Gunslinger Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 ....for a Kimber 1911 SS. I already have the whole stoning and polishing thing down pretty well, but I've never seen /heard info on how to "tune" the sear spring. I'm setting up a Kimber 1911 for "Single Stack" division, and I only know of one local smith that I would trust, but he is VERY slow (plus has a large back-log), and I need to get this one up and running quickly (ie. within the next week or 2!!). So I don't have the time or money to let him do a full trigger job on her. I'm going to use either an Extreme Engineering hammer/sear/disconnector set, or a Wilson ultralight hammer with a EGW hard sear and an Ed Brown disconnector (I already have all of the above in my parts box, so I can take my choice there). I'm not looking for a particularly super-light trigger for this gun --- something in the 2 to 3lb range would probably be ideal. Is there a drop-in sear spring that will do this (I'll be using either a 19 lb or a 17 lb MS), or for that matter is there an entire drop-in set that will accomplish this in a Kimber????? Any and all advice / info will be GREATLY appreciated!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ima45dv8 Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 This may help some: >>Article by Bob at Brazos Custom<< Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mistral404 Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 Try Brownells Website. There is an excellent article! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ima45dv8 Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 Try Brownells Website. There is an excellent article! This one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
00bullitt Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 Where in GA are you? Do you have a trigger pull gauge. If not......you need one to adjust the legs of the sear and disconnector spring. I could meet you and show you if its not far. 2-3 pounds safe is difficult on a .45 without proper knowledge. Assuming it is a .45 Kimber. Any trigger less than 3 pounds starts to require finesse to accomplish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Singlestack Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 Check out Gunslinger. Only took him 5 years to make a post. Just kidding Gunslinger. Glad you finally came out of the closet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunslinger Posted May 8, 2007 Author Share Posted May 8, 2007 (edited) Check out Gunslinger. Only took him 5 years to make a post. Just kidding Gunslinger. Glad you finally came out of the closet. Alright John, I'll have to get Debbie to hurt ya!!!! Yeah, I generally just "lurk" for info and tips here --- none of which improved my horrible performance at Area 6 last weekend !!! Oh well. I'll fall back, regroup, and try it again at the GA State match (But this time in limited instead of production, unless I can get the Kimber "right" before then in which case I may switch to Single Stack). Thanks Mark!!! That Brownell's article tells me EXACTLY what I was wanting to know Edited May 8, 2007 by Gunslinger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bountyhunter Posted May 9, 2007 Share Posted May 9, 2007 (edited) You want the total pull force of the leaf that returns the trigger (disconnector) to be roughly equal to the force of the leaf that returns the sear itself (as measured at the trigger). If those are around 1.5# EACH, you should get a total trigger pull of about 3.5 - 4# which should be safe even for a mass produced gun like a Kimber. (YMMV, no guarantees) You can measure the force of trigger take up to just before it starts to move the sear to get the first value, then continue the pull far enough to rotate the sear and measure the total pull weight (the second leaf's value is the difference). Hold the hammer all the way back as you do this, you don't want to measure trigger pull weight caused by deflecting the hammer with the sear. You do need a pull gauge to do this. Edited May 9, 2007 by bountyhunter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunslinger Posted May 10, 2007 Author Share Posted May 10, 2007 Well, I just completed my first full 1911 trigger job --- and I'm EXTREMELY happy with the results. I chose to just use the factory Kimber hammer, sear, and disconnector but I did install an ISMI 17 lb MS and I tuned the sear spring per Brownell's instructions. I also stoned and polished the engagement surfaces of the factory parts. I ended up with a very crisp 2.8 lb trigger with little take-up and no discernible over-travel. I ran all of the usual safety checks and it easily passed them all!!! I also went ahead and fitted an Ed Brown maxiwell and an Ed Brown "memory pad" beavertail, and a set of Swenson ambi safeties(and beveled/blended everything where there are no noticable seams and mirror-polished the interior of the magwell and the guns grip[inside]). Now I'll take her to the range tomorrow and give her a REAL test --- assuming that I can get this damned new Brazo's fiber optic front sight drifted in! I thought I'd never get the factory sight out of the dovetail, and I had to quit installing / beating on the new one because it's a little past 1:00 am and my daughter was getting quite ticked off at me hammering in the basement Many thanks to ya'll for steering me in the right direction on the sear spring issue!!! I did exactly what the Brownell's article said and I got the results that they said I would --- now THAT doesn't happen too often these days!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ima45dv8 Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 I've used this article from Brazos to good effect when installing a new front sight. Worth a look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunslinger Posted May 13, 2007 Author Share Posted May 13, 2007 (edited) Good article Mark! I printed that one to keep on file for future reference. I ended up stopping by David's Gun Room on Friday and getting Rusty to take care of it. I took my newest toy out shooting on Saturday and ran 300 rounds through it with absolutely no problems. I'm EXTREMELY happy with it since it's my first time making significant modifications/upgrades to a 1911 (I just paid Rusty in the past if it was anything more than blending a magwell or installing "drop-in" parts) and it's working so well. Plus, it looks damned good if I do say so myself (almost a single stack twin of my P-16 that Rusty built for me back in '97) Now if I can just find easy access to some machining equipment....... Edited May 13, 2007 by Gunslinger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Singlestack Posted May 13, 2007 Share Posted May 13, 2007 I been trying like hell to figure out who you are GS. Thanks for updating your profile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunslinger Posted May 13, 2007 Author Share Posted May 13, 2007 Sorry about that John! I didn't realize that I hadn't put my real name anywhere until a few days ago, when I finally added it. BTW: Do ya'll know if the GA State match has filled up yet? Boris told me he thought that they were about full and were not going to accept any more entries. I just wanted to check for a shootin'buddy who is habitually late in turning in his entry forms and asked me about it the other day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Singlestack Posted May 14, 2007 Share Posted May 14, 2007 I wanna remember RK saying Saturday that they are not full yet. Here is the thread about the match: http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=43635 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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