Rebuilding trubor over the winter

[Jfitz427]

Hello all,

 

i recently bought a used trubor. Not quite a full trubor, but it’s a trubor slide, barrel etc built on a PT frame. sti plastic grip, aftec extractor. Don’t know what the trigger is. But I’m gonna rebuild it over the winter.  It’s currently a 38, and I’m rebarreling it in 9mm. I already have the barrel and I’m gonna have my smith fit it soon. So over the winter I’d like to install a new fire control group, extractor, grip, magwell, refinish the slide and maybe get some milling done. I’d like to get some opinions on what I’m thinking about doing. 

 

. I think the trigger is pretty worn out. It has a lot of play up and down and side to side. I swear the other day I’d fire a round, and go to shoot another quickly and it wouldn’t fire, there would be like a delay, and then it would finally go. I’m thinking about installing one of Brazos trigger groups. It’s supposed to be basically drop in. Or should I buy the EGW? From what I’ve read, the Brazos parts are high quality. And I want to put in a new SV long flat trigger. How difficult is it to modify one of these for an sti gun?  And right now it seems like it has a very light main spring. The hammer doesn’t drop with much authority. Fed primers go off 100%, but Winchester do not, and I haven’t tried any other brands. So I’m going to be changing that, but to what pound spring? I already ordered an extended firing pin, so hopefully that will help me get reliable ignition with other primers. 

 

Then theres a problem with the ambi safety. I’m a lefty so I need the ambi saftey. And right now the right side that I use is a bit loose. And it’s not the most positive safety either. It doesn’t have that strong click when i flip it off.  Sometimes when I draw and swipe it off it doesn’t totally disengage. I looked into how this is happening and the bottom part of the safety on the left side is hitting my hands not allowing it to fully disengage. I don’t have this problem with my limited gun, so it’s not my big hands. The safety is much more positive on my limited gun. If I grab the gun like a righty and flip it on the left side, it engages and disengages perfectly so this seems to be due to the loose right/ambi side. So do I need a new safety? Or can this be tightened up? Or is it just worn out? I’ll probably have to have the gun smith do this. 

 

And id like to get a new grip. Maybe a cheely, but even that’s pretty expensive. I have really big hands, and how the gun is currently with an sti grip and Dawson ice magwell my hands just don’t fit. It’s to small. What’s a good setup for someone with big hands? I was thinking maybe the DVC grip, it’s a bit nicer looking then the regular sti grip, but not nearly as expensive as one of the metal grips. I’m not sure if I need a metal grip. Coming over from glocks, the sti with plastic grip but metal frame feels plently heavy. I think going much heavier would slow down my transitions. When I pickup my Glock it feels so light, and I can transition much faster. But I’m still conserving a metal grip. Any suggestions for a grip and magwell setup for someone with big hands would be greatly appreciated. Right now my hand hits the magwell and I don’t get a good grip. 

 

Then at the end id like to send the slide out for some milling, maybe some windows cut into it, then refinished. The only place I’ve seen so far is Ganns, anyone have any suggestions on this? Might get the barrel Tin coated after it gets fitted. 

 

Last question, how much do Popple holes help with keeping the gun flat? I’m considering having a few drilled in when I have the barrel fitted. 

 

If anyone can answer my questions, or give any suggestions on what parts to use it or anything else I should do, it would be greatly appreciate. I’ll include some pics of the gun as is. 

 

And sorry for the long post, I can type forever. 

Edited November 27, 2018 by Jfitz427
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[echotango]

I would get all the parts you want(new trigger/hammer/sear/safety), box them up and send it to Gans.  He built my last 2 guns and I have been very happy with his service.  He has a crazy fast turnaround.  also shoot with a few others who have his guns with great success. 

Dawson big hands works well.  If you go to a evo grip, I would recommend the limcat v2 magwell.  

[Jfitz427]

1 hour ago, echotango said:

I would get all the parts you want(new trigger/hammer/sear/safety), box them up and send it to Gans.  He built my last 2 guns and I have been very happy with his service.  He has a crazy fast turnaround.  also shoot with a few others who have his guns with great success. 

Dawson big hands works well.  If you go to a evo grip, I would recommend the limcat v2 magwell.  

