The DIY 1911 thread... I think I'll call her Becky

[IronFreak]

Chicken fries!

[jalopi]

God I'm a slob, that was lunch from Monday

[jalopi]

So.... updates! Decided I'd try fitting the slide & barrel this weekend and boy was I pleased with the results of the slide. The barrel... well, that's not done yet, but I'm not so sure how well that's gonna turn out.

Anyway, the Kart EZ fit kit conveniently comes with a small vial of Dykem paste - apparently the liquid stuff just isn't very good for this application



For those of you who haven't used this stuff before, it's MESSY and goes everywhere. I think, without exaggeration, I could build a few guns with the amount of coverage you get with this vial.

Anyway, the first thing I did was slather the frame rails up with the stuff (only had to take one dab with the cotton swab)



Aaaannnnnddd this is as far as the slide wanted to go on



Took it off and noticed I was hitting the top of the frame. It's kinda tough to see in the picture, but you can see the "shiny mark" on the left side of the frame, just above the barrel seat



Anyway... after what seemed like an hour or so of carefully filing (the phantom jig makes it VERY convenient to hold the frame in place while you're doing all this), re-dyking and re-trying-to-put-the-slide-on I finally reached this point!



Finally starting to look like a gun!



And better yet... dat slide fitment



Like, if I told you guys that this shit was butthole tight, it'd be an understatement. As of now, it takes a fair amount of effort to move the slide, but I think with a little bit of work with some lapping compound it will be PERFECT.

On a side note, does anyone have some good video sources on fitting 1911 barrels? Because the ones I've found on youtube are pretty much garbage and don't help me with my specific issues. I'll go over it later / take more pics to show you what I'm dealing with.

Also, I may have ruined a $200 barrel

[DER E30]

This is soo cool! I really want to do it but I'll get carried away and spend monies on it I shouldn't :( That's what happened when I built my AR... And my truck, and e30, and, and...

[jalopi]

Yeah. Realistically you have to budget about $1200 for this build. No money saved over buying a top notch Springfield or something, but at least you don't have to buy new "performance" parts for it afterwards (as long as you do a good job)

[DER E30]

Yeah. Realistically you have to budget about $1200 for this build. No money saved over buying a top notch Springfield or something, but at least you don't have to buy new "performance" parts for it afterwards (as long as you do a good job)

Buying a Performance center SmithWesson1911 would be that kind of coin, and I'd love one, but not nearly as cool as saying, "yup I built that!"

[Vedubin01]

great job so far man, its been fun to watch!

[myinfernalbmw]

Awesome work chief. One bit of advice I've heard echoed repeatedly, TAKE YOUR TIME. You will make mistakes, and you will pay for them. You can minimize them by going slow and learing along the way. Looks like great progress so far. Just stay focused and take your time.

The other thing I forgot to ask about was anodizing. From what I recall, aluminum 1911 frames in particular have to be hard coat ano'd to prevent premature wear and tear on the slide rails. I don't know if it's addressed with the Stealth Arms kits or not. I wouldn't want to spend that much time and effort building a gun that wears it's rails out in an abnormally short period of time. I also wouldn't want to pay for something unneccessary. Just didn't know if you were planning on anodizing the frame before final finishing.

Keep up the good work, and keep the updates coming.

[jalopi]

Oh yeah, it's definitely gonna get coated, I'm just not sure how yet :D

For a while I was seriously considering getting a titanium nitride coating, but after doing some research it doesn't seem like it's feasible - looks like you have to heat the parts to a point where the aluminum frame might warp a bit, which is no bueno for me.

So yeah, it's either anodizing or electroless nickel, not sure which route I wanna go yet, I've got a ways to go before I have to make a decision though

[DER E30]

You've probably already seen this, but the 1911 forum has a great gun smithing section, with some amazing smiths if you get stuck or whatever. http://http://forums.1911forum.com/f...splay.php?f=18

[jalopi]

This is gonna sound real derpy.... but no, I haven't gone there yet. Somehow, the thought didn't even cross my mind. Guess I've got some reading to do

[jalopi]

Ugh... whelp I just bent over and took it again, only this time it was from Midway. I'm really hoping this is the last batch of parts I have to buy, this shit is getting REAL expensive real fast

So far, without sights (and I think this is everything I need to buy) and excluding the cost of the "jig" I'm sitting at a total cost of $1260. Hopefully the anodizing/coating process costs me less than $100 so I can keep the total cost under $1400

[TeXJ]

so you're telling me I should just buy a nice 1911 and then mod it from there :D

[DER E30]

so you're telling me I should just buy a nice 1911 and then mod it from there :D

Basically yes PC SW1911 is calling my name. Or 460Mag

[jalopi]

Well, I'll hold my final judgment until I have a working product in hand... but yeah, pretty much