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Home built CNC Mill - Gonna make a 1911


StraightUp_OG

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Well this bad boy is almost shoot-able. Fit the barrel (Bar-sto) but the STI grip safety just was not in spec so I ordered a EGW Billet tail and what a FANTASTIC part. Plenty of meat and was a joy to fit. Blended the back of the slide (Caspian) and right side ambi (C&S Tacticool). Shaping up to be a fine .45 carry blaster. Going to ship it off to Springer for a 2 tone DLC tan lower and black top but there is a lot of work left to do before calling UPS.

fighter1.jpg

fighter2.jpg

You are a major stud bro..

Hope to see you at a2 or wsssc 2014.,

I have a billion questions for you :)

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Hey OG got a set up question for you if you don't mind. Does your PC running LinuxCNC have a parallel port on the mother board or did you add a PCI card? Just curious. I've been playing with LinuxCNC on Ubuntu 10.04 and also the Mach3 demo version. I don't have a mahcine to run :(, just checking out the software side of things. Unfortunately my Win7 64bit is a problem for the Mach3, there's solutions but they aint free. Soooo Linux is looking better if I can throw an inexpensive card in.

BTW that 2011 looks AWESOME! NICE WORK!

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The comp I am running had a parallel port on the motherboard. But a PCI parallel port card should work just fine.

Thanks! The 2011 is all but done and the next 2 projects will be run in tandem. A 2011 .40 SightTracker and then 1911 45 commander with a Ported Schuemann hybrid in it I bought off of a member here. Should be exciting since installing and fitting the Schuemann hybrids will be another first for me.

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And we're back! :)

I am waiting on the UPS man to bring my 2011 frames so the Commander project is up next. Starting with a STI forged frame that will be cut back .10 for slide clearance a SS Les baer Commander slide and a 4 port Schuemann in .45

First setup machining rails to start the slide fit.

commander001.jpg

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Thanks Guys!

The Commander is defiantly taking the difficulty up a notch. Never installed a hybrid so I keep referring to your SS Sight Tracker Build thread, Glenn. It really helped me understand the machining order. I turned some brass plugs to keep the slide from collapsing and have the correct cutters so I should be good to go.

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Completed the slide fit, ball cuts, lower slide bevel and Schuemann is half fitted, The image looks like there is a gap, it's not, the rib is taller than the slide and casting a shadow. After flat topping it should be almost seamless. I think I am going to Tri-Top it.

Gonna be a fun weekend of making chips!

setup.jpg

hybrid.jpg

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in all serious ness how hard would it be for a complete noob who has not and does not know how to use a mill to learn how to do this stuff? maybe not a cnc program but manually w/ digital readouts maybe and a powerfeed motor?

a good list of tools needed? for slide to frame fitting, barrel fitting, sight cutting, tri topping? any place other than youtube that shows this stuff?

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Honestly I don't think in the large viewpoint its hard to learn. You just have to be willing to accept mistakes, and I'm giving serious thought now to building my own. But I plan to carve up a lot of stuff to screw around and learn the machine and etc.

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<a href="http://s923.photobucket.com/user/donnyglock/media/opengun023_zps7fe483b3.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad73/donnyglock/opengun023_zps7fe483b3.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo opengun023_zps7fe483b3.jpg"/></a> I bought a mill three weeks ago. Heres my first project. Keep in mind I have never touched a mill until I bought one. I did not practice either. I just figured out what I wanted and let her rip.

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Honestly I don't think in the large viewpoint its hard to learn. You just have to be willing to accept mistakes, and I'm giving serious thought now to building my own. But I plan to carve up a lot of stuff to screw around and learn the machine and etc.

I've done little stuff on my stock mini-mill and also stuff on my friends bridgeport with a DRO. Porting, slide cuts, dovetails. All totally doable. Completed AR15 lowers and stuff like that as well. But to do 1911 lowers and basically most of the stuff in this thread, you would really want a CNC. Don't let that stop you from getting into machining though, I started out with just 80% AR lowers, which is basically "plunge an endmill and then move it up and down the X and Y axis" and since then have become friends with guys who work in machine shops and have CNC's and Wire EDM's, stuff like that. I have a tiny investment in my Harbor Freight mini mill, but knowing what I've learned from it, I was able to make these friends and become trusted with their equipment to make more complex toys. This shit is fun!