That’s not a bad idea. I’ll have to get a quote from him on what it will cost. Installing the newtrigger group, safety, fitting the barrel and chambering it, installing the new grip, tuning the gun for max reliability, and then doing some slide milling and refinishing. Seems like it could be costly. I’m new to 2011s, only had them for about 2 months so I was and still am largely clueless about working on them. But I’m learning. I just finished learning how to work on extractors. Next I wanted to learn the  trigger groups. And Brazos being mostly drop in aside from fitting it to the safety seemed like a good way to get my feet wet, without doing anything to involved. I figured I could install the trigger group, and grip, and extractor,  And let the smith do barrel, and safety and slide billing and refinish . But will see. But I like working on guns, so I’d like to start learning 1911/2011s. 

Edited November 27, 2018 by Jfitz427

[echotango]

He has a price list on his site. 

[zzt]

As to trigger groups, whether it drop in or not depends on how accurately the hole were drilled in your frame.  Since you have a PT frame, they are probably perfect.  The last two EGW trigger kits I put in required absolutely no adjustment or fitting.  The only thing I did was put a mirror finish of the sear and hooks.

 

If you go with a metal grip, get a PT Evo.  The frame is milled to fit it perfectly.  It is also designed to take an SVI trigger, so again, little or no work.The Cheely e2 will require work.

 

I am a big fan of EGW ambi-safeties.  Their design is unique.  The paddles are very wide, but you can trim them if you want.

 

I use SS firing pins with ISMI regular strength FP springs and a 19 lb ISMI mainspring.  I want to be sure i can light off any primer.  Besides, the notion that a 15 lb mainspring contributes to a better, lighter trigger weight is just plain, made up BS.  With the setup I just mentioned, I got a perfectly reliable 1.5 lb trigger pull.  I did shoot it that way for a while, but I decided to go back to 2 lb 2 oz.  I was afraid of an AD, and my other guns are at that weight.

 

Have the smith who does the milling put in the poppels when he does the slide.  Gans will give you a quote, but he has a representative price list on his site.  http://gansguns.com/PriceListlRevhtml.html 

 

Poppels definitely help the gun shoot flatter.  Whether you need them or not depends on your comp and your load.  I'm assuming you have a Trubore T2 comp, so my guess is you will need poppels to flatten the gun out.  I have very similar comps on both my Open guns, and the one with two 3/16" poppels shoots noticeably flatter.

[Jfitz427]

Wow, I was skeptical about having someone do most of the work because the quote I got from another builder (not a well known builder) was so expensive. They wanted 325 bucks to fit the barrel, then another 50 to chamber it. I only paid 300 for the barrel lol, Gans has it as 150 on that list. So his prices are pretty reasonable. This other place wanted 400 bucks to “tune” the gun, aside from fitting the barrel.  I’ll probebly collect all the parts then send it to gans to rebuild. 

 

 And it does make sense to get the PT evo grip since I have a PT frame, and then being able to use SVI triggers easier and their mags is a plus. How are the new SV mags? I’ve had great luck with my gen 2 sti and mbx, but I’d like to try SV. 

 

As for the  trigger group. The EGW looks solid, and gets great reviews. But so does Brazos. From what I read  Brazos’s basically just picked each of the best parts from different companies, preps them and sells them as a package? The EGW is a bit cheaper, but not much. 

 

As for the barrel and poppel holes, ya I’ll have the smith do it. I bought a barrel from a member here who cuts his comp design into the blanks. It’s only 3 vertical ports, nothing on the sides. He says the comp shoots flatter then anything, but man, my Glock was an 11 port. And even the 38 trubor I have is like what 3-4 plus the sides in the front. I guess having just 3 vertical disbursing all that gas up would lend to keeping the gun and muzzle down, but It seems like it would be harsh . But I was thinking about drilling some holes on each side in each chamber. My father in law had a CNC machine I can do it on. I feel comfortable doing that myself. But no slide work or barrel holes. 

 

So im gonna do the following 

Brazos or EGW trigger group 

SV long flat trigger 

PT Evo grip 

fit and chamber new  trubor barrel in 9 an

possibly have a few poppel holes put in the barrel

new ambi saftey

Then maybe the limcat v2 magwell, or something that works for people with big hands..

 

And then last, get the barrel and gun refinished. Does gans do finish work also? 

[Hi-Power Jack]

4 minutes ago, Jfitz427 said:

 Does gans do finish work also? 

 

Not according to his website .   He doesn't want to get involved with finishing guns and

resultant dissatisfaction.     

[Jfitz427]

4 hours ago, Hi-Power Jack said:

 

Not according to his website .   He doesn't want to get involved with finishing guns and

resultant dissatisfaction.     

