1911 'smith recommendations?

[Mike A]

My brother, a 1911 nut, has asked me for a recommendation to a pistolsmith who can do the work in a fairly short turn-around. He has a 6" "long slide" Springfield .45 that needs some rebuilding and a ported barrel.

He has used Clarks in LA (the state, not the city) but complains that "everything takes six months there", although the work is excellent. (He's in WA, so the gun will need to be shipped in any case).

Any favorites? Experiences? Do they give references?

[mtenenhaus]

Bruce Gray and the GGI team (Roy/Torrie) are absolutely amazing. Bruce built for me an incredible 9mm 1911 and they are in the process of building a 1911 for my Dad. You can see some of their work posted on louderthanwords and sigforum. Its tough to quote time to completion, so much depends on how busy they are. Probably best to give him a call. Grayguns.com is the website and has their contact info.

[RANash]

Your brother's problem is the timeframe. Good smiths get a whole lot of business and as a result have a longer turn-around. John Jardine in Hayward CA does great work. http://www.jardinescustom.com .

[kamagong]

Your brother's problem is the timeframe. Good smiths get a whole lot of business and as a result have a longer turn-around.

Bingo. Good smiths are busy for a reason, and I would be wary of a smith without some sort of wait.

Another couple of good smiths are Alan Tanaka and Jim Hoag in Southern California.

[liketoshoot]

tell him to go to the 1911 forum they will give a bunch of peeps to check out.

[B Strong]

My brother, a 1911 nut, has asked me for a recommendation to a pistolsmith who can do the work in a fairly short turn-around. He has a 6" "long slide" Springfield .45 that needs some rebuilding and a ported barrel.

He has used Clarks in LA (the state, not the city) but complains that "everything takes six months there", although the work is excellent. (He's in WA, so the gun will need to be shipped in any case).

Any favorites? Experiences? Do they give references?

Mike, I hate to break it to you, but 6 months isn't out-of-line for a turnaround from a good 'smith.

I'd rather wait 6 months and get a good product than get a quick turnaround that I have to get fixed.

[SNEAKS]

Why not send it back to Springfield and have their custom shop work on it. They have always done some very nice custom work for me.

[jeffs]

Try Don Williams at The ActionWorks in Chino Valley, AZ

[Mute]

In addition to Hoag and Tanaka you can also try Dave Lawver of Dave's Metal Works. He does top notch work and has a decent turnaround. (626) 859-0299.

[NiteQwill]

Will O'Hara

[9mmepiphany]

you could do a lot worst that the Springfield Custom Shop and they're likely to have the shortest turnaround time too