Quoted: THAT is my next handgun. could you share what kind of fitting or machining you had to do? was it mostly a bolt together type operation? clue me in man, i really want one! thanks -Spaceman
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Ahh, the journey of building my own pistol. Let me start by saying that you really have to KNOW the 1911 platform and be at least somewhat mechanically inclined.
Somewhere around December I sat down with a
Brownells catalog infront of my computer and started selecting items.
I weighed the prices between buying an
80% frame or ordering one from
Caspian. I decided on the Caspian when I realized my milling machine connections were not going to be guaranteed. I built a list of all the parts I needed and ordered them sometime in February.
After I had all the small parts (and built my funds back up), I started talking to Caspian about making me a frame. I decided on the stainless, cast, government model with custom serial no. and Caspian style BTGS cut. April brought around having a frame and all the parts to assemble a pistol.
On the slide I had to fit the barrel, barrel bushing, extractor, the FP stop, the front and rear sights and drill and tap a hole for the rear sight.
On the frame I had to fit the slide, BTGS, MSH, thumb safety, ejector, mag catch, barrel and trigger. Then I went through and adjusted everything to give me a good trigger pull (measured by my hand, not a scale) and smooth feel to everything.
I used a couple file sets, a hammer or two, a punch set, a dremel (sparingly), some flitz and some clover compound. I did most of the fitting work in my living room, with exception for clamping the slide to install the sights.
After that I sent off the slide to
AzExArms to park and moly it. Then I built a sandblasting cabinet and sandblasted the frame @ 90/90 and coated it with
GunKote. Built a barrel vise and chucked it up in my drill press to jewel the barrel hood.
It took 6 months to procure the parts and get everything finished in my spare time. In the mean time I graduated from
The University of Tennessee with a BS in
Computer (Electrical) Engineering.
All in all it took a lot of time, a lot of patience and a bit more money than I originally expected. BUT I am completely satisfied with what I created. And that is what matters.
I've told
CCA that I'd build copies for them, but I ain't holding my breath on it either.
Jonathan
Edited to add a link or two...