I have a guy locally who only does slide work, but I’ve only seen him do glocks, m&ps etc. he did my Glock, and he did a good job. Cut 3 windows on each side, and shaved down around them, as well as cut my slide for my dot. Then he cerakoted it after in tactical gray. I could have him do it. But I feel like slide lightening should be done by someone who knows 1911s, and where and where not to take material off in order to preserve the structural integrity. These slides have to hold Up to some pretty violent cycling. And I’m not sure I want it  cerakoted after either. I could have gans do the slide work, but who could refinish it? Any suggestions? 

[191138sc]

On 11/27/2018 at 10:39 AM, echotango said:

I would get all the parts you want(new trigger/hammer/sear/safety), box them up and send it to Gans.  He built my last 2 guns and I have been very happy with his service

+1 on Gans. Within the past  month he finished my 1911 build. Ran 100% from day one.

 

[B_Seehawer]

I know there’s a whole other thread on the guy but Don at Venom Customs is super fast and his stuff runs 100%.

[Jfitz427]

Started the make over today. Bought the Brazos trigger group, so new hammer, strut, sear, sear spring,  and mainspring. The kit dropped right in, didn’t have to do any fitting even of the safety. I haven’t installed the new mainspring yet though. But with the existing one the trigger is 1.5lbs. It’s really nice, super crisp break. I think the kit comes with a 17lb main spring. I don’t know what the one in the gun  is now, but it seems light, maybe 15lbs. So I’m guessing the pull is going to go up a bit when I install the new one. Hopefully not much though. I’m hoping with the installation of the new main spring I’ll be able to reliably ignite primers other then federal. 

 

I also bought an extended firing pin. And when I went to install it I found out the  gun already had the exact one I bought. Dawson extended length. So I just dropped it in my sps limited gun. Kinda hard to believe it will only reliably ignite federal primers even with the extended firing pin. Is that normal?

 

i also have a Dawson big hands magwell coming, as well as a tooless guide. Good buy recoil master. I hate having to use paper clips to take the gun apart. 

 

Next i I think I’m going to buy a DVC large grip. I just don’t have the money for a PT. And I’m not even sure I want to make the gun even heavier. 

 

Next week im going to call Gans. Talk about installing the 9mm barrel, possibly putting a few holes in it and lighten up the slide. 

 

The last part of this will be getting the gun refinished. Thinking about one of those ion bonded finishes or something. And I’d like to get the barrel Tin coated in gold. Should look nice when it’s all done. 

[zzt]

A SS firing pin and a 19 lb mainspring will fire any primer.  You can still get a perfect 1.5 lb pull.

[Jfitz427]

7 hours ago, zzt said:

A SS firing pin and a 19 lb mainspring will fire any primer.  You can still get a perfect 1.5 lb pull.

Why a SS? Compared to the Dawson extended one I have? Definitely agree with the heavier mainspring. I’ll have gans tune it up with a heavier main spring, but still keep the trigger at or slightly under 2lbs. 

 

The stock trigger in my sps Pantera is around 2lbs 3ozs, and based off how hard the hammer falls it’s got a heavy  main. spring. It falls with a lot more authority then this gun. And it will reliably ignite any primer I feed it. Id love to just carry over that same setup into this gun. Seems to be a great combo of parts. 

[zzt]

The Dawson is SS.  Ti firing pins require a heavier mainspring for reliable ignition. With SS you could get by with a 17 lb, but I'd rather not chance it.

[Clint U66]

I didn't notice any mention of a slide racker but if you are going to cut and refinish the slide you may wanna consider having one installed while that is being done.

[donno]

One of the best 1911/2011 smiths in the country is right in your home state. Jeff Abernathy at Tommy Guns USA. He is located in Mt Holly, NC. He has touched in some form all my 1911/2011's. You will not be disappointed. 

[dvc4you]

+1 For Jeff Abernathy he did a great job with my open 9mm it just runs....

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Jfitz427]

Ya I’ve thought about tommy guns. He’s about 1.5 hours from me. I’m off work all next week, so I can finally make some phone calls during business hours. So I’m gonna call a few places. I guess whoever seems the most informative and I Guess just gives me the best feeling will get my business. Tommy guns would be ideal though since I wouldn’t have to ship the  gun.

4 hours ago, Clint U66 said:

I didn't notice any mention of a slide racker but if you are going to cut and refinish the slide you may wanna consider having one installed while that is being done.

And yes, a slide racker is a great idea. Didn’t even think of that. 

Edited December 16, 2018 by Jfitz427

[Clint U66]

1 hour ago, Jfitz427 said:

Ya I’ve thought about tommy guns. He’s about 1.5 hours from me. I’m off work all next week, so I can finally make some phone calls during business hours. So I’m gonna call a few places. I guess whoever seems the most informative and I Guess just gives me the best feeling will get my business. Tommy guns would be ideal though since I wouldn’t have to ship the  gun.

