnightmare

I also forgot to mention that along with your frame, slide assembly, and parts it helps to have another 1911 on hand so as to compare how a 1911 really should work. In my case I already had a Springfield Armory M1911A1 available so I could see how all the parts actually go together from the factory and to try out and then fit the new parts to make them work the same way too.

 

[SSN Vet]

I suppose you could possibly buy all colt parts or something and have everything drop in

This may get you an OK 1911, but you're not going to get around fitting the GS and TS.... and these are very important to get right for the gun to be safe.

 

[GunnyUSMC]

I saw the sale that PSA had over the weekend. They say the frames are pre-production prototype surplus.
Hell, its only money so I ordered the SS frame for $139, SS Slide for $129 and the SS barrel set for $109.
The Slide arrived yester day. The frame arrived at my Dealer today and the barrel set was waiting at the door when I got home.
Here are pics of the slide.











I didn't have time to take pics of the frame and barrel today but should have them tomorrow.
The frame and slide are a perfect fit and the barrel and bushing fit snug.
If the parts I get to finish it fit as good as the PSA parts, I won't have to do any fitting.
When I placed the order with PSA, I was thinking that I would be doing a good bit of fitting. Now it looks like as soon as I get the rest of the parts, this will be a weekend build.
I'm not sure who is making the frames and slides for PSA, but they did a great job.

 

[bannockburn]

GunnyUSMC

Great photos! The slide looks very well made and the fact that the slide, frame, and barrel assembly all fit nicely together is good to hear. Let us know how it all turns out.

 

[627PCFan]

I built a Commander 3 years ago from scratch. Get yourself a nice set of Swiss Files. I also made use of a Mill File when I knew for sure I had some material remove. Also Brownells Rail File was a great tool. Go Slow on the rails...very slow. Get close to done then finish with fine grit lapping compound.

Patience patience patience.

 

[Mike J]

I don't have the funds to do anything right now but ya'all are making me want to try to build one just to see if I can.

 

[dogmush]

HRnightmare, Reading back over this a bunch of us (myself included) made a point of telling you how difficult this build will be. That's not really fair, I think a 1911 is only hard to build because so many of us pretend assembling an AR pattern rifle is a build. I hope we haven't discouraged you. It will be more involved and challenging then an AR build, and you will need to buy or borrow some specialized tools, but if, like me, you enjoy working and tinkering on your hobby you will also be rewarded by an educational build experience and a lot of fun.

While I haven't built from a frame, I have torn two perfectly functional 1911's down and rebuilt them from the frame up, one with a new slide, bushing and barrel. They are very rewarding pistols to build and tune (and shoot) and I hope you keep us updated on your build. I also can recommend the forums over at m1911.org as a great source of info on building and tuning your new pistol. When I tore down my first, it was their gunsmithing and trouble shooting sections that got me straightened up. It only took 2 trashed sears as well.

GunnyUSMC's "only money" philosophy infected me as well and I grabbed a frame, slide and barrel today. I've been mucking about with rifles for a while, so it's time to build another pistol, and these look like a pretty good deal.

 

[GunnyUSMC]

dogmush, Your right about ARs. They are so easy to build. You can just about throw the parts into a bag and shake it together.

This pistol will be an easy build. I thought I would be spending a few hours at my bench just fitting the frame, slide and barrel. I stopped by a friends house to have him look at it. He asked how long did it take me to fit everything. When I told him that was how it came, he was amazed.
HRnightmare When you get the rest of your parts, just take your time. There is a lot of info that you can look up to help you on along the way and there is also hepl here.

It's rainingso, I had to take the pics inside.

 

[dogmush]

Are those last two pics at full lock-up? It seems like the slide could go farther forward.

Looking forward to playing with mine next week.

 

[GunnyUSMC]

The slide was not all the way forward.
If PSA keeps making them this way, building a 1911 will be easy.

 

[ironworkerwill]

Keep it going Gunny, I'd like to see the finished product.

 

[HRnightmare]

The slide was not all the way forward.
If PSA keeps making them this way, building a 1911 will be easy.

I think after reading this I will pick up the PSA barrel and slide directly from them. I do not intend this to be a short term project. Just kind of a slow moving buy one part here and there kind of thing.

 

[GunnyUSMC]

HRnightmare
My project is on hold for right now. I still need to find the rest of my 1911 parts and order some more. I am also in the middle of 4 AR builds.

 

[HRnightmare]

GunnyUSMC - I just finished the AR10 build and have a 300BLK SBR that I am awaiting delivery of the final parts. (quad rail and barrel nut). I typically have at least one unfinished AR15. I buy when the parts are stupid cheap like it looks like they might be for memorial day weekend.

I built the PA-10 and thought "now I have 4 AR's, that's a lot"....I pulled everything out of the safe. I have 6. 2 are unfired.

Does that mean I have a problem when I start forgetting about guns I built?