1911 slide machining

[MilSim]

I want to makeover my 1911, trigger group, hammer, sear, grips, refinishing. I keep getting this image in my head of the slide and machining material off the sides, similar to the CZ phantom but not as deep.

Dont know if its possible with the slide thickness but its a direction I want to head. I want to remove enough to make a subtle difference in profile and remove the factory roll marks. By the way its a RIA tac. Any ideas or pics or recommended machining/gunsmith for such a task.

[MilSim]

This is kinda what im talking about, but no STI serrations and all the way back to the rear cocking serrations, slightly deeper.


And here is a pic of a factory RIA Tac.

[MilSim]

I looked in the search and theres no threads that I can find. Any advice?

[redcliff]

My advice is not to overimprove a $500.00 pistol, and milling the slide to try to remove the rollmarks isn't even an improvement. The RIA Tactical is a very good pistol for it's price but not one I'd spend the money on to make a custom 1911 out of.

Items that improve function make sense; new grips or a trigger job come to mind.

[B Strong]

There isn't much to be gained from a mechanical standpoint, and the slide lightening that is most common on 1911 race pistols is to simply machine windows in the slide.

You do know that by decreasing slide mass, you increase slide velocity and accelerate wear?

I know you're going for a "look" rather than a mechanical advantage, but I'd advise against it.

The only reason I can see for doing so is if your intention was to use minimum loadings only, and you needed the weight off the slide to insure 100% reliability - if that isn't the case, leave your slide alone.

[MilSim]

There isn't much to be gained from a mechanical standpoint, and the slide lightening that is most common on 1911 race pistols is to simply machine windows in the slide.

You do know that by decreasing slide mass, you increase slide velocity and accelerate wear?

I know you're going for a "look" rather than a mechanical advantage, but I'd advise against it.

The only reason I can see for doing so is if your intention was to use minimum loadings only, and you needed the weight off the slide to insure 100% reliability - if that isn't the case, leave your slide alone.

Thanks, thats what I was looking for.

[postal]

Actually, the sig 1911's have a slide profile similar to that CZ.

[gasol1ne]

im not sure if the slide on the RIA is cast or not, i know their frames are, and if the slide is cast you might end up with some holes on the slide after you machine it. I had some material removed from my RIA frame and the gunsmith said he had to weld some material over a little hole that appeared due to imperfections in the casting process. No big deal, but something to think about.