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I'm meaning like buy a frame and a bare slide and cut the sight cuts and tri top and slide cuts and barrel fitting and slide to frame fitting.

By the way is a bull barrel and harder than a bushing barrel to fit??

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Anyone can do this! I never used a mill before I started this wonderful project but I have spent a fair amount of time in a gunsmiths shop. You must be willing to make a mistake but put enough thought and measurement in to it as to minimize the mistake. I feel that I learn the most in the mistake. Once I commit to a cut I have no fear and go for it!

Fitting Barrels is as much an art as it is a science. Everyone i fit I learn something new and one is not harder than the other to fit just different. I personally think the jig is great!

I am well into this build but on the next one, a 5" 2011 sight tracker, I will make a video of how I set up for some of the cuts. I have most of the parts for that build so it will be about a month before I start that one.

Like donnyglock said, get one and let'er rip! It's only metal!

Edited by StraightUp_OG
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I guess worse case scenario you'd get to learn how to run a mill and a welder. ;)

You know it! :roflol:

Here is the flat top setup. The tool is a test indicator. This is used to make sure the slide is parallel to the mill head. This measurement insures an even cut so the flat is not bigger at one end. I clamped it onto the 1-2-3 blocks as they are square, flat and elevated the work piece. Since I have not made the jig I envision in my head for locking in the barrel I just put the gun together with the slide stop & recoil spring in it so the barrel would lockup. Worked perfectly but I will be making my jig. The other pic is the finished product, not perfect but very good for a first attempt. Once serrated any imperfections should be lost.

ETA: The slide is stainless and is the first time I have machined SS. SS is HARD!! Use carbide and go slow!

flatsetup.jpg

fltop.jpg

Edited by StraightUp_OG
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Ok so I'm curious. The barrel had to be there to make the sight tracker barrel the same as the slide I think if I see it right. But if you were to just tri top a standard slide would you not just do that with the slide itself? And is a bull barrel harder to fit than a standard bushing barrel?

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I have a couple videos. This first one should be ignored mostly. That was a crappy process where I tried to touch off the frame with the tool and then remove material, as opposed to edge finding - and I didn't take measurements after the initial touching cut. So I ended up with .003" of side to side play in the frame to slide fit from taking too much off.

So I TIG welded material back on and programmed the toolpaths instead of doing it with MDI and no plan like before.

First video

Redo work...

Welded up and ready to go.

20130406_122154.jpg

Toolpaths

stiframetoolpaths.jpg

Cutting

IMG_4072.jpg

IMG_4074.jpg

IMG_4073.jpg

Edited by jid2
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Here is the flat top setup. The tool is a test indicator. This is used to make sure the slide is parallel to the mill head. This measurement insures an even cut so the flat is not bigger at one end. I clamped it onto the 1-2-3 blocks as they are square, flat and elevated the work piece. Since I have not made the jig I envision in my head for locking in the barrel I just put the gun together with the slide stop & recoil spring in it so the barrel would lockup. Worked perfectly but I will be making my jig. The other pic is the finished product, not perfect but very good for a first attempt. Once serrated any imperfections should be lost.

Nowlin makes a tool that locks the barrel up into the slide. http://www.nowlinarms.com/product-info.php?Nowlin_Gun_Manufacturer_Small_Gun_Parts-pid249.html

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Here is the flat top setup. The tool is a test indicator. This is used to make sure the slide is parallel to the mill head. This measurement insures an even cut so the flat is not bigger at one end. I clamped it onto the 1-2-3 blocks as they are square, flat and elevated the work piece. Since I have not made the jig I envision in my head for locking in the barrel I just put the gun together with the slide stop & recoil spring in it so the barrel would lockup. Worked perfectly but I will be making my jig. The other pic is the finished product, not perfect but very good for a first attempt. Once serrated any imperfections should be lost.

Nowlin makes a tool that locks the barrel up into the slide. http://www.nowlinarm...rts-pid249.html

Cool! I know where to get one if my idea does not work. Thanks!

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