And yes, a slide racker is a great idea. Didn’t even think of that. 

Definitely may wanna add a racker!!

 

I think a different grip that is undercut and has smaller or relieved magwell may help with the big hands problem.  Is your limited gun set up similar to the open gun as far as the grip is concerned?  

 

 

[theWacoKid]

On 12/14/2018 at 11:02 PM, Jfitz427 said:

I also bought an extended firing pin. And when I went to install it I found out the  gun already had the exact one I bought. Dawson extended length. So I just dropped it in my sps limited gun. Kinda hard to believe it will only reliably ignite federal primers even with the extended firing pin. Is that normal?

 

No. A 2011 should light off any primer with any weight trigger pull.

[Jfitz427]

12 hours ago, Clint U66 said:

Definitely may wanna add a racker!!

 

I think a different grip that is undercut and has smaller or relieved magwell may help with the big hands problem.  Is your limited gun set up similar to the open gun as far as the grip is concerned?  

 

 

Same plastic grip, but the limited gun is much more comfortable for my big hands because the magwell is shaped differently. It’s also smaller. I’m planning on making them as similar as possible. The sps comes with an intergrated magwell, so it doesn’t take up any spcace on the grip like the other one does. But I also can’t change it which sucks because I would like one with a bigger opening.  So I think what I’m going to do is put the DVC grip on the trubor with the new big hands magwell, then take the old plastic grip from the trubor and put it on the limited gun with the same big hands magwell. Ideally I would put a dvc  grip on the limited gun also and that’s the plan. Just need to wait until after Christmas when I’m not so broke. Then I’d like to put SVI long flat triggers in both guns, as well as new ambi safety’s that are a little larger on the right side for lefty’s. Try and make the two  guns feel as similar as possible. 

[Clint U66]

1 hour ago, Jfitz427 said:

Same plastic grip, but the limited gun is much more comfortable for my big hands because the magwell is shaped differently. It’s also smaller. I’m planning on making them as similar as possible. The sps comes with an intergrated magwell, so it doesn’t take up any spcace on the grip like the other one does. But I also can’t change it which sucks because I would like one with a bigger opening.  So I think what I’m going to do is put the DVC grip on the trubor with the new big hands magwell, then take the old plastic grip from the trubor and put it on the limited gun with the same big hands magwell. Ideally I would put a dvc  grip on the limited gun also and that’s the plan. Just need to wait until after Christmas when I’m not so broke. Then I’d like to put SVI long flat triggers in both guns, as well as new ambi safety’s that are a little larger on the right side for lefty’s. Try and make the two  guns feel as similar as possible. 

Not a bad idea to make the two as similar as possible.  

Take a look at the extra wide infinity safeties.  You can grind/sand and shape them to your liking and the extra wide gives plenty of material to work with.

[Jfitz427]

So I just installed the new main spring that came with the Brazos  trigger  group, which is a 17lb. And the  trigger is still just as nice. It’s coming in on my gauge at just under 1.5lbs. 1lb 6-7ozs. This new spring when compared to the old one I pulled out was dramatically stiffer. The hammer seems to fall with a bit more authority now too. I’m hoping to get reliable ignition of different primers now. If I don’t with a 17 I have no problem going up to a 19. I don’t need a 1.5lb trigger. 2lbs is good with me. So if going up in weight makes it a bit heavier that’s fine with me. Im surprised I didn’t see any change here in pull  weight going to the new stiffer spring ? I’m wondering if maybe the one that was in it was already a 17. But the new one felt much stiffer. Who knows. All in all, this Brazos trigger is great. 

[Jfitz427]

3 minutes ago, Clint U66 said:

Not a bad idea to make the two as similar as possible.  

Take a look at the extra wide infinity safeties.  You can grind/sand and shape them to your liking and the extra wide gives plenty of material to work with.

I’ve actually had my eyes on the infinity safety’s. They’re a bit expensive though. But should last forever. I like how I can get one that’s wider on my side as a lefty. 

[zzt]

J, Infinity safeties do not last forever.  I just had to replace one because it failed a safety check at a match. The SVI thumb safety has a raised pad that you file down to fit.  It may work fine on an SVI gun, but not on my STI frame.  Evidently, only the corner of the pad made contact and it wore from all the use and dry fire.  STIs are not the most precisely made.  If your holes are not in the same place as SVI, you may have the same problem.  I'd recommend the EGW left or ambi.  There is enough meat on them to fit anything.