1911 getting a trigger kit...

[Guest 6.8 AR]

I finally took Tim Calhoun's advice and got a Brazo's Custom trigger kit. It came in a few days back and I immediately started the disassembly. All is well until I installed the old grip safety. A little too close (like zero) clearance between the hammer and the top of the safety. This is a learning experience! Looks like a beavertail is needed so I had my son pick up a Wilson Combat competition beavertail. I do the usual 'stick it on and see what she will look like' and learn that you have to do some cutting on the lip that it fits in. The hammer safety pin won't line up until a chunk of metal is filed, so I ordered the Wilson Combat beavertail jig. I also got a stainless checkered mainspring housing. If I don't botch up the filing, it may turn out to be a decent shooting halfway good looking gun.

I may actually post a few pics if I don't destroy the gun in the process of mods. Any suggestions are welcome.

Something else I need to locate is a good source for triggers. It's a Springfield GI

widebody BTW.

[Dolomite_supafly]

If you have any questions at all PM me your number. I'll give you a call and walk you through it. The process isn't hard but it does require patience. There is nothing that should require anything more than work with a file. Never, ever use any type of power tool when fitting 1911 parts, it will only end in disaster.

When doing the radius I use a Ed Brown jig. It gives the same result as yours probably will. Both are hardened so a file will not hurt the jigs.

First remove the trigger and all the internals of the frame. After that all you do is install the jig then file from side to side across the jig from every conceivable angle until the file isn't removing material anymore. After that use a sharpie to mark the frame and install the beavertail. Work the beavertail a few times, if you can, then file the shiny areas with a few strokes. Repeat until the bevertail is free moving.

Next, install only the trigger into the frame. This is so you can begin the process of clearancing the leg of the beavertail.

After that you are going to have to file the leg of the beavertail for the trigger. This is also a slow process. File a few strokes off the front of the beavertail leg, not the top or bottom. Install the beavertail and try to depress it. If it can't depress far enough to move the leg above the trigger bow then remove the beavertail and give the leg a few more strokes. I try to angle it a bit to coincide with the angle of the trigger bow, some beavertails come with the angle some don't. Again, this is a slow process and no power tools should be used.

As the beavertail is depressed the leg should rotate up above the trigger and out of its way, allowing the trigger to be depresssed, once it is fitted properly. It should not allow the trigger to be depressed if the beavertail is not depressed. And you should not be able to to pull the trigger and overcome the beavertail, moving it out of the way.

When I say slow process I mean slow going and slow as far as time wise. The leg on a beavertail should not take more than 10 minutes to fit. The radius on the frame can take a bit longer though.

After the beavertail is installed and working correctly you might have to radius and blend the beavertail into the frame in the area where the web of your hand goes. Some beaveratils fit better than others and some will even pinch you if you don't blend it in. I would recommend shooting the gun before you do any blending unless there is an obvious problem.

Dolomite

[timcalhoun]

I finally took Tim Calhoun's advice and got a Brazo's Custom trigger kit. It came in a few days back and I immediately started the disassembly. All is well until I installed the old grip safety. A little too close (like zero) clearance between the hammer and the top of the safety. This is a learning experience! Looks like a beavertail is needed so I had my son pick up a Wilson Combat competition beavertail. I do the usual 'stick it on and see what she will look like' and learn that you have to do some cutting on the lip that it fits in. The hammer safety pin won't line up until a chunk of metal is filed, so I ordered the Wilson Combat beavertail jig. I also got a stainless checkered mainspring housing. If I don't botch up the filing, it may turn out to be a decent shooting halfway good looking gun.

I may actually post a few pics if I don't destroy the gun in the process of mods. Any suggestions are welcome.

Something else I need to locate is a good source for triggers. It's a Springfield GI

widebody BTW.

Well, I always say that there is almost nothing drop in on a 1911 unless it is mil-spec (and then maybe). Way way too many manufacturers for the specs to be close, and all the good parts are made big so you have to fit them. That being said, you should not have any trouble with his kit (once it is in there) if your frame and pins are square.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

No, really this stuff is fun. I like taking stuff

apart and rebuilding. I can tell by the kit you

gave me good advice. I can tell by the fit of

the parts that things will work much better

after things are all done.

I found the jig at Brownells last night and ordered

it, along with a few extra things.

I have a question about that black Springfield

finish. I am already sure it will need touching up.

Some is just normal wear, but I will need to cover

the filed section with something and would like to

keep that much of the gun original looking.

I think I picked the wrong gun to do this to, after

looking at the Rock Island my son has, but live

and learn. I already decided the next time I will

get a receiver and start from scratch. The only

disappointments are waiting for the parts to

get here.

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[Dolomite_supafly]

Personally I would rather have to fit each part than have all the parts drop in. It allows tolerances to be smaller which contributes to a gun feeling like it is a quality piece. Like my beavertail, if it isn't depressed the trigger absolutely just barely moves. Most factory guns have more movement than what I have. ALso, fitting the thumb safety allows me to get the tolerance tight enogh that it locks the sear rather than just block it.

It is all fun to me too. Even if I ruined a few parts along the way it is all a learning experience.

Dolomite

[Guest 6.8 AR]

I have ruined my fair share of parts, also. I've always been a DIY'er and usually learn

those lessons the hard way.

