Posted: 1/14/2007 6:17:24 PM EDT
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I knew we were in for a nice ice storm here in Oklahoma this weekend, so I figured I needed a project to keep me busy in the garage for a day or so. I always wanted to upgrade my old milspec, so I dropped by the local fun shop friday and picked up a few parts. New LPA target sights, Wilson trigger, Chip McCormick trigger and grip safety. The farthest I've ever had a 1911 apart was field strip, so needless to say my small "drop in " parts project turned into a 2 day event  I heard of fitting the grip safety to the frame, but jeeez, I thought that meant filing off .002 here and there, not the case. Anyway, I thought I'd share some pictures of the progression of this project.Don't give me too hard of a time, this is my first time smithing on a 1911. Rough fit of the tangs: pic1 pic2 pic3 Final fit: pic4 pic5 pic6 pic7 Overall pic: pic8 For my first time I feel good about the fit and finish, the sights were a little difficult to fit due to the front post being too large. The trigger and hammer only required minor fitting. After polishing and taking care of the details, I'm very happy. |
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No, I didn't use any jigs. All hand fitted by feel and touch. My garage is pretty well equiped though. The only specialized tools I used was a front sight staking tool and a rear dove tail tool that I borrowed from a friend. I polished out the Chip McCormick GS to match the finish on the slide and frame. Additional to the posted pictures, I buffed out all blemishes and blended several areas. The gun shoots great and really feels good in the hand. Before:  After: 
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