zhunter Posted February 27, 2005 Share Posted February 27, 2005 OK, I have an STI Edge in .40 I am interested in finding out how difficult it is to build one myself? I would thinnk that the toughest part is fitting the frame and slide together. The whole "lapping" process scares me a bit. What is it like to build your own? More just inquiring than anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikW Posted February 27, 2005 Share Posted February 27, 2005 Jerry Kuhnhausen's 1911 book convinced me I should have a professional gunsmith build my guns. Lapping, no big deal. Barrel fitting and timing, big deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Neill Posted February 27, 2005 Share Posted February 27, 2005 AGI has a video on building a Limited gun. That might show you whether or not you want to tackle such a project. Guy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Orr Posted February 27, 2005 Share Posted February 27, 2005 When you can buy a factory gun made with state of the art, up to date, expensive equipment and STILL need to send it to a pro gunsmith for tuning - make me believe that building one (a race gun) should be left to those with know how. I have gotten guns back from guys who call themselves professional gunsmiths with loose slides and out of time barrel lockups. $1,200.00 worth of parts and a poor finished product is hard to swallow! Anyone can assemble parts - a craftsman can make a nice gun that runs - there are several guys on this forum that transcend craftsman and make gun building an art form. IMHO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted February 27, 2005 Share Posted February 27, 2005 you can do it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhunter Posted February 27, 2005 Author Share Posted February 27, 2005 OK, so I am not "qualified"! But it would be nice to be able to compete with a gun that I built!!!!! Kind of like tying flies for Flyfishing!!! Gawd, I remember those first flies I tied now!!! Man were they fugly! Maybe I better not build my own gun!!! But I do like the idea of it!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j1b Posted February 27, 2005 Share Posted February 27, 2005 You can do it. As was pointed out - the things that seem the most challenging are probably not. Fitting slide to frame is time consuming but relatively easy. The barrel fitting is probably the toughest piece. Getting the feet right. This is particularly true if the slide release hole isn't to spec. Then you get into link sizes and screwing around with stuff that gets really tough. If you go with a ramped barrel it is a little tougher. Trigger job is relatively easy. If you want it to last then you'll need to dedicate a lot of time understanding the leaf springs and seeing how YOUR sear is engaging YOUR hammer etc. etc. Not really tough, but patience is required. Same with checkering. The last piece that I couldn't do was the machining for a new sight or something like that. All in all it is something that is very doable. I built a .45 a couple of years ago and am very proud of it. It's not the gun I compete with, but it's still pretty fun to own and shoot. Patience is the key though. One good thing is you will learn a TON about how the guns work and what is required of them. You'll learn all the shortcuts you hear at the range then you'll learn when building how to do it right. I'd pick a stock .45 to cut your teeth on then go to your Edge when you've got it all figured out. JB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benny hill Posted February 28, 2005 Share Posted February 28, 2005 Myself & a couple of other smith's offer a class where you build your gun in our shop on our parts under our supervision. check on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loves2Shoot Posted February 28, 2005 Share Posted February 28, 2005 Myself & a couple of other smith's offer a class where you build your gun in our shop on our parts under our supervision. check on it. Listen to Benny, unless you have piles of money to burn. If you do, please send me some Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBF Posted February 28, 2005 Share Posted February 28, 2005 A class with Mr. Benny Hill would be money well spent . I just got a L10 gun up and running after about 6 months of part time work. It runs and shoots. It was much more difficult than I had anticipated. I now have even more respect for the truly talented smiths who can turn out state of the art 1911's on a daily basis. Kuhnhausen's books are not the absolute last word on everything 1911, but are well worth reading. IMHO some of the instruction is more complicated than it really needs to be. Travis F. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhunter Posted February 28, 2005 Author Share Posted February 28, 2005 Benny is totally correct I am SURE of that!!! But, Benny is in Texas, I am in Florida! I like the idea, but am not gonna undertake the task! