1st of two new Caspians....

[Dranoel]

In the .45 it's Clark. I have both the compensated barrel and a standard 5". I have had Clark barrels before and they were always good, but the main reason I went this way was because I knew the standard barrel was in fact just a compensated barrel with the extra length cut off and re-crowned. This would give me the closest common fitting.

Another nice thing that I hadn't planned on, Clark fitted BOTH barrels and bushing to my slide for FREE. This really consisted of fitting the comp barrel's bushing as both barrels locked up pretty tight in the slide and I already had the standard barrel's bushing pretty much fitted. Problem I had was it was going to be really tricky to get the comp's bushing fitted since the comp was already installed on the barrel. This meant I would have to fit the bushing while it was on the barrel. I wasn't entirely comfortable with that. So I called Clark and explained what I needed and they said, "No problem." I paid the shipping both ways that was it. Good people at Clark. And the fit is perfect on both barrels.

The barrel I'm putting on the .38 is a Briley with a cone bushing Quad Comp. 4 chambers, 8 ports, ramped.

Edited November 15, 2014 by Dranoel

[Dranoel]

Not sure I have the brass ones to throw it all on a dremel table like you though! This is a cool project.

Actually it was the router table that really gave me confidence in doing it. Without it I was back to doing it by hand. While I'm sure I could have done better than the last two attempts.Both ended up being good shooting guns, but they could have been a lot better. With the router table I knew I was keeping everything straight, parallel and square. And I am still amazed at how well it worked.

If anyone in the Columbus area wants to check it out for themselves, I'd be happy to show it off.

[FF112173]

This has been a fantastic thread to follow. I can't wait to see more.

[Dranoel]

This has been a fantastic thread to follow. I can't wait to see more.

Thanks.

Right now I'm just waiting on parts. I'm hoping the grips will be here this week for the 45. That will finish it. And again, hopefully, the barrel will be here this week for the .38S. Once it's here I can get it fitted up and the slide and barrel/comp will go to Gans Guns to be flat topped and the slide will also get lightened and a high bevel. Then finishing and testing.

I was hoping to have both done by Christmas but it's starting to look like Jan before the .38s is ready.

BTW: If anyone needs a couple 170mm mags I might make you a deal.

[FF112173]

I have an open steel challenge full 1911 Caspian race gun being made right now by Akai Customs. Race ready frame and custom cut slide and all the tricks of the trade put in it. I really wanted to also do a limited full Caspian Hi-Cap but the magazine reliability issues just won't let me pull the trigger on it.

[Dranoel]

With Caspian now making frames for the Dan Wesson Hi-Cap you may find very soon there are some other options for mags. But I'll let you know how mine work when I get it shootable.

[FF112173]

That would be awesome! Thanks! Seems most people who have had problems have had them with 9mm. Just happens to be all I want to compete with.

[Dranoel]

9mm is always tricky when it comes to mags. Being shorter OAL than was intended for the 1911 and tapered to boot. Most guys I know tell me they have to constantly tune the mags, even for single stack. That was the main reason I went with .38super.

[Dranoel]

So.... Had the .45 at the range for the second round of tests last week. Found the extractor needed some tuning, it was a little on the light side and not pulling the cases all the way out. The trigger was just over 4 lbs and it was shooting 5" low at 25'. So I headed home after about 25 rounds.

Added some tension to the extractor, took some off the sear spring and shaved the front sight.

Front sight was pretty easy with the dremel in the drill press. Wrapped the slide in masking tape and clamped it into on of my luthier vices at the angle I wanted to shape the sight blade to. Chucked up a reinforced cut-off wheel in the dremel and set the depth stop to give me the right height at the back of the blade. Made a couple dry passes to be sure I was going to be able to push the vice smoothly across the base of the dremel and the cut-off wheel was going to come out where I wanted. Then I slowly and fed the sight blade into the wheel from front to rear and just off to the left of the screw on the dremel. about 90 seconds to work it through and.... Bingo. Finished it off with a med then fine stone to remove the burrs and clean up the cutter marks and it's good to go.

Meanwhile, my carbon fiber grips showed up. BTW: I ordered a different set than I showed earlier. I went with finger contours instead of the full wrap around and applied grip tape to the frontstrap. Not really happy with the grips so I may put the pachmayrs back on it or I may order a set of CF from VZ.

