80% 1911 kit?

[bolus]

I decided to get a Stealth Arms 1911 phantom jig
http://www.stealtharms.net/shop/jigs/1911-phantom-jig.html

this jig does not require machining equipment. it is all done by hand so exactly my style (I enjoy the build process itself)

Here is a video of its use. (Mosinvirus is a great youtube account, has lots of good videos including complete takedowns of several old firearms)

So now I need an inexpensive kit to finish it off. Sarco is well known for having basic inexpensive kits but they are all sold out. Though I did get a frame from them

Anyone have any recommendations on a basic kit to finish it off? My goal is more the process than a finished product so I dont want to invest in thousands of dollars worth of parts if I mess it up. But it would be nice to see it fire when I was done.

And I know I could buy a complete RIA 1911 for less than the cost of the kit and frame (I already have one).

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[IronMonster]

I have nothing to contribute, But I want to follow the thread

 

[skidder]

Did your fixture come a cutter that you could machine frame rails ?

 

[bolus]

Did your fixture come a cutter that you could machine frame rails ?

It has a cutter that is used to cut the frame rails by hand. It's designed to not need anything other than a drill for machining. Yes, it will take ages to cut them by hand since it works like a wood planer but that's part of the fun

 

[coop44]

as far as I know sarco was the only company offering a complete "kit". I built up a foster frame using a sarco kit, very satisfactory. I had heard various reports from the past bashing them pretty hard, their current kits seem to have improved. currently in the middle of building my second fosterand have gone a different route, sourced parts from several places so far:

a remington stainless slide from gunpartscorp.com
sear, disconector, various internals from Olympic arms, bought at a local gun show from a dealer,
grip safety, slide stop, thumb safety, odds and ends from a forum member, all kimber "take offs".

when I'm done I'll probably have close to 900 into it, but no MIM parts, all fitted by me, just the way I want.

If I were you I'd start by getting a pin set and a spring set to start, and start sourcing parts from various sources. Don't drop a bunch of money into a barrel, $200 dollar barrels don't really shoot much better than $60 barrels, it's all in how well they are fitted. Most of the high dollar barrels are stainless too, not desirable. Stainless barrels will burst where a carbon steel barrel will bulge, don't believe me, look it up, I did.

keep in mind, EVERYTHING will need fitting. Not sure of your skill level but best of luck to you.

 

[bolus]

Thanks,
My skill level is pretty low, that's why I want inexpensive parts so I mess it up, its just the cost of an education.

 

[coop44]

well, if you need any help go to brownells, they have some tutorials. You could try the 1911forum also.Brownells has a few books (1911 bibles actually) that could prove useful.If you get really desparate pm me and I'll try to be of assistance.

A real gunsmith is not measured by whether or not he makes mistakes, it's how he corrects those errors.

http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/medium/IMAG00761.JPG

my first foster, shootable but still a work in progress

http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/medium/IMAG00981.JPG

my current project, quite a bit further along than this, fitting the slide was a bear

 

[GUNARCHER]

1911 80%


<broken link removed>

 

[bolus]

1911 80%


<broken link removed>

thanks, I considered the radius 80% kit but did not know if it would work in the jig I got since it is a 2 piece receiver.
Plus the standard parts kit has a 270 day wait. I was hoping to find something sooner.

 

[TDH]

I know it's not an 80%- but PSA has their 1911 frames on sale for $140 - Some fitting will be required though

 

[coop44]

call foster, you'll be suprised, I won't build with anything else but a foster/caspian. ares seems very proud of their stuff as evidenced by the prices they ask.

 

[netcarrier]

Are you building a model 70 or 80?

 

[bolus]

Are you building a model 70 or 80?

I presume series 80 for the firing pin block but I guess depends on if I find a kit or have to order a bunch of separate parts from someone like caspian. If it is a good quality kit I dont mind either series.

 

[netcarrier]

You know that you have to fit all the parts and check the barrel lockup to the side? Along with the Breach Etc...
If you need some help in all this I can help. Just let me know.
Tony
Portland, Oregon

 

[bolus]

You know that you have to fit all the parts and check the barrel lockup to the side? Along with the Breach Etc...
If you need some help in all this I can help. Just let me know.
Tony
Portland, Oregon

Thanks, I know it is a lot move involved than an 80% AR build. Im collecting various tutorials I cant learn any other way.

Thanks for the offer of help!

 

[bolus]

parts are sure slow to arrive.

I got a 80% aluminum frame from sarco being the cheapest I could find to be the frame I learn on. The jig has worked very well cutting the slide rails. I can cut < 0.001 inch per pass if needed to fine tune it. Strips off aluminum thinner than foil at that rate and the cuts look perfect. Im guessing 70-80 depth adjustments with 5-6 passes each with the cutter to get the 0.061 depth per side.

The sarco frame is less than ideal. The rails were both too wide and too tall and Im slowly working on trimming them down with a metal file and a boride gunsmith stone kit
https://www.borideabrasives.com/PublicStore/product/Gunsmithing-Kits,154,288.aspx

so who else makes frames though?

I've found tactical machining but I've seen reports of the frames being not square at the top
I ordered a frame from stealth arms themselves to try out
the Ares frame definitely wont fit into my jig

anyone else make 80% frames? Im surprised at the lack of places that make them

I got a PSA slide and a wilson barrel. I can already see where the work needs to be on the barrel to get it to fit. it needs just fine tuning to get it to fit and lock up.

 

[bolus]

I got the frame from stealth arms today and it is much better than the sarco one. I got the majority of the cutting done in about 2 hours

 

[Stomper]

Those cut rails look great! Is that Stealth Arms aluminum, too?

 

[bolus]

Those cut rails look great! Is that Stealth Arms aluminum, too?

Its the aluminum frame. Im pretty happy with how it turned out. Took a little fine tuning but it seems to line up very well for something done by hand. the jig is very accurate

 

[bolus]

how is this for snug