I thought I would share a few pics of my most recent Miller Custom. As usual I will let the pictures do the talking and hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy shooting it. I have always enjoyed Bob’s beautiful hand polish in contrast of the matt rounds. He even did the frame on this one and I can only imagine how his elbow felt afterward. As usual it looks much better in person that it does in pictures. The “retro/old school” diamond checkering is not seen very often and feels great (similar to 25 lpi) and looks fantastic.  As you can see there are some definitive influences from others smiths and I am sure Bob will address those when he has a chance oh, it shoots as good as it looks!


Enjoy!

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y139/stormy1911/Miller%20Custom%205%20Inch/DSC_3103.jpg
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Elbow grease is right.  This pistol was a bear (pun intended - it is a Baer frame) to polish with the weld on application of a magwell.  Because there isn’t a flat surface to do the initial flat plate polishing with sandpaper to remove scratches and manufacturing surface grinding.  This project took a while to do and finish, but in the end, she was all worth it.  The owner is a very detail oriented person but more importantly, a great friend that knows his way around the 1911 platform.  With owning the works of a few of the greatest people in smithing, this pistol was destined for a person that will not only have it for the collection, but shoot it as well.

There are a few features that jump out as a person inspects this pistol, and some of them shimmer like the polish as reflections of other people’s work, and I would like to take the time to make sure the credit finds the people where due.  First off, I have to take my hat off and thank Tim Brian for being the kind of smith that understands the business and allow the “New Guy” to use options that are found on his guns.  The recessed cocking serrations, Browning High Power Cuts and Beveling on the bottom of the slide were all inspired by the Chopper pistol that he produces.  I asked permission to use these options on some of my builds and he was generous enough to reply with a yes.  Thank you Tim, from the bottom of my heart.

There is also a perfect example of what a Mag Guide should be found on the bottom of this gun.  A huge thanks for Stan Chen for manufacturing this Magwell Suite and marketing them to make them available for people such as myself.  The mainspring housing and magwell combination just screams “feed me” on any gun that is destined to have this setup installed on.  Without adding length or width to the frame, this setup is second to none.

I have seen the HD on the front of many pistols by John Harrison too.  I bought this monogram bushing/plug from EGW a long time ago (I have been working on this gun for about 2 years now) and George Smith makes fantastic parts.  I would not be honest if I said I didn’t see this option on a Harrison gun first – so a Thank You is destined for Harrison and EGW for this setup.

The top of the slide was something I never seen done before though the arrow point was an option I have seen through the Heirloom shop.  Ted was kind enough the respond and let me know he had no problem with me using the arrow point design.  I wanted to enhance it a bit and try something different.  It took a while to create the design while making adjustments and such at the mill.

Grips are Esmeralda Ambroyna Burl – a beautiful cut and matched set of grips.

This gun was built per the owner’s specific requests down to the pins, but without the permissions of the finest examples of pistol smiths out there, I would not have been able to put this pistol in the hands of a truly deserving man.

Take care,
Bob

Borrowed ideas or not, my hat's of to the builder as well as the owner who spec'ed it out.  As far as my taste's go, this is possibly the nicest 1911 I've ever seen, bar none.

Thanks for the explanation and 'interesting' lineage.

Bob has done three Colts for me but none "as purty as this'un".


 

Awesome! I agree with the above sentiments. Even though the idea was barrowed, the skill to execute it cannot be. Very nice!

Bob's work just keeps getting better and better...

that is beautiful.  i hope to get my springfield redone someday when i make some more money.

I'm right there with you. Wow.



 

Beautiful custom work and apparently a nice camera too.  Impressive piece!  

Wow.

Holy cow.....that's purdy!

Nice shot group.

Your statement didn't really come out that way.

Chuck-

Maybe you should update your own shop's motto to more accurately reflect your contemporary mode of business:

"No innovation, Imagination or Customer Service-ization"

Just kidding. All in good fun right guy?  : )

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

Why would anyone want a gun that pretty.
I would be afraid to shoot it. It is gorgeous!!!!

My favortie watch is an Omega Seamaster.  I wear it all the time.  I wear my Casio at work.  I suppose I could wear my Omega at work, but I have other watches that I won't mind abusing.  Not that the owner of this fine pistol won't shoot it, but that's how I would handle a piece this beautiful.  It would be reserved for special outings, while I pressed lesser looking guns into carry or duty.

I was going to ask something.  I may have missed it.  Was the checkering machine cut?  It's perfect.  I can only imagine how much time it would have taken to machine cut the front strap.  

If that's the case, any chance you can post pictures of some of your smithing in action, Mr. Miller.  I have to admit that that I like the pictures pistolwretch posts of work in progress as much or more as the finished product.  The talent you guys have machining simply amazes me.

I've never seen anything like that.  Awesome.

