Working on 1911's

[insulinboy]

Alright, so I got the AR bug and started building AR's.. Now I'm doing a lot of steel comps and I'm getting back into 1911's and I'm wanting to build a couple for said comps.. Well, not whole build to start.. more changing out parts, triggers, hammers, sears, springs, dis-connectors and such to make the triggers better, barrels and bushings to make the gun group a little better kind of thing, but 1911's are a little more complicated than an AR and I was wondering if anybody could point me towards some good reads, maybe some youtube videos to aid me. I don't plan on doing ANY work till I've read up on it a good deal and watched some videos so that I have some confidence that I know how everything comes apart and goes back together BEFORE I start tearing one apart any father then you average field strip.

Plus as much as I plan on shooting I really need to know how to completely tear the thing down for GOOD cleaning/oiling and inspection of parts/springs so I can replace them before they cause me grief when they start to wear.

I've torn apart a few bolts on my sig pistols, but I've never torn into the frame of anything other then my Ruger 22/45 and my Sig 1911-22 and only far enough to remove the magazine disconnects in them

 

[insulinboy]

Hmm.. after looking at a few youtube videos (wilson combat) I see that the 1911 is decidedly less complicated then I had them to be in my head for some reason

 

[geezer]

Easy gun to work on. Maybe you should buy you a cheap one and play....

 

[jglenn]

brownells article on building a 1911.

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/lid=12537/guntechdetail/Building_A_1911___Part_I

you can get as complicated as you care to get on a 1911...

basic swapping of parts is a good way to start to learn the details of fitting the parts... very little "drops" in other than a drop in barrel.

almost all safety parts must be fit to the pistol as well as triggers.

 

[jglenn]

some good web sites too

http://forum.m1911.org/forum.php

http://www.1911pro.com/forum/index.php

http://forums.1911forum.com/

http://www.m1911.org/technic.htm

 

[Allsmiles]

They aren't that hard to work on, just different. Just be prepared to take it apart several time and put it back together the first time to get it working. Make sure that you do all the function/safety checks after you assemble it. Leave the grip bushings in unless you are going to change them out for new ones. Also, pay attention to the extra safety parts if it is a series 80.

 

[bluesman2a]

There's some GREAT resources around here! I've learned a lot about the gun and the history.
I'm still a neophyte compared to a lot of folks here, but I'll help however I can. Take a look at the build threads I have, there's a lot on tools and process there.

 

[insulinboy]

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but if I have a frame that I just really like how its gone together and how the trigger is, in theory not only could I have two differen't caliber slides to go on it but they could be in either govt, or commander sizes on the full size frame correct?

 

[markj]

Not really. The feed ramp in the frame is different for .45 vs 9mm. Plus they use different ejectors. You could use ramped barrels and probably and switch between 9 an 10mm or 38 super.
.45 and 9mm combos have been done, but you would have to work something out with the ejector (machine the .45 slide)
Commander and govt frames are different in the length of the rails. You CAN do it, but you have to watch for timing issues.

 

[1006]

I second what MarkJ said, and will add: I have a forty/9mm. It works well in both calibers. It was expensive to build as it started out as a 40 and I then added the 9mm slide assembly. The gunsmith had to limit his metal removal to only the slide -- to prevent the 40's assembly from loosing its fit. I wanted to be able to swap the whole top end at once.

It would have been cheaper and easier to just have two guns.

If I were doing it again, I would use a forty slide for both calibers and swap the extractor with the barrel, mag, and recoil spring when changing calibers. But, the 9mm extractor is a difficult to change out when in a hurry.

You could do a dual caliber gun with any of the common 1911 calibers except for the 45. Ramped barrels make it easier, but are not required. Most single stack 1911s run fine on standard pressure loads with a ramped or standard barrel.