Posted: 5/15/2010 3:25:24 AM EDT
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You have around $800 - $900 and have always wanted a 1911. You have skills that have built choppers from ground up, houses and a AR15. Can build or fix damn near anything. Been using and cleaning guns since a kid (in my late 30's).
Of course I have read alot about different models and how to build. But im not sure what I want to do. So here is the question. Do I build or buy a 1911? Do I buy a Rock Island see if I like 1911? Take the left over money and save more to build a custom. Or buy ammo or another gun. If I spend it all on a factory built 1911 what do I get? Been looking at Springfield (have an XD 9 that is outstanding) and Kimber. If I build whats a good frame and slide? Thanks for your input!  
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If you have the patience and tools, you could probably build one without too much trouble. The main thing would be research a bunch of things beforehand. There are a couple of 1911-centric forums out there with a _lot_ of information as far as 'smithing, building your own, etc. There's also a bunch of shop manuals you should probably invest in if you want to build your own...I'd recommend
Kunhausen, Vol 1 Kunhausen, Vol 2 as two to get started on. Be warned, there are some errors in the books...(not dimensional that I know of, but procedural and such)..there's a lot of info on the other 1911-centric forums to supplement (and sometimes supplant) the data in these books. For _my_ first build, I'm not going to go super-custom...it'll be pretty much a plain-jane 1911A1-spec gun; no beaver tails, no funky sights, no super tight slide-frame fitting or match barrels, etc. There's a lot of things you can do when building a 1911...for a first build, I'd keep it really, really simple. Less things to screw up, less things to go wrong, and easier to troubleshoot if something isn't timed or functioning right. I'd probably suggest the same for you.. I haven't started mine yet for two reasons...a) I'm broke  and b) some of the tools I'd want/need to do it correctly, I don't own...(mostly a sear fitting jig/fixture and a set of stones to fit said sear and hammer)
YMMV.. |
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I'll just leave this here...
Brownells- GunTech Videos, How to build a 1911 Good luck. Oh, and obviously, build it yourself... you'll appreciate it when you 'get it right' and it's exactly what YOU want. |