I admire my Wilsonss and still respect what they are but that gun is amazing.

What is the value of that thing?

I have some pictures up on my site that shows a little behind the scenes, but nothing really substantial.  I wanted to start a page that documents the stages of a full build, all the way through it and comment as the pictures progresses, but I just haven't had time to do so.  I have been kicking the idea around of doing a couple video shots of some stuff as a tutorial, but again - time is something I value when I have it....and never do.  I also need to invest in a camera that does a good job and a tripod.

I'm finishing my schooling up and working on a Senior Design project for graduation this coming May with my degree in Mechanical Engineering - but have every intention of keeping the gun business going.  I can't wait to actually be able to work a full week without interruption and actually produce to capacity of the shop.  Between Summer School and regular school semesters, one doesn't see a decent rotation of work from my shop and I'm behind on quite a few projects.  I have one in the shop that's over 2 years old that I have been slowly building up the welds and dressing on the back of the slide to transfer the sight cut from a Bomar to a Novak...and it's been a pain.  I had to re-cut the firing pin stop cut and everything.  I'm just about done with it though.  It's been a slow process of weld a little, heat, anneal and let it cool down.  If a guy goes too fast, it can warp and crack the slide - and I don't feel like buying a new slide.

I will be seeking a full time Engineering job when I do graduate, but I'll be able to get off my day job and spend my nights in the shop - I think it's pretty clear that putting in a full day of work from sunrise to sunset and beyond is within my scope and capabilities.  Schooling for my degree while running and operating a business is proof to this claim.



The checkering is indeed done on a CNC machine.  The machine shop that I use for my machine checkering is a place that I work at part time when I can.  They do a FANTASTIC job on the checkering, as you can see.



I don't do official quoting and pricing on the open forums - I don't even post pictures of my own work anymore as I let the people that I do the work for make the decision on whether or not their pistol is to be publicly viewed.  If you want to know the exact price, I'll have to look up the quote but you can email me for that kind of info and I'll be happy to pass it along.  I will say it was less than 4K.

Thanks for all the comments, they are much appreciated.  It's always nice to read positive remarks on behalf of my efforts.  It tells me that I'm doing good and serving you all well.

Take care,
Bob

Thanks for the many kind comments and questions. I have known Bob and have had the opportunity to have him build a number of guns over the past 8 years. This is by far my favorite and his skill and talent continue to impress me. As many of you already know Bob is one of the hardest working and most conscientious people you could hope to meet and his skill and attention to detail are truly reflected in this piece. He was very modest in his post about crediting those who have influenced his work (which I think is great) however, the ability to execute, implement and integrate, are 100% Bob. In addition, there are a number of things on this piece that are unique to Bob like the (top of the slide serration pattern, treatment of the slide stop diamond checkering and many others that were not photographed or can not be seen without detail stripping. Oh, and who could miss the mirror polish that is truly a labor or love. Very rarely will you see someone mirror polish both the frame (especially with a weld on mag well) and slide because there is no $ to be made as the time put in greatly exceeds the cost.

Bob, thanks for a great piece, being a true gentleman and for being such a pleasure to work with!










Chuck,
Once again, I will opt to take the high road and refrain from a lengthy reply addressing your pithy comments. However, should you continue, I will lay bare the truth for all to read and make their own decisions based on the whole story rather than your childish jabs.

As a “moderator” is it not your job to see that posts do not get “derailed” by “trolls”? My question for this forum and board is who is moderating you?

Well said OP

Stormy,
Why was your "Elbow Grease" thread on LTW locked?

I can only imagaine why .

That is a recockulously beautiful pistol.  I am fortunate enough to own a Miller build, and I must say Bob impresses me every time I see his work.

With that being said, need moar gun pics on page 2.





win.

Stormy, Bob beautiful work there. I like it and as for being innovative those guys are all dead or retired. Its all in the execution and I think its be done right. I dont want the ban hammer. So I'll just leave it at "gingerbread" aint innovative.
Now Stormy go run the piss out of it.

I enjoy seeing pictures of your work Mr. Miller and I appreciate stormy taking the time to photograph and post the results here.  I also appreciate your attitude towards your work and customers.  You will be high on my list the day I seek a custom 1911.

This isn't GD

Let's keep this on track for a technical forum.

Bob!!!



That is one of the best blueing jobs I have EVER seen.



GORGEOUS!!!!

Everyone comments on the bluing job on this or that. I am a noob when it comes to bluing. What makes this bluing better than any other high-end bluing job? I am not at all downing Mr. Miller's work as I think it is superlative, I just don't know how to quantify this bluing vs. say, a bluing job from Wilson Combat.

I know Miller does work that is considered by many to be much more "custom" than what Wilson Combat does, but the WIlson bluing job I saw a picture of looked virtually identical to this one. How can one quantify the two? What do you look for? Sorry for the noobness.

