RIIID

I'd buy it the way it is, it is just cosmetic and could be fixed quite easily. If it did have something replaced it would be easy to figure out if they used non SV parts. Rich

The machine is just a drop in the bucket, the tooling is what costs. Rich

Electroless nickel with Teflon is a good coating for mag tubes. Rich

"Removing maerial in not ok, stippling it is" When checkering is done material is removed but checkering is legal. Why do we go through what is or should be legal and what isn't or what shouldn't be legal, once or twice a year? When all of the different styles of grip mods have been checked and reviewed by John A. and most of them have been OK'd by him years ago. Rich

The stock follower will limit the max capacity, the Gram's spring and follower is the way to go. It will yield 21 rounds if the ammo is in spec(diameter) and the spring has taken a set. Rich

As a friend of mine would say, "Put some chain poop on it and you will be fine." Rich

The odds are high your extractor is no good if it has been bent out of spec, don't try bending it back it won't work for very long. Rich

That slide wasn't cracked, it was an under cut line from when the original dovetail was welded up. Rich

The frame has .300" removed from the bottom like the Heinie/Chen type mag wells. The grips have the back cut out for the mounting tabs and then beveled to match the outside taper of the well. I like a mag well to have a funnel type profile, most have a flat and wide profile that don't help the mag to go in. They will be available as soon as the machine shop gets around to making them. Rich

This is what I like, it's a proto type that I've been working on. Rich

It is epoxied on traction grit. Rich

Oh I forgot, seven round mags and a flap holster. Rich

To be Classic, The worst sights ever put on a 1911, short, hardly a notch, and narrow Spur Hammer Spur grip safety Thumb safety just a little nub No checkering on the front or back strap lanyard loop High cut ejection port no bevel on the mag opening wood grips The loosest fitting parts Rich

I've been using TiAlN "Canyon Blue" for over five years, it is a great finish. With the proper metal prep it can look like a Hot Blue finish when coated with oil. Rich

It will be at your FFL tomorrow. Rich

That is in the area of the oiginal dovetail cut, for a Bo-mar install it is welded up to fill in that dovetail. It appears to be a weld under cut, a very easy fix. Rich

Even for the 45 frame? Yes

The Canyon Creek mag well can be made to be idpa legal, 0.050" needs to be removed off of both sides. The mod is free if it is stated that it will be for idpa when ordering. Rich

The brittleness of TC would be a factor if the guide rod were exposed to substantial impact or stress. I'm not pretending to be an expert and am not certain if recoil would be enough stress to start chipping or shatter a solid TC rod. I would hate to take the time to grind down a solid TC rod only to have it break from the forces that it is subjected to in recoil. Do you think that a solid TC guide rod would be too brittle? Tungsten carbide will be too brittle. Rich

The .45 acp Tactical guide rod I make can be fitted into the 5.25 guns, the lower barrel lug needs to have a small concave cut made for it to drop in. This rod weighs 4.7 ounces+-, several shooters are using this rod for Bianchi Cup shooting. To get a 6 ounce rod it will extend beyond the end of the muzzle. Solid one piece tungsten rods just aren't worth it. The weight increase is so small, the cost of a larger diameter rod, and the machining puts this way too high in cost that no one would buy them. The tungsten isn't as durable as a tool steel guide rod head. Straight tungsten will chip at the edges over time if it would be used for the head, the tool steel head is the way to go. Filling the factory guide rod will never weigh as much as a solid rod, it's a cheap way to gain some weight but if your looking for the maximun weight benefit a solid rod is the way to go. Way back when Beven made tungsten mag wells for the S_I frames, a 6 and 9 ounce well was available and they sold for over $275.00. That was before tungsten took a big price jump, it has gone up from 45% to 85% increase depending on the alloy mix. Rich

Check out Canyon Creek for solid tungsten guide rods, 3/8" diameter rods(4.1 ounces) use the factory size spring and 5/16" diameter rods(3.1 ounces) use 1911 recoil springs. Rich

The Tubal Cain videos are made by my neighbor, he used to be the High School machine shop teacher. I milled my first Bo-mar on that mill almost 20 years ago. Rich

I have seen all brands of slides cracked, STI and Les Baer lead in the numbers. In a lot of cases the slides aren't lightened, standard profile with sight cuts and standard cocking serrations. Rich

The Canyon Creek base pad kit will get the capacity up to 18+1, they also have a mag well for the .45 frame. Rich

What is the finish your planning for this slide? A weld can effect how a finish will look when done. Rich