Any custom 1911 gunsmiths in CA?

[Sam]

Are there any custom 1911 gunsmiths in CA that do full house custom jobs? I've decided I need to take the plunge with a 1911 with all the bells and whistles.

thanks,
Sam

[Overkill]

I know Randy Lee at Apex Tactical does really nice work. He's a revolver specialist, but does 1911s as well.

Why do you want to keep the pistol here in Cali? There are many excellent 1911 smiths, most of whom reside outside of CA.

[5hundo]

I've built two and I'm no "gunsmith", by any stretch of the imagination.

There are only a few little things that you will need a gunsmith for and that's only if you're building one up from the frame. The plunger tube needs to be staked and the front sight will need to be mounted but other than that, why not DIY..?

[leelaw]

I'm not a smith by trade or practice and I've built up two from pieces (one required rail milling). It's not terribly hard to get it done right, you just need to read up about it a bit (and have patience - it takes a while to do the fine fitting!).

If you want to pay someone else to get it done however you want, then why limit yourself to California? Get a good base gun and send it off to Harrison Custom. He's done custom work for me on my second build (intricate machine work that I didn't want to do) and the work is outstanding.

[Sam]

well I didn't necessarily want to limit it to CA, but would have given the nod to a CA smith if all other things were equal. As opposed to doing it myself, I want a nicely crafted pistol and unfortunately I believe I'd end up using duct tape and super glue...

How long did Harrison take to do the work? I'd imagine the wait is at least half a year, if not longer. On the other hand, the blended magwell on the peerless package is awesome.

[Overkill]

The amount of time your pistol will be at one of the top smiths can be quite long, especially if it is a complete custom. One way around this would be to have the pistol worked on by EGW (Evolution Gun Works). They do fantastic work. You fill out a work order form and send a small deposit. You keep your gun until it's actually time for them to work on your gun. When it's time, they send you notice, and you ship your gun to them. The turn-around from that point is generally only a matter of weeks, not months or years like some of the other smiths.

If you are going to have your gun worked on though, it usually comes down to what artist you like the most. Each smith has their specialty, and you can see their signatures born in each pistol they work on.

From my experience with John Harrison, he is an excellent craftsman and a gentleman to boot.

[Sam]

can you give me a rough primer for the differences between the top pistolsmiths? I was looking at Ron Phillips, Cylinder and Slide, Harrison, Heirloom, etc and while I noticed that they use slightly different controls they are all beautiful.

[leelaw]

well I didn't necessarily want to limit it to CA, but would have given the nod to a CA smith if all other things were equal. As opposed to doing it myself, I want a nicely crafted pistol and unfortunately I believe I'd end up using duct tape and super glue...

How long did Harrison take to do the work? I'd imagine the wait is at least half a year, if not longer. On the other hand, the blended magwell on the peerless package is awesome.

I had Harrison blend and bevel the rear of the slide, scallop the frontstrap, scallop the mainspring housing, and do some minor miscallaneous blending and beadblasting. You can see pictures of his work in this thread: http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/s...ad.php?t=88347

I shipped it to him on Wednesday, he received it Thursday, I had it back in my hands the following Monday. I was expecting it to take weeks.

For his full custom guns, I expect it to take months, minimum, but maybe business is running a little slow and he doesn't have quite as large a queue as usual.

[Sam]

sorry for the rapid fire questions, the rain kept me from playing tennis. I have a couple of Wilson pistols and the after sales service is outstanding. If anything is wrong with them, they pick up the shipping and fix it quickly. How's customer service for these smaller shops?

[SVRider]

Jim Hoag in Canoga Park....old school 1911 smith....

[leelaw]

sorry for the rapid fire questions, the rain kept me from playing tennis. I have a couple of Wilson pistols and the after sales service is outstanding. If anything is wrong with them, they pick up the shipping and fix it quickly. How's customer service for these smaller shops?

The people I worked with:

Caspian: Good service, quick to fix an error, and picked up shipping both ways (warranty issue)

Harrison Custom: Excellent communication and service. Work is top-notch, and he gives good follow-up to make sure you're pleased. Very fast turnaround, too.

Coal Creek Armory: Good work, turnaround estimate is a little on the low side. Quickly fixed an error (sent back one incorrect part, and forgot to send back the plunger assembly).

Robar: Good work on the barrel and internals. Noth much else to say, though. Turnaround seemed average.

[Riodog]

Just to add to the mix.
Terry Tussey, formerly of Orange Ca., now in Carson City, Nev
Irv Stone, Owner of Barsto Barrels, 29 Palms Ca.
Highly recommend either gent and have several examples of their work.
Rio

[Overkill]

John Harrison recently worked on my Colt Lightweight Commander pistol. The work he did was minimal, but he certainly didn't treat me that way. His correspondence via email was very quick (same day generally), and I received multiple phone calls throughout the process updating me on the process of the work. The work was very well done, which I expected. However, customer service is something that makes longtime customers. John's service and communication are top-notch, and he will certainly be getting my projects. It certainly doesn't hurt that he's an absolute artist.

[CTallerico]

http://www.jardinescustom.com/

[JiminCA]

In addition to Randy Lee and Jim Hoag, there's King's in Glendale, Alan Tanaka, and a few others who escape me right now.

I'd recommend Jim Garthwaite in PA who is a real master and will get it done in a reasonable amount of time.

There are lots of national "name" smiths who can do a wonderful job but you need a lot of time and patience and a couple of bags of money.