"New" Colt DE owner/Can you recommend a smith in S. Florida?

[coltrane679]

OK, I did it--I picked up a SS Delta Elite today.

The original asking price was $625 with box and book. It had some scuffing on the slide, but looked mechnically sound and tight, with a nice bore. I talked them down to $600, and put it on layaway.

Today I went to get the gun--but the book and box were MIA. Eventually they agreed to knock off another $50, so the price was $550--not bad for a SS DE these days, in ANY condition. A nearby shop has a blued one, no box or book, $700. I assume I can get the book from Colt still anyway. If not, I may ask around if anybody here can photocopy (or, better still, scan) theirs.

I'm having it cleaned up locally with a good ultrasonic cleaning ($25), which it needed. Now what?

I'm looking for a gunsmith in South Florida (Dade/Broward/Palm Beach counties) that is good with 1911s and, if possible, with DEs particularly, to give it a once over (for starters, at least). I know I'll want a stiffer recoil spring for hotter loads, but I can do that myself with a Wolff (which will require a guide rod change, too, I guess). After that I might want some work to insure reliability and accuracy, but I'm not going to go nuts on it with all kinds of cosmetic stuff--I like the basic look. After I see it cleaned up I'll might think about refinishing it (which I guess should be done BEFORE any real tweaking by a smith, so as not to screw up any tolerances he may set), but I'm leaning against it.

I'm all ears!!!

 

[JaviFL]

coltrane, I don't have an answer for you, however, I am also interested in an answer to this question. I recently acquired an NRM Commander. As soon as I figure out what I want, I would like a reliable smith to do the work.

 

[bradvanhorn]

I don't know where Safety Harbor Florida is, but that is where to find Accurate Plating and Weaponry, and they have an excellent reputation.

http://www.apwcogan.com/expanded_menu.htm

 

[Unlucky]

600 grit sandpaper rubbed with the grain would do wonders for the scuffing on SS. The top can be bead-blasted later by a smith.

 

[BigG]

Colt will send you a free owner's manual. The same one covers the Govt Model, Gold Cup, Delta Elite, Commander, 1991, etc.

 

[tex_n_cal]

The first thing I would check is whether or not it still has the plastic guide rod(notorious for breaking). If it does, get ahold of King's Gun Works and buy their Stainless Steel guide rod, which accepts the factory dual recoil springs. Make sure the inner and outer springs are wound opposite directions - binding will result otherwise, as I found on my .40 Double Eagle.

Some folks prefer a single spring, YMMV.

Go shoot it and see how it runs. My hunch is, you'll like it

 

[coltrane679]

Thanks for all the replies.

I will respring it, so I can shot some hotter loads--the single spring will probably be my choice.

Safety Harbor is in the Tampa Bay area--I get there occasionally; may arange a trip over there when I'm ready to take the plunge. I know Accurate Plating has a good rep for refinishing; didn't know they did smithing too. How's their rep for that?

 

[Skyviking]

Um, you might want to just shoot the pistol a bit to see what it really needs for you. The high-ride grip safety a la Ed Brown, Smith & Alexander, Wilson really does help on ctting down muzzle flip.

Make up your mind to fork over the $35 bucks to FedEx for shipping each way. How much is your drive time, gas, etc. worth to you? Wouldn't you rather be dry-firing, at the range, or out in the hot tub with your honey - er, wife? Read up on the various 1911-specialized pistolsmiths and get on your pick's list. When you get the word, send your pistol off.

I can recommend Dane Burns, Chuck Rogers (Rogers Precision), Jim Hoag, Don Williams dba The Action Works, Ted Yost, Corey Trapp at The Gunsite Gunsmithy, Wilson Combat, Novak's, Richard Heinie, Scott Mulkearns (sp?) at SDM Fabrications, and a couple more.

 

[coltrane679]

Um, you might want to just shoot the pistol a bit to see what it really needs for you.

Well, of course--but not until I change the recoil spring and that crappy guide rod. As I said originally I want to be able to shoot some of the "full strength" 10mm loads out there (such as Double Tap), and I'm not putting any of those through the gun without a stiffer spring, that's for damn sure.

