Checkering and blueing & undercutting the triggerguard

[1911whore]

I can do it myself but am about to aquire a 70 series colt and want to make sure there are NO mistakes. So question #1

1. How is the blueing and machine checkering & undercutting out of the springfield custom shop?
whats the turn around time?

2. are there any GOOD shops that do all 3 jobs really well and what is the turn around time?

[Overkill]

Springfield is a very good custom shop - up there with the best. Their checkering is good. You can also tell them how you want the undercut, and they'll do it for you. I personally don't think that their standard undercut is high enough. I prefer an undercut where the trigger guard runs almost straight back to the frontstrap - almost no radius. Again, Springfield is excellent and they can certainly take care of you. If you go this route, send them a picture with your gun of how you want the undercutting done.

Some other options that I like for checkering/undercutting are Gemini Custom (I think he might have the fastest turn-around time, although Springfield is generally fairly quick) and EGW. Both are top notch. The nice thing about EGW is that you send in a work order for your gun prior to sending them your gun. This holds your place in line. When it's time for your gun to be worked on, they contact you and you send your pistol in. Turn-around time from that point is VERY quick - sometimes on the order of a few weeks for complete custom builds.

[Colt]

Nice aquisition. John Harrison, Don Williams (the ActionWorks) and a number of other smiths (see www.louderthanwords.us) do this stuff very well also. Turnaround time is often the biggest limiting factor, especially for me. However, Jon Harrison also has an on-line order form that sets up your place in line. Additionally, for smaller jobs his turnaround time can be quite exceptional (at least that was my experience). Cylinder and Slide also has on-line order form.

Good luck.