80% 1911 kit?

[bolus]

The matrix barrel seat cutter is very nice. I ended up hooking the shaft to the drill press. One simple pass and it looks great. So much easier than doing it by hand with the stealth arms jig

 

[bolus]

Hopefully these posts are interesting.

Now I need to fit the barrel lugs. These are oversized on the match barrel to allow for precise fitting. The tighter the fitting, the better the accuracy. If it is loose the barrel can tilt up and down a little when it locks.

Lug with slide lock at rest


After firing the link rotates since the slide stop pin is stationary. it pulls the barrel down so the slide can move.



My barrel is in the locked position here with the barrel alignment tool locked with the tab in the firing pin hole. This is where I want the barrel to be locked when firing. You can see the barrel lug sitting down too far into the hole.



What is outlined in red needs to be filed off.


Then appropriately sized link is needed and I got several of different sizes to fit

http://www.brownells.com/handgun-pa.../barrel-links/1911-barrel-link-prod16412.aspx

 

[bolus]

Lugs are filed. Tiny bit of a catch at either end of the stroke but this will loosen as it breaks in.

Pretty good alignment of slide and frame. Only a little bit of blending to do here

 

[Ura-Ki]

I have done 12 series 80 1911 builds and all were a fun learning experience.I have since moved into the 2011 style 1911 wide bodies. Same basics and such but you have to get the tooling for the frames. The stealth jigs can be modified to work and still do single stack frames. The cost is all taken up in the frame kit, but well worth it in the end! I have used many different slides and have found both Caspian and Fusion to be the best and not too bad on price! Para ord slides also work out fine if you don't mind the configuration of them! Fusion are a really good group of folks to work with and usually have all the parts one could need or want for a one stop shopping experience! I have found barrel quality to be one of the biggest concerns and I have had really good luck with the ones sold by Fusion. Brownells is a good source for parts and tools as is Midway u.s.a. Numrich gun parts takes some digging but can be very helpful. I also have found tuned trigger groups from cylinder and slide work out very well! The single best part of all this is the fun and learning experience of building these pistols and the satisfaction of having one or several exactly the way you want. I just completed my third 2011 series and did it in a long slide in 10 mm. Man, what a sweet shooter. MosinVirous has several build vids on youtube and are all worth watching! Now its time to move into the AR world of 80% lowers. Cheers and have fun!

 

[Ura-Ki]

Something to note with the 2011 build. If you get the really expensive aluminum grip, you can shave down the outside surface on both sides and then fit a set of VZ grips by thinning them down on a belt sander. I found this unique trick to custom tune the grip to my bear paw hands! Plus it makes traditional grips possible! Its really expensive, but when you want the look to be more traditional, this works out really nice. you can also trim the trigger hoop in front to get rid of the finger rest. I just did this to my latest build, and I am going to do it from now on on all my builds!

 

[bolus]

Starting to come together.

 

[Ura-Ki]

Starting to come together.

View attachment 277766

Sweet piece! Love those slides! Looking good brother, keep it up!

 

[bolus]

started work on grips

 

[bolus]

I vote square bottom pin covered with a Smith Alexander MagGuide...

Great Thread @bolus

if that means sanded with a few coat of tru oil then Im all for it. I might attempt to checker it though

 

[IronMonster]

saweeeet! Looks like you have been having a blast. I wanna give it a go but it will be a while before I have a place to work in.

 

[Ura-Ki]

If you ever wanted really exotic hard wood for grips and such, Gilmer hardwoods in west Portland out by the old Montgomery Wards building has some awesome woods at decent prices. Check them out!

 

[bolus]

If you ever wanted really exotic hard wood for grips and such, Gilmer hardwoods in west Portland out by the old Montgomery Wards building has some awesome woods at decent prices. Check them out!

I havent been to Gilmer yet. I did get a batch of gun stock blanks from Golby Walnut up the road though. Then one of my coworkers let me raid her grandfather's wood shed after he died and I have a bunch of walnut now. Once the garage warms up I'mm start working on gunstocks again

 

[bolus]

These are from a pretty nice curly Mahogandy. Deciding if I'll stain them a little darker or just leave them the natural color

 

[Ura-Ki]

I havent been to Gilmer yet. I did get a batch of gun stock blanks from Golby Walnut up the road though. Then one of my coworkers let me raid her grandfather's wood shed after he died and I have a bunch of walnut now. Once the garage warms up I'mm start working on gunstocks again

View attachment 277924

Beautiful!

 

[ZigZagZeke]

If you ever have need of stocks for a lever action or an old single shot I've had great luck with these people:

http://www.treebonecarving.com

 

[Ura-Ki]

When my Grand father passed, he left me all his stock blanks (80 in all) and I have been busey building rifles out of them as well as trading them. Many are Iron wood and several are burly maple. I also have many smaller pieces that he found and made patterns of for diffrent pistol grips. Most are old birds head revolver as that was his passion. He also knew I was into 1911's and he set aside specials he wanted me to have! If any are intrested in Iron wood pistol stocks or small pieces for for ends and grip caps, let me know. I am always up for trades!

 

[bolus]

my current tool list


1. 1911 phantom jig. https://www.stealtharms.net/1911-phantom-jig.html
2. Matrix decking jig <broken link removed>
3. Matrix barrell seat cutter. <broken link removed>
4. Barrel alignment block http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-t...1911-auto-barrel-alignment-block-prod369.aspx
5. 45 ACP barrel alignment gauge http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-t...ools/1911-barrel-alignment-gauge-prod906.aspx
6. Plunger tube staking tool (I did not need it on the aluminum eceiver builds but I did on this one. http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-t...tools/plunger-tube-staking-tool-prod9489.aspx
7. 45 ACP barrel reamer http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-t...mers/pistol-chambering-reamers-prod17655.aspx
8. Clymer go gauge for headspace. 45 ACP
9. Beavertail installation jig http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-t...on-jig-prod1319.aspx?avs|Make_3=1911&psize=96

You only need the first 3 if your parts are drop in and not match. (perhaps 9 as well)

additional tools that are needed:
padded Vice,
good set of second cut hand files
dremel with various sized diamond grinding bits.
gunsmith stones are good too https://www.borideabrasives.com/PublicStore/product/Gunsmithing-Kits,154,288.aspx

 

[bolus]

If anyone is interested in borrowing tools after Im done with this build let me know

 

[bolus]

I think I'll leave them this color. Just a first coat of BLO

 

[etrain16]

I think I'll leave them this color. Just a first coat of BLO

View attachment 278363

That looks great Bolus!!