Let me digress for a minute. I had a few parts left over from a recent restoration of a M1911A1. It started its life as a M1911 Remington-UMC in 1918. It went through two rearsenals at RIA and AA and picked up both EEC and FK inspector marks. It also has a flaming bomb inspection mark on the frame. It also had the usual other marks on the slide...patent information, Springfield Armory U.S.A, flaming bomb, US Property mark, SA Eagle.
Along the way, it lost its original slide and picked up a Springfield Armory one and was sort-of made into a M1911-A1 having picked up an arched mainspring housing. But it did retain its long trigger, thin front sight, short hammer spur and grip safety which are common characteristics for a M1911. And there are no relief cuts on the frame behind the trigger either. Its walnut grips were also replaced with some funky wood-Hogue wrap-around ones and the rear sight was removed entirely.
I decided that I couldn't make it into what its not. It's a rearsenaled mixmaster at best. But since it was mostly an M1911 and not an A1, I decided to put it back into M1911 configuration minus the finish and grips to maintain its rearsenal status. So I had a GI military parkerized finish put on it, put a flat mainspring housing, correct SA rear sight, and correct Keyes grips.
Here are the results.
So, afterwards I had an arched main spring and a rear sight so I figured I'd build one up from there. Afterall, I subscribe to the "No 1911 parts left behind" mentality! Also, I've really wanted a Military-spec M1911-A1 with really tight tolerences for IDPA shooting. My milisurps were just not cutting it.
Part I - Parts Assembly
First, I had to acquire all the remaining needed parts. I did a Google search and found several exploded views of M1911A1's complete with a parts listing. Most are incomplete so fortunately I have several offline resources to reference. There are a total of 48 parts (including the three parts of its magazine) in a Colt Government Model M1911-A1 .45 Auto Pistol. Colt Series 70, 80 and 90 would add four more.
From there, the hunt began. Through various online resources (vendors and auctions), gun shows, gun smiths and friends, I was able to obtain all the parts I needed at a very reasonable cost.
1. Barrel Bushing
2. Slide
3. Barrel
4. Barrel Link
5. Link Pin
6. Extractor
7. Recoil Spring
8. Recoil Spring Guide
9. Recoil Spring Plug
10. Firing Pin
11. Firing Pin Stop
12. Firing Pin Spring
13. Frame
14. Magazine
15. Magazine Catch Assembly
16. Mainspring Housing
17. Mainspring Housing Pin
18. Hammer
19. Hammer Strut
20. Hammer Strut Pin
21. Hammer Pin
22. Grip Safety
23. Slide Stop
24. Trigger
25. Thumb Safety
26. Grip (Right)
27. Grip (Left)
28. Grip Screws (4)
29. Sear Spring
30. Disconnector
31. Sear
32. Sear Pin
Parts not included in the above diagrams include the following.
33. Plunger Tube / Spring
34. Magazine Follower
35. Magazine Spring
36. Grip Screw Bushing (4)
37. Main Spring Cap
38. Main Spring
39. Main Spring Housing Pin Retainer
40. Main Spring Cap Pin
41. Magazine Catch Spring
42. Magazine Catch Lock
43. Ejector
44. Ejector Pin
45. Front Sight
46. Rear Sight
47. Slide Stop Plunger
48. Safety Lock Plunger
So with all the parts accumlated, the journey began! All parts are USGI with the exception of the commercial frame. USGI frames are very difficult to come by so I picked up a Caspian frame from my gunsmith friend of mine. Not C&R (FFL03) so I did have to complete the Yellow form for it. Besides, I wanted a tight slide-to-frame fit that I just couldn't get with USGI.
The slide is a Remington-Rand and the barrell is a National Match. The slide stop has the serations and is correct for a Remington-Rand. The grips are Keyes. Again, everything else is US Government issue.
Part II - Assembly and Fitting
When I managed to complete the assembly, all I could say was thank goodness for Dremel and J&B Bore Paste! There definitely were some fitting challenges.
Mainspring Housing Assembly - Keeping the mainspring cap down under spring tension while inserting the mainspring cap pin was a bit of a challenge.
Thumb Safety - Integrating the thumb safety was a task and a half. I had to remove some steel where the safety slot slides into the frame.
Disconnector, Sear and Sear Pin - I had to smooth down and polish the surfaces as they were not moving freely together as an assembly and with the frame.
Slide to Frame Fit - This is where J&B Bore Paste came in handy. The Caspian frame and milspec Remington-Rand slide fit was TIGHT! A little bore paste and about a hundred slides later the mating was smooth as butter and kept the tolerences tight. There is absolutely no play whatsoever.
Ejector - Inserting the ejector pin caused the ejector to sit too high on the frame to a point where the slide would stop. A tap of the rubber mallet cured this issue.
Plunger Tube - The tolerence between the tube and the frame were very loose to a point the slide stop and thumb safety would not function. The slide stop plunger and safety lock plunger would not engage because the plunger tube would pop out of its frame slots. A little Lock-Tite and we were set.
Plunger Spring - One end of the spring was closed too tight and didn't allow the safety lock plunger to fit. So I removed one spring loop. This also softened the spring tension which allowed the slide stop plunger and the safety lock plunger to engage freely.
Grip Safety - There was obvious rubbing of this part with the frame. When engaged, the grip safety would not release. Again, some steel removal was required to allow the grip safety to move freely with the frame.
Slide Stop - The slide would not stay locked with an empty magazine. Plus slide stop would not fit properly with the frame. Again, some steel removal around the slide stop where it was inserted into the frame.
Here's the pistol assembled with fitting completed but prior to finishing.
Part III - Function Testing
There are some basic function tests that need to be conducted before any live round testing. These tests are primarily done to ensure safe functioning of the pistol. Also, it will save time going back and forth between the range and your workshop while working out the "bugs" with your pistol.
Thumb Safety - Pull the hammer back and engage the safety. Ensure that when the thumb safety is engaged, the hammer will not fall when the trigger is pulled.
Grip Safety - Pull the hammer back. Without depressing the grip safety, pull the trigger. The hammer should not release. While pressing the grip safety, pull the trigger. The hammer should release.
Slide Stop - With a magazine inserted, pull the slide back. The slide should lock in its rear position. Pressing the slide stop down with your right thumb while holding the pistol should release the slide into battery freely. Without a magazine inserted, pulling the slide back and releasing it should not result in the slide locking in its rear position.
Magazine Release - Pressing the magazine catch release with your right thumb while holding the pistol should result in the magazine falling freely. This is especially important in pistols being used in competition such as IDPA.
Hammer - The hammer must stay cocked when the thumb safety is engaged. It must also stay cocked when the grip safety in engaged.
Feeding - I ran several types of bullets within the same magazine. I ran variations of round nose, full jacketed and hollow point cast lead and copper bullets. No issues whatsoever with all bullets chambering just fine with a 18# spring.
Ejection - Of course, feeding goes hand and hand with ejection. With the above bullet feeding tests, the pistol also ejected the rounds without any ejector tuning required.
Part III - Tuning and Break-In
Part IV - Finishing
Parting Thoughts
Coming soon...
