Fo0 Posted October 13, 2018 Share Posted October 13, 2018 I just saw a commercial on TV - Les Baer saying their hand fit 1911 are fitted to tolerances no cnc machine can match. Your thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yigal Posted October 13, 2018 Share Posted October 13, 2018 hand fit by lapping. best results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcc7x7 Posted October 13, 2018 Share Posted October 13, 2018 Mill it so slide goes on frame then lap Hand fit barrel Hand fit ignition group Baer does a nice job in general Lots of good custom builders make them smoother and nicer imo i.e Bedell, Akai, etc etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uewpew Posted October 13, 2018 Share Posted October 13, 2018 3 hours ago, Fo0 said: I just saw a commercial on TV - Les Baer saying their hand fit 1911 are fitted to tolerances no cnc machine can match. Your thoughts? That statement is a stretch IMO... the right machine, tooling, process, operator, & PM schedule can hold insanely tight tolerances... but is probably cost prohibitive for gun building. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwc Posted October 13, 2018 Share Posted October 13, 2018 I will say that the Les Baer Premier II .45 I shot NRA Bullseye with years ago was the most accurate 1911 I ever owned. My best group ever from a ransom rest was 1.1 inches at 50 yards using the Marines load with a Nosler 185 grain bullet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzt Posted October 13, 2018 Share Posted October 13, 2018 I completely hand fit the slide and receiver on the first 1911 I built. Same with the barrel. It shoots the lights out. I am currently working on 1911 and a 2011 builds. The manufacturer I bought the receivers from brags about the quality of their machining, so I decided to give machine fitting a try. Since I have a full custom Gans Open gun that also had a machine fitted frame and slide, I knew it was possible. What I got were slides that would go on the respective frames with an interference fit. They would go on and slide back and forth, but too tightly to actually operate. All that was required was burnishing them by coating with motor oil and running the slide back and forth a lot of times. A lot of that was accomplished during barrel fitting. Based on these findings, I will never, ever fit a slide by hand again. It simply is not worth the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loves2Shoot Posted October 13, 2018 Share Posted October 13, 2018 Marketing drivel. They make CNC grinders that are more accurate than lapping. They do make a good guns though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dranoel Posted October 13, 2018 Share Posted October 13, 2018 Machine to interference fit, finish by hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pskys2 Posted October 13, 2018 Share Posted October 13, 2018 Realistically most of us can't use the difference between a good cnc mill job and a hand fit job. But a hand fit will last longer, again probably would never really notice it, and cost more. Les does do fine work, and has been for a loooong time. It all depends on what you need too. Doug Koenig tests barrels in a fixture so he can find the most accurate barrel for his Bianchi Guns. He "can" use the difference too! And then Pride of Ownership means something too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
assaulter Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 The claim just seems silly on its face. I've done both,but I prefer a machine fit more just to save time and maintain parallel. Still end up with a great result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manolis Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 It's difficult to achieve the tight tolerances of a good machine with hand fitting. The only problem is to put the subject on machine correctly and make good counts every time that you move it . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mach1soldier Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 There is no way to achieve what a machine can. Brandon bunker is working to .0001 on barrel and slide fitting. I have done it both ways and it really doesn’t matter. Either way can be done very well. Few people can grind, file, or sand perfectly square. Most mills and operators can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ltdmstr Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 2 hours ago, mach1soldier said: There is no way to achieve what a machine can. Brandon bunker is working to .0001 on barrel and slide fitting. I have done it both ways and it really doesn’t matter. Either way can be done very well. Few people can grind, file, or sand perfectly square. Most mills and operators can. Not exactly true. Hand lapping is as accurate as you can get, since you're abrasive fitting two pieces together. If you mean mechanical processes, that's correct. And of those, grinding is the most accurate. For what we do, I'd say the best approach is to grind then hand lap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mach1soldier Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 For the slide and frame, sure you can lap it. For a barrel, don’t see that being ideal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ltdmstr Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 I also lap the barrel to the bushing. Basically machine to a tight fit, then cycle with lapping compound to finish. Maybe not necessary, but it's the best way to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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