Starting a new project.  Took advantage of Wilson Combat's recent slide/frame combo sale to pick up three sets.  Planning on putting together three 1911s, one for me and one for each of my two boys.  Planning on making them identical, and give them to the boys on their 21st birthdays. Have a year to do this, oldest just turned 20 last month.

So far for technical specs I know I want carry pieces.  Novak low-pro night sights (three dot), extended mag release, safety (probably ambi) and slide release.  Already comes with a bevelled mag well.  Beyond that, open to suggestions.

Thinking about personalizing them somehow.  Not a big fan of engraving, but I'm open to it.  Monogrammed grips, something engraved on the slide with the family initial, etc., but not sure which way I want to go.

Suggestions?  Cool ideas?  And recommendations on how to go about doing this (as in, companies to look into)?

Thanks!  Really looking forward to this...should be fun. Never put together a 1911 essentially from scratch before.  

Update #4 on page 2.

Man, good luck. I was sooooo tempted to pick up one of those but I don't think my wallet is going to allow for it.
Don't have many suggestions other than maybe start with yours first, so if you mess up on something, you won't carry it over to their's since they are going to be carry pieces.

Post some pics of the progress, I would love to see all of them.

I know I need to outsource tapping the grip screw bushing and I'm going to send the slides to Novak for the sights.  Otherwise, I can't think of much else I won't be able to do at home.  From the description I should be able to assemble the rest with just a little minor fitting (which I've done before), though I've never fitted a barrel before.  

But yes, pics will be forthcoming.

Unlike a AR15 which is like a tinker toy set, the 1911 is a handfitted pistol. Good luck.

I've done slide stops, safety, mag releases, springs and mainspring housing in the past without issue, but never the internals (trigger, barrel, sear, etc.).

Is your recommendation to gather the parts and have someone else do the fitting, or can I do the majority?  (Part of this exercise is to give my kids something their dad built, not just a storebought pistol.)

Anyone else want to provide input?

Look online at Blind hogs site and others on assembling 1911s.  I bought a slide/frame and barrel combo to do my build.  Those are your hardest, most expensive parts to fit and critical to function.  There are good tutorials out ther on barrel fitting though, and the Kart EZ Fit barrels are available a a kit from Brownells with the fitting tools included.

The big key is to go slow, and remove metal from the least expensive part whenever possible.  Oh, yeah, and go slow.  If I didn't say go slow I should tell you to go slow because removing metal is easy, but putting it back is pretty hard.

You might check out the Cyl&Slide hammer sets.

They come with your choice of hammer, sear, disconnector, all barstock and pre-fitted.

They have some called trigger pull kits that come with hammer, sear, disconnector (again all barstock), reduced power mainspring, and a pre-tuned sear/leaf spring.

I don't have a trigger gauge, but they claim that they are 4.5lb trigger pull, drop in. Real nice parts.

If you order one, don't forget the hammer strut and pin, like I did

As far as trigger sets you can get one of the Cylinder and Slide Drop In kits and then just have a good smith give it a quick look over to make sure everything fit together ok.  As far as barrel fitting, thumb safety fitting, unless you are prepared to take it real slow and make sure you are fitting them correctly, or ready to spend the money to replace the part if you take too much off, it would likely be best to send it to a smith to that part.  If you wanted you could send the slide and frame to Wilson and have them install a barrel and grip safety.  That would get you most of the way there.

That makes sense that the barrel would be the hardest. I'm close to Novak's, maybe they'll do a barrel fitting for me.

Now for the second part of my post––what ideas to personalize them?  Monogrammed grips?  Engraved slide?  Durakote the things pink?  

Grips - Less Permanent

Engraved Slide - Pretty Permanent

Durakote - Medium Permanent


I haven't done custom/personalized grips, but I have my company logo laser engraved on the rear of the slide.  Very subtle and well done.  Short of replacing the slide, it will stay there on the gun.  My g/f had her Colt Defender frame done in pink.  Eye-catching and a conversation starter.  It is well done.

I can't wait to start on a custom gun for my daughter.  She's only three, so you are ahead of me in that regard.  I am going over options in my head...

C'mon, NOBODY'S personalized a gun before?

Grip bushing holes should already be tapped.  I've built 4 or 5 1911's. If the frame and slide are already fit, you've gotten a long way.  I would engrave something nice––since these are to be heirlooms and not something to be sold.

if your gonna do the trigger work yourself, get the proper jigs/tools and read up on how to do it..even if you by a "drop in" set, id still check the engagement on it..

I have been considering doing building a 1911 for quite a while.  I have gathered a whole lot of useful information off of a couple of 1911 forums.  If you want you can pm me your email address and I will send you a email with all the info i have put together.  its about 65 pages in a word document but I do know that I have a 5 or 6 part series brownells put out that tells you exactly how to build a 1911 from the ground up and tells you most if not all the tools you will need.

Initial them then number them with yours as 1 and then 2 and 3 order depending on who was born 1st and second.

I bought another 1911 to do up as my deployment gun when I got home from afghanistan. It hasn't left my safe, never been fired and never done any work on it either. I'll get around to it one day.