No, my gripe wasn't with people, at all. It was with me, mostly, not thinking about what

I was getting into and really not knowing the right questions to ask. Using a Glock mindset

and working on a 1911 can make you pull your hair out until you get your head together.

This stuff is fun to me and you guys are a valuable resource. I don't intend on letting you

forget that!

It will not be my only 1911 to toy with. It amazes me all the stuff one can do with them.

I'm already thinking about a STI or Caspian project.

[Guest Ronbo]

Hi 6.8 AR. One thing I did not see, wilson makes 2 different types of beavertail safeties, one uses the ed brown .250 radius, co-located on the thumb safety, and another that uses a .250 radius centered slightly lower and further back or forward of the center of the thumb safety hole. If the wilson beavertail has a 298 in the part number is it one of the later. The differences are explained on the Blindhogg website. Beavertails Good luck, I did not want you to cut the tangs too high for your grip safety.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

Thanks for that, Ronbo. Yes, it's a 298. I noticed there are .220 and .250 radius cuts.

Will have a look at that link.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

The tolerance on that hammer that came with the kit is as close as I could imagine:perfect!

I found a couple wide body trigger, one from Fusion, and the other from Dlask. I think I will try

the Fusion 3 ball trigger.

The worst that can happen, I think, is that I will have a good shooting, but ugly finished pistol.

Never know until all the parts arrive. I'll worry about the slide and barrel another day.

[graycrait]

6.8 AR,

I have enjoyed reading this thread. What you are doing many of us have done and there probably are a fair number who think the gun as it came from the factory is sancrosanct, almost a holy object, and can only be worked on by someone who kneels on a purple velvet rug, candles burning, to an image of John Moses Browning. I say phooey to that and think that any nimrod with some some stones, needle file and some common sense can do about anything to most guns that need improving or fixing. Ijnventing a gun is akin to rocket science, improving them, especially considering mass production materials and specs, ain't.

Craig in Clarksville

[Guest Ronbo]

Good luck, 6.8 I'd like to see pics when you finish. I built a 1911 from a box of parts from Sarco, but it's not something I would recommend to many people as I'm still chasing down some accuracy issues, but I was able to build a safe pistol that went bang when it was supposed to and didn't go bang when it wasn't. The barrel just "dropped" in, in fact a bit loose for my tastes so I've had a small amount of welding done to help tighten it up, but from what I couldn't' hit at the last IDPA match, I still have some work to do. I'm still in the process of changing out parts I didn't like, but the Rock Island frame had the holes in exactly the right place. I had to remachine the feed ramp though as it must have come with a 9mm feed ramp. Not something I'd want to do without access to a machine shop and some good tooling.

graycrait, you can get in some serious trouble in a 1911 if you don't pay very close attention to how the parts in the trigger group interact and interface. If you get into hammer follow, you have a full auto pistol that you can't control because letting off the trigger won't stop it from firing. Basically some frames don't exactly have the holes in the right place and tolerance stacking and or poor sear/hammer hook fitting (or disconnector, or even trigger bow) can make the 1911 into a dangerous weapon. Building a 1911 is quite different from building an AR-15 from a box of parts.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

I'm going to get up some pics as I go. Sometimes

I get ahead of myself and forget, but I plan to get

them this time. Craig, I've been meaning to meet

you for some time. I enjoy reading your stuff, also.

Maybe out at the range or a good coffee pot or

TN Gun Country.

I'll fiddle with almost anything and it helps with you

guys as resources.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[graycrait]

6.8,

PM me week after next and maybe we can meet up. My schedule is booked next week. I like to fiddle with guns, maybe more than I like to shoot. But I have a number of hobbies and goings on that keep me busy. As far as 1911s go I just do some armorer work, but won't hesitate to dig into a 1911 action a bit with files and stones. If I think something is really awry I know several real gunsmiths who will give me a hand. Another of my friends is attending gunsmithing school out west as we speak. I am very careful about function tests before firing and then load one to fire, then two to fire, then three to fire cartridges before full mag loads when firing any of my own "gunsmithing" shenanigans. The only gun that I have had burst fire with was an old Mossberg semi-auto and that was before I did anything to it. As far as 1911s go I currently only have my nicely Cera Koted beater "Mixmaster." That is all I want in 1911s at this time. I am thinking about getting a Tactical Solutions 2211 .22 conversion for it. If I do that then I will really go to work on the trigger. I have a Ruger 22/45 with a 2.25lb trigger and am contemplating taking one of my 4 S&W 422s and doing a trigger job on it. Maybe even get an optics mount on one of the 6" 422s as the 422 is pretty light, then with a red dot mounted it should be "Momma Bear" just right in weight. But I wouldn't mind a decent 1911 .22 with a really nice trigger. Why? Why not?

[Guest 6.8 AR]

I'll do that, Craig.

I got the major cutting done yesterday afternoon

before I went to see Atlas Shrugged. Worked before

that. I was whooped. That jig helped but I could do it

without now. I need to do the fine filing, now. I made

several pictures and will post them maybe later

today.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Guest 6.8 AR]

Well it ain't a beauty queen, but it works and I did it myself. I cut a bit too much off the frame

thinking it was what was needed to make it fit, but with a little touch up of the finish, I'll be happy.

That trigger feels really good compared to the stock one. No slop. I put the mainspring housing

on to match up that end of the gun. More playing to follow:D

Edited April 19, 2011 by 6.8 AR