In any event... Took it back to the range today to test the adjustments and get it sighted in properly. Trigger is light, smooth and crisp and the slide feels like it's on ball bearings. The gunsmith at L.E.P.D shot a mag full through it and loved it. So did two of the range officers. And naturally they couldn't believe I did this myself with a dremel tool.

So how did it shoot? You tell me:

It still needs some fine tuning on the extractor but I may just go ahead and order an Aftec for it. But it's basically shootin' time. I put a 100 through it today and will prob'ly put a couple more through it next week and work on the reliability.

So how many of you still think:

1. I'm crazy for trying this.

2. Dremels and guns don't mix.

3. It will end up pooched and all my money and hard work will be down the drain.

Come on. I know some of you were thinkin' at least two of those.

Edited December 9, 2014 by Dranoel

[rugerp89ipsc]

Any reason you're going for the CF grips and not just getting some of the composite VZ grips?

Very cool. I'd definitely like to see more shots of the pistol.

[Dranoel]

Any reason you're going for the CF grips and not just getting some of the composite VZ grips?

Very cool. I'd definitely like to see more shots of the pistol.

I always liked the look of bare carbon fiber. Incorporated it into a few guitar builds. I'm not one who really goes for a lot of fancy bells and whistles on competition guns. But plain CF grips (no checkering or other cuts) look great, don't look out of place and actually feel pretty grippy. One of the things I am not liking about this set is that they appear to be a thin layer of CF cloth sandwiched between two sheets of acrylic. Looks ok but no grip. They also aren't wide enough on the frame. The front edge of the grip needs to be about 1/8" closer to the front strap.

[wanttolearn]

that was awesome, thanks. i learned a lot

[Dranoel]

Glad it helped you. Just remember, when using the dremel for any of this work, it is not to make things faster by removing large amounts of material all at once. That is where most people get into trouble with the dremel. The router table keeps it all square, straight and parallel. But you still need to work with LIGHT pressure and remove a little at a time, checking your dimensions after every 2-3 passes. Even at that, it will go much faster than using a file and stone.

[FF112173]

I think for the home gunsmith" the Dremel and router table was a fantastic idea. It may take longer but it doesn't require expensive machinery and eliminates hours of hand work. I say great job.

[zzt]

Dranoel, how did you set up the router table so you only took off .001" at a time?

[Dranoel]

Dranoel, how did you set up the router table so you only took off .001" at a time?

As you can see in the pic, the guide fence pivots on the screw on the right and the left screw locks it down. (Both screws should be tightened before you start making passes)

So, basically I loosened both screws, put the frame top down on the table surface and pressed against the fence. Then I moved the fence until the grinding wheel wasn't touching the frame at all. Then brought it back to where I just felt the wheel touch the slide rail and lock it all down. This was sort of acting on the fact that the grinding wheels are not perfectly balanced and at about 15k rpms they tend to vibrate a little. that vibration was small. but just enough to take a little bit at a time off the rail.

I also readjusted after every making 4-5 passes on each side. This compensated for the wheel itself losing material. Also a good idea to have a couple wheels handy and soak them in honing oil or WD-40 to keep the stone from filling up.

It wasn't taking .001" every pass, more like .0005 off each side about every 3 passes. So after 3 passes down each side it was somewhere close to .001" coming off the total width.

Edited December 19, 2014 by Dranoel

[zzt]

Thanks. I'm going to get one for my next build.

[Dranoel]

Had it at the range to test the "stock" barrel, Similar results, accuracy-wise, but the recoil spring needs to be reduced on it. I was shooting 180 gr. and the slide was not going all the way back, which caused lots of failure to extract/eject. Since I will likely never fire 230 gr in this gun I am going to try a 14# Wollf progressive spring and see how it does.

Meanwhile, the barrel/comp, for the .38S finally arrived from Briley, so I have quite a bit of fitting to do.

So, out comes the files, the stones and the sanding sticks. Slow working it this way and I'm still leary of getting it out of square but the barrel hood is fitted and and now just adjusting the lugs to center the firing pin hole a little better. Also waiting on the lug cutting tool from brownells but it should be here in a few days.

Meanwhile, been shooting the .45 in both configurations and it's almost as good as sex. (at my age I'll take all of that feeling I can get) Still a few minor adjustments to make but very pleased with how it turned out. Working up some competition loads based on Sierra's 185gr JHP SportsMaster bullets. They should work well for defense too.