As to some of the excellent smiths you mentioned, yeah they are great--but they might be a little more than I need, frankly. They (for a small fortune) can practically rebuild any gun to awesome specs. While that is great--if you want to pay those prices--I'm just looking to make sure it runs reliably and fairly accurately. I'm not going to use it for competitive shooting. Also (not a small factor) some of the turn around times with those guys can be awfully long--there is a LONG line for Burns, I believe (and I'm sure he is worth the wait if you are going whole hog).

I thank you for the info, however. I may look up a couple of the guys that you mentioned that I haven't heard of before.

 

[jeff-10]

I have had a hell of a time finding a smith in South Florida. The only one I can even find is in Pompano Beach. AT E.W. Revere Gunshop and Range (954)942-3777. He actually didn't help me that much but it was more because I had bought a lemon. I called just about every gun shop in Broward and Palm Beach and they all recommended him. Not sure what he can do for your Delta.

 

[coltrane679]

I think his name is Brian at Revere--I had him do some minor work for me, which was fine. You are right--all the local shops recommend him.

Dave Pruitt's shop in Miami has gotten some good recommendations, too:

http://www.gun-doc.com/

 

[agtman]

While looking for a competent pistolsmith is the place to start, it's somewhat better if you can find a competent 'smith who has actually worked on a 10mm 1911 and knows how it needs to be set up.

Some of the 'smiths listed in Skyviking's post (Heinie, Burns, Yost) are not only top-notch, but they're also 10mm-experienced, having worked on Deltas or other 10mm 1911s.

I can recommend Vic Tibbets.

http://www.classichandguns.com

 

[coltrane679]

Tibbets has a great reputation. He also has this on his website:

" 2004 News:
Beginning this year I will be involved in an exciting new 1911
project, (See link below)
Custom gun work already in shop is still on schedule and
will not be affected by this. Future Custom work on customer
supplied pistols will be discontinued indefinitely.
I still hope to be able to offer a limited number of Custom
shop pistols as time allows. I will keep my web-site updated
with the latest information concerning pistols for sale and
other items of interest. 2004 should be an interesting year,
so stop by again soon and good shooting!"


Similarly, Dane Burns has this on his site:

"Now my commitment to you as a customer. I try not to take on work that will take over a year UNLESS it is a full house gun. If I do commit to that work, I will tell you why it will be longer and a credible estimate on how long. Some of my full house guns have taken 4 years. 5 years will be the norm shortly with my current volume. I have other smiths that I trust that I will happily refer you to if I am jammed for time. One of the ways I am trying to limit wait time is to not offer to work on modified guns any more, the majority of my work is building full-house guns. That use to irk the hell out of me when the better smiths wouldn't accept another's work. I now realize it wasn't the work, it was the TIME.

So at the moment, 12 to 18 months for the FED or Grey Ghost packages, 18 months or less for a Ultimate package. The best guns I can build? 2 years and more depending on the work load. I always put professional needs at the top of the work orders if it's necessary. Don't mention it, unless it truly IS necessary."

These guys are great. They are also high priced and long delayed. Life is too short to send off guns for many, many months at time, IMO--I'd rather just shoot the gun.

I think what we have here is a disconnect here between 1911 fetishists and people just wanting wanting to have competent modifications done to their guns. Neither view is inherently "right"--just people looking for different things. Hey, it's a big world.

 

[Sean Smith]

Life is too short to send off guns for many, many months at time, IMO--I'd rather just shoot the gun.

Life is also too short to wind up with a poor gun. You probably aren't going to find anybody quick who doesn't suck, frankly. That's just reality, unless you get REAL lucky and find somebody awesome who just got started and nobody knows about. The good guys stay busy and the bad guys don't. Waiting a few months for anything but bone-simple jobs is a fact of life. Now, waiting 4-5 years is a whole other ball of wax... that's why Dane hasn't built me any guns lately.

Ted Yost built me a super-duper Delta Elite in about 6 months. Built-from-scratch guns (send him a bare frame, he does the rest) from him are around a year. Simpler jobs would presumably be much quicker. Of course, you'd have to send your gun to Arizona, but not every neighborhood has a gunsmith that doesn't suck.

You might want to try this too:

http://www.americanpistol.com/Pistolsmiths/search.html

 

[coltrane679]

I will check with Yost. What do you think of those he links to on his site?

http://www.yost-bonitz.com/links/

Presumably they don't "suck" or he wouldn't be linking to them.

 

[Sean Smith]

Those guys are all pretty busy too.