What gun did you get?



 

I bought a Metro Arms American classic. Had just enough of what I wanted. One day I'll replace all the internals, amongst other things. Looked like a good base gun to start with and the price was good.

IM sent, and muchas gracias!  

I like this idea.  Maybe (first letter of last name) then 1, 2, 3 on the slide?  Sarcastro, so S1, S2, S3?

I was also thinking initials engraved on slide, then custom wood grips with first initial of last name only (nice stylized S, for example).

Why not something like SARCASTRO CUSTOM on one side of the slide, then personalized grips with the kids' first name?

That.....ROCKS!  

Well, the pistols finally arrived.  Not EXACTLY what I expected, but they're still beautiful.  

http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/medium/DSCN33361.JPG
http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/medium/DSCN3335a.jpg

The good news––three pistols, matching serial #s.  Also, they came with more parts than I expected.  Small bag contains grip safety, ejector, and a pin (that I assume is for the ejector).  

Now, the "I'm not sure" news––two of the three are two-tone, third is only less so.  Also, it looks like the two-tones were produced earlier.  The really weird thing is the newer one is the middle serial #.    There seem to be more handling scratches on the slides of the two-tones than on the newer one. Also, the two-tones seem to have a layer of cosmoline on them.  Since my goal was three identical pistols, I'm not sure if this is a bad thing, or, since my goal is custom pistols for each of us, if them being just a little different will work.  Heck, for that matter I don't know if this is just that cosmoline and it'll come off when I start wiping them down.


First act is to clean them up & get the cosmoline off.  Debating about sending the slides out for engraving, or having the sights installed first.  I'm thinking the engraving should go like this:

http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/engraving_example.jpg

So, for the hive:  Opinions on the engraving? sights or engraving first?  And then, barrels: suggestions on good 1911 barrels?  Wilson Combat has barrel/bushing sets for $189, and I'm thinking about going that route.

Matching serial numbers? Exactly how did you manage to get them to do that?
There is no need to farm out the grip screw bushing fit. Buy a tap  and the bushings from Brownells. It is a super easy job.





Engraving is part of the "finish" work. It should be done in the final phase of the project. Get the pistols fitted and functioning, then worry about pretty.
 

Matching numbers––seriously, I just asked when I placed the order (ordered them all at the same time).  

Grip screw bushing holes came threaded.  

Thanks for the info on the engraving.  I'll take the slides in to Novak's next week!

ETA:  As for the two-tone, I just realized these are Carbon steel.  With the pic on their website and the quality of the finish on the frames, I honestly had in my mind they were stainless!

ETAA:  Crap, now I need a finish to go with them.  Parkerized?  Blued?  Krylon'd?  

I would go with melonite/Hard Hat for the finish. Definitely not park on a nice custom and blue would only be for look don't touch guns in my book.

I think you probably mean consecutive numbers.

I'd personally go bluing over a high-polished slide for the best look.

I'd lean towards parkerizing, myself.  

Yeah, I meant "matching" as in consecutive, not identical.  Sorry about that.  


I like the looks of some of the platings (NP3, etc), though blue and park are both options.  Any of the paints are out––I want something durable.

To me, park looks cheap, which is not what you want on a heirloom-type custom.   Hard chrome plating is probably what I'd do, if you didn't feel bluing was going to hold up to the intended use.

I would think a custom cerakote job would be nice.  Maybe one with an OD frame and a FDE slide, the other with the colors reversed,  or one in OD and the other in FDE, or something like that.

I like the Sarcastro Custom on the slide without the '1911'. You can already see it's a 1911. Just seems goofy to me.
I think in your situation, I would go for broke and get them HardHatted. Anything less would be uncivilized. And you'll only pay for it once (thrice).
Then, search online for a picture of a Dan Wesson Valor... and note where it says 'Valor' on the slide. This would be a nice place for laser engraving of each name. And something about the big S above the safety seems wonky to me, too. Probably too many things on the slide for me. But I'm not against it being in a big centered oval on some matching reddish wood grips.
And when you're all done, you get to design some nice matching holsters, too!

My $.02 and I want to see pics when they're done.

Have fun.

Just looked into HardHatting...looks nice, and is exactly the color I'm interested in.  Any idea how much something like that runs?  Any experience with it?  

Hard chrome plating also comes to mind in a black finish.  The more I think about it, the more I like a more subdued look.  

You've inspired me, I think.  I like "SARCASTRO CUSTOM #X of 3" centered between the slide serrations, then just our initials (first/middle/last) in smaller font where the VALOR is on the Dan Wessons.  If I do that, then no need for the monogram over the safety.  Subdued, yet still very customized.  Then I think I'll leave the grips as custom but not monogrammed (i.e., Esmiralda or Wicked grips).  Big fan of checkered exotic hardwood, but I'll have to subtly ask the kids what they like.

Okay, here's the plan as of today:

Change to the roll mark.  It's going to say "SARCASTRO CUSTOM #X", then initials in the lower right corner of the same flat spot (like the Valor series mentioned earlier).  I'm not going to limit the # of guns by saying #X of X––leaves room for grandkids.  