Surface prep.

Point out the bad/inferior or where it could be "better" to me. I fully admit that you are right, surface prep is huge, with any finish. Especially bluing. I just don't see how this is a bad surface prep, but then again, I don't know what to look for really.

I don't think anyone would say that's bad surface prep on that Wilson.  That's not the standard blue job from Wilson either.  The outstanding thing about this particular Miller gun is that there is a permanently attached magwell.  That makes it exponentially more difficult to deck the frame out flat and get it polished in a straight grain with the lines of the frame.  It's an amazing amount of work, and not something one often sees.

You'll notice that Wilson put a high polish on the slide, which is easy to do because the slide's flat.   They left the frame matte, which requires a little more effort to get a flawless high polish.  You have to remove the plunger tube and grip bushings in order to lay the frame down flat on your polishing surface.... sort of going the extra mile.

The fact that Mr. Miller did it the hard way shows he went about three extra miles.

That's beautiful.

Ya, I posted my new 1* last week and the thread was deleted. Ted Yost said he had nothing to do with it. I'm not sure what is going on over there.



Back on track: Beautiful pistol. I will contact Bob sometime in the future.

That is freakin AWESOME!!!

Ahhh................ More pics are on the way :-)

Glad to see this one up and going again.

Thanks for all the positive comments. Bob and I have been working on this one a while now discussing options and what the final product would look like. For those of you who have worked with Bob to build a gun you know what a true gentleman and craftsman he really is.

One of the underlying motivations for this piece was that it not only look like a museum quality piece but function as 100% reliable shooter capable of head shots at 25 yards. As you can see I got my wish. As with all my guns from Bob they run like raped apes and are VERY accurate.

This is my first build from Bob with the “Diamond Checkering” and I am glad he suggested it. It reminds me of the old school metal work found on the original 1911’s. It is very crisp, flawlessly executed and feels great!

I will work on some additional pics and I need to take some of the VZ Operator grips that were also part of the build. Can’t be running around with those beautiful Esmeralda’s all the time. 

Bob,

Thanks again for a great piece and for always being such a pleasure to work with.

Thats one of the best "Hi-Power" cuts Ive seen. I dont like FCS at all, but hate them even more when theyre vertical, doing the Hi Power cut at an angle is a lot better looking than standard.

Beautiful work! Now, if only Millers table would clear slightly so I can get a build by him started!

I had not noticed that. Thankyou!

A customer spec'd the Slanted High Power Cuts on a twin .45 set.  I don't know where he came up with that idea as I never seen them on a pistol before though I'm sure they have been done before.  I set the slide up in the vise so that it matches the angle of the cocking serrations and finish the cut in order to do them in that fashion.

This pistol was a brand new build so I didn't have to remove any cocking serrations to achieve the results that you see here.  Though there wasn't a necessity to remove the plunger tube and small parts, the weld on application for the magwell did limit my ability to polish the frame with sandpaper on a flat plate.  I took a very large file and wrapped my sandpaper around the file and use that to do the polishing before I spent those hours at the buffing wheel.  The trick on sanding is to hit the entire area and not concentrate on one particular area for any given time.  Otherwise you create a wave like poor body work that is highlighted in the reflection of the finish.

I'm very glad so see all the comments and positive remarks.  It is always nice to see that the efforts are appreciated by more than the owner.  A big thanks to Stormy for sharing the work.  I was hoping he would post pictures so you all could see it.

Take care,
Bob

Something must be fishy.......I've never seen a bad example come out of Bob's shop.

I smell bullshit.

He's either a robot or just that good........



(think to myself) He can't be a robot though, he wouldn't need that Ransom Rest out behind the barn if he was (think to myself)

Well, that narrows it down

Well done Bob, congrats Stormy!

I dont know if its been done before or not but I like it and give you a 10 on execution. And this is coming from a leave the thing alone type of guy.

That is an absolutely BEAUTIFUL gun.

Bob, after seeing some of your excellent work, and reading nothing but compliments on your customer service, I can honestly say my next 1911 will be one of yours. If they shoot half as good as they look, I think I'd feel I got my money's worth.

I'm going to start saving my nickels, dimes and quarters. I will own one of your pistols. It's just going to be a matter of time.

Keep up the fantastic work.

Bob,

That is quite honestly one of the most amazing builds I have ever seen. Having recently embarked on my first "full house" build, I am beginning to understand the sheer level of craftsmanship required to complete it to the (apparently) high standard you have set for yourself.

I did have one question though, which brand beavertail is that on the weapon? I would assume Les Baer, but just because the frame is.

That is a Smith and Alexander grip safety, but I took some extra material off the beavertail to give the pistol a deeper seat into the hand.

Take care,
Bob