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKturb091 Posted February 28, 2005 Share Posted February 28, 2005 Zhunter Don't be too you could do it if you tried.....Many many times in my life people have told me I was crazy to trying something and for the most part I am, but this is one thing with sometime and effort you can do....I have built about 7 pistols now and they all run great from L10, Limited and Open class. As many have stated the timing and barrel fitment are the hardest, but if you take your time and get the right tools you can and will make it happen....Now it took me about 8 months to get the first one right but now that I have 6 more under my belt I have that down to about 1 month. The only thing that saves me is my father owns a machine shop and I grew up making billet parts, polishing and porting heads for race engines. So when it comes to machining somthing it is no problem. Even if you don't know any machinest get to know one in you area it will help if you need something cut or milled......Just remeber BEN FRANKLIN,and WRIGHT BROTHERS, were all told they were crazy and look what they did..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tightloop Posted February 28, 2005 Share Posted February 28, 2005 Well, I have to say that the guys who turn out crap to customers and have a sign over the door which says pistolsmith, are the ones who THOUGHT they could learn how to do it, or learn to do it..If you want to FUBAR your own stuff, more power to you...if you want to do it for others....forget it... NOT everyone can learn to do it correctly or WANTS to learn to do it...I am perfectly happy supporting a real pistolsmith... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKturb091 Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 So tightloop what would you consider a REAL pistolsmith?.........Didn't everyone have to start somewhere? Do you consider a real pistolsmith one that makes his living at it! I never claim or am making a claim to be a pistolsmith I just simply hate the fact that soooooooo many people are scared to try something because it seem to be too hard or out of there relm of experience. Just remeber this if you never live life and try you will live and die in the same town you were born and no one will remeber you past your funeral!!! Later Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tightloop Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 Well, I won't say that pistolsmithing is as hard as being a cardiac surgeon, but there are those that can do it and those that THINK they can do it... A good pistolsmith, can deliver the work, on time, correctly, for a right price and make it look easy...if any cosmetic work is involved it looks great...My smith can make a full profile comp from a chunk of 4350stress relieved and make it look like it grew off the end of the slide, any jake leg smith can "fit" an ambi safety, or do a 2 lb trigger job with a jig that will last 500 rounds before going full auto.....the hand work is what differentiates the those that can and those that think they can... My smith can make a BoMar cut and fit a BMCS and when finished you see NO light under the sight, and I have never had one break or come loose.... I said it before and I will say it again....if you want to FUBAR your own stuff learning how to do the work, ROCK ON....I just prefer to let someone do it who really knows how...kind of akin to cutting your own lawn or having a professional lawn crew come and do the same thing you do in 4 hours, in 25 minutes, and have it look better...but then, you would not have learned how to push that mower, would you... Do whatever floats your boat....just my opinion.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j1b Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 Tightloop's point is valid. I embarked on my project gun to learn more and to do it. It was great and I learned a lot in the process. Despite having a reasonably accurate gun that seems to work flawlessly thus far I am certain I still screwed some stuff up. Experience is what helps with that. In the end - I would do it again. It took me months to do. In another post it took Benny and Dave 45 minutes to build a gun. It took me probably a couple of hours to do my trigger - to be certain I did it precisely the way I wanted it. It took me hours to do the slide to frame and I can't tell you how long it took on the barrel. I was as deliberate as I could possibly be. Another key point is that I had won the gun - it was a stock .45. I didn't want to sell it, so I decided to build it. If I hadn't owned it and if I hadn't had all these misc. parts lying around the house I probably wouldn't have embarked on the journey. JB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old shooter Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 I don't know if it is me, or not, but I say do it. The most that can happen is you screw it up and are out some bucks. You will get over it. At one time or another, I built my own banjo, boat, rebuilt several motors and rear ends, and finally built my own house. The first gun that I shot in competition was totally built by me. Looked ok, but shot great. I really enjoyed doing everything, and got a lot of experience. And oh, I trashed my share of things, but it is water under the bridge now. You will be surprised how well things turn out the second time. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Singlestack Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 I did it. I would do it again. I built a beautiful Limited SVI that I would put against anybodies. It took a long time. I bet I have near 100 hours in it. It now has 2 seasons on it and it is a 100% gun. I get a lot of satisfaction knowing I did it myself with the help of the great folks on BE.com. If you do some research back about 3 years ago you can probably find some of the threads I started with my quest for knowledge. I think some of them were lost when the forum crashed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjanglin Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 Ill tell you what =you get the AGI vedio by Gene Shuey and he will show you what to do and if you get terrible stumpped Ill talk you through it on the phone and if that doesnt work and you try your darnest Ill finish what is left for you for just the pleasure of trying to help someone out who wants to learn. Jim Anglin Sailors Custom Pistols jjanglin@msn.com 402 451 0797 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhunter Posted March 3, 2005 Author Share Posted March 3, 2005 Ill tell you what =you get the AGI vedio by Gene Shuey and he willshow you what to do and if you get terrible stumpped Ill talk you through it on the phone and if that doesnt work and you try your darnest Ill finish what is left for you for just the pleasure of trying to help someone out who wants to learn. Jim Anglin Sailors Custom Pistols jjanglin@msn.com 402 451 0797 Jim That is one hell of an offer!!!!! OK, tho I am not sure that I want to undertake this project, I will get the video, it should be VERY educational anyway!!! I have a couple of questions: Do fitted Frame / Slides come with cuts for the sights? What is this business about "timing" of barrels? OK, now that you can see that I have no idea what I am doing, isn't that what makes it FUN, what kind of tools are necessary to take on this "job / challange"? Jay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tightloop Posted March 3, 2005 Share Posted March 3, 2005 Some slides come with BoMar cuts like Caspian, others do not.. Start out with some good needle files, a few flat bastards of various cuts, a bench block and a padded vice and you can get started.....but have a Brownells catalogue next to the phone to order the other tools you will want after you see how hard it is with just hand tools... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sixgun Posted March 3, 2005 Share Posted March 3, 2005 Jay, You could also order a Shortblock Kit from STI. That includes a fitted slide, frame and barrel. Basically all the hard, expensive to screw up components are professionally fitted. From there you add the fire control parts, safeties, and such. I've had real good luck with the Shortblocks, and one of these days will actually build my own from start to finish. Just something else to consider. Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark dye Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 As a guy who makes his living working on guns (though I don't work on 1911's much anymore), I'd encourage you to give it a try. Everybody has to build a "first gun". Gunsmithing is not brain surgery, but it does require a fair amount of specific knowledge and skill. Taking a class from someone who knows what they are doing would be a great way to start. That would shorten your learning curve tremendously. Check out the NRA short courses offered at several gunsmithing schools (like Montgomery Community College in NC). They usually offer a weekend length 1911 course taught by some experienced and well known guys. My best advice is not to be afraid to screw up a few parts while learning. No matter what they tell you, there is not a gunsmith out there who hasn't ruined some perfectly good parts along the way. The key is to bite the bullet and admit that you screwed up! Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjanglin Posted March 5, 2005 Share Posted March 5, 2005 The deal with timing is a big one and on Wil Schuemann's web page he has a break down of the process you should read it. You can get a short block if you want Id just get a slide and frame fit with the frame cut for a clark Para barrel and listen to Gene Shuey's video how to build a limited gun its a two video course.It'll get you going and if my memory serves me right he mentions tools. Id watch it before you do anything and just get the idea. Id have a dremel with some medium and fine cratex rods and cloth or fiber polish pads for the dremel Brownells sell these items. Save sided files and some arkansas and norton stones also in Brownells a couple of paint sterers so you can wrap 400 and 600 emery cloth around them to polish the inside of your mags. When you orer your slide and frame you can get the sight cuts you want just take your time ask questions there is not a dumm question so dont be afraid to ask. The only modeive i HAVE TO THIS OFFER is to see a smile on your face or hear of it when you start shooting YOUR gun and it works!! Jim Anglin jjanglin@msn.com 402 451 0797 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stumpnav Posted March 18, 2005 Share Posted March 18, 2005 As the Nike ad says...Just do it! I've got one in the works now. I picked up a Caspian frame about six years ago and it just sat in a shoebox unitl three months ago. I finally decided to get of my posterior and do something. I checked the specials page at Caspian and found a good deal on a slide (100 bucks American). C&S has a list of tools you need if you take their class and it is a good place to start your shopping list for Brownells. I've been using a couple of the Patrick Sweeney books to guide me. Time and patience are the keys. Fully comprehend what you are doing before you put file to metal and you should avoid any major losses of parts. I've go my slide fitted to the frame and just waiting on a barrel to get in before moving on to the next step. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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