Internals will be all Wilson Combat. I figured I'd stick with the theme. All parts are stainless unless listed otherwise.

Important parts are:

- Novak three-dot night sights
- full-length one-piece guide rod
- Bulletproof deluxe Commander hammer
- Bulletproof sear, A-2
- Extended slide release
- Bulletproof firing pin
- Ambi thumb safety, tactical levers
- V-grip MSH
- Bulletproof firing pin stop, Series 70
- Bulletproof extractor, series 70
- Bulletproof plunger tube
- Bulletproof tactical mag release
- Bulletproof disconnector
- Trigger, ultralight match, long pad, Black
- Drop-in barrel & bushing set
- 1911 complete pin kit
- 1911 complete spring kit

Sight cuts done by Novak, then I'm going to have Severn's Custom do the engraving and Hard Hat the frame, slide, plunger tube, safety, slide stop, firing pin stop, mag release, and MSH. I'm going to leave the barrel stainless for a nice contrast.

So, here's how I see the order of things:

1. Sell a kidney to afford the parts
2. Clean slide/frame with brake cleaner to remove cosmoline/grease, then apply thin coat of oil for protection
3. Lap slide rails to get good fit
4. Send slide to Novak for cuts and sight install
5. While that's gone, fit/install internals
6. When slide returns, final fit/function as a complete unit
7. Disassemble and send to Severn's for engraving/HH treatment
8. Buy grips while at Severn's
9.  Back to Novak's for sight installation
10. Present to #1 son by his birthday next summer
11. Sell other kidney (maybe a lung) to afford pistol #2

Am I missing anything?

I'm getting most of the parts through Brownells on a dealer discount, for a roughly 9% savings over WC direct (over $120 difference).

Any other suggestions on cost savings (I'm NOT on an unlimited budget), alternatives or process I've overlooked? I'm looking at buying everything for the frame in one purchase, then everything for the slide in another to help spread out the costs. Does that make sense from a "get it together" perspective?

I'm really looking forward to trying to put this together!

IMO, I would go with a gunsmith-fit barrel and bushing instead of a drop-in.  If not a full gunsmith fit barrel, then at least a Kart easy-fit.  The barrel is the heart of the gun and heirloom-grade 1911s deserve better than a drop-in that may be accurate enough but nothing special.

The only other thing I would change is the extended slide release.   They are generally not found on high-end customs because most pros feel that they cause more problems than they solve.

gi guide rod and plug instead of full length

ETA: you can have the plug engraved too
EGW


Wicked grips might do custom
Fusion has ones with branches of the military

Question on the barrels––what's the difference between the Kart's EZ fit and the Wilson Combat drop-in, quality-wise?  

I guess I'm not sure what difference in level of quality/accuracy/etc. we're talking about.

First I'd heard about the slide releases––what kind of problems do they cause?

The Kart will have an oversized hood to allow precise fitting to the slide.   Minimal barrel hood to slide clearance is an important factor in overall accuracy.  The Kart will also allow you to fit the upper lugs until you have firm, equal contact of the lower lugs and slide stop.   This results in a repeatable return to battery after every shot.

Drop-in barrels are made to a "one size fits all" model and the goal is to minimize the amount of fitting required.   You can make the gun work, but there is plenty of accuracy potential left on the table.   I haven't used the Wilson drop-ins, so I can't give you specifics about how they're made.

The big problem with the extended slide release is that they can be heavy enough that they will not reliably lock the slide on the last shot.   And with a good grip on the gun, it's too easy to inadvertently hold the slide release down while firing.

Great thread, OP.  Looking forward to following your projects.

 

I can vouch for what Ken says re. the Kart EZ fit.  I chose that and the matching bushing for a full custom build.

 

Just an update.

I've lapped two frames so far.  First one was easy, second not so much.  The slide is sticking in the full-rear position–– the front of the frame rails need just a bit more relief to fit into the front of the slide rail cuts.  I haven't buggered the frame yet, but I'm getting concerned that if I continue I will.  So....

On further reflection, I'm going with someone else assembling these.  Too many people have told me that the amount of work and expertise needed to make this happen is beyond my capabilities to produce a reliable, functional pistol.

So, I'm going to gather the parts, find a qualified 1911 smith to put them together, then send them off to Severn's for Hard Hatting.  

Overall, I think the end result will be better (albeit more expensive  ).

So....over the last couple of months I bought the parts I needed. I happen to live within driving distance of Novaks, and they were kind enough to agree to put it all together for me. All parts are Wilson Combat except the barrel (Kartz), trigger (Grieder Precision), sights (Novak's three-dot tritium), and safety (went with Novak's tactical). Finish will be Novak's black nitride (same chemical process as Severn's Hard Hat). Added checkering on the front strap.

Decided to cut back on the engraving––just doing #1 son's initials on the slide, nothing else.

Supposed to be done around May-June. Still need to decide on some grips. Son is kind of partial to VZ's composite grips, but I think some nice Wicked or Esmirelda cocobolo will do the trick.