Matrix 80% sig

[Cuda440]

Update for today- grabbed my now-charged drill and completed the last couple holes then started deburring them and fitting the takedown pin, hammer pin, sear pin, then started looking for my trigger pin- mia

But in its place, I found a second sear pin

No biggie, a quick call to matrix with my order number and he said he'll have a new pin in the mail today.

So I went ahead and installed the sights on the slide and centered as best as I could with calipers, then tapped in the sear spring rollpin before cracking a cold one and calling it a day. I'll probably have that trigger pin here before I even get my mags or frame coating anyway.

heres some updated pics and a video, slide moves pretty slick

[nuggethunter]

Looking great!

[pklin1297]

A few turns with my new 4.5 mm reamer last night really made the trigger pin installation easy (not loose). My 9 mm reamer is still en route so the take down lever install was tight, but I'm sure it'll be fine once I use the reamer on the hole. A rolled up sandpaper would suffice but I believe in the right tool for the job... Generally speaking, all the parts in the kit I got were very good and some I would even consider new.

Going through the build myself last night and found I received an additional trigger pin in my kit; maybe I got the one that was missing from Cuda440's kit?!

Here are some pictures before I take it out to shoot... Got new reduced power hammer springs coming to hopefully lessen the trigger weight.






Putting one of these together really makes you appreciate the simplicity of the 1911 design even more...

Cuda440, what are you planning to coat your frame with?

[Cuda440]

^looks good! Do you happen to be missing a sear pin? haha

I ordered some OD green brownells teflon/moly oven cure finish, its just a easy to spray on rattle can that gets decent enough reviews for staying in place, holding up to solvents, and being good for friction reduction.

[951hunter]

How much has it been since you started the build? Including tooling and jig and everything

[jinjyr]

Nice...built one on a KTO frame years ago and trying to resist the urge.

[Cuda440]

How much has it been since you started the build? Including tooling and jig and everything

Frame paperweight- 275
Complete parts kit- 300
Rail cutter- 225
Drill jig- 80
Drill bit set- 20
Plus tax and shipping

Total- $983.25

Add in two Mec-Gar 228 nickel plated mags from eBay, $48.48

And a can of brownells coating from Amazon plus shipping- 40.95

So just over 1k total, and I have the option of selling the jigs to recoup 250-300 or keep them and build more sigs for under 600 each.

Overall I'm happy with it, my brother recently bought a 229 that came out to 930 after all taxes and I'm fairly convinced that the German parts are higher quality than modern production. Plus he didn't get night sights, and I don't have the mag disconnect or ugly LCI and the 228 is slightly better balanced as well

[Cuda440]

so I walked out to the mailbox today and what did I find?

The pin that matrix sent out yesterday (huge kudos!) as well as the mags and paint that I wasn't expecting till mid next week



So I assembled the frame according to this video, less than 20 minutes and the frame was complete-


Then I blocked up one of the mags, threw on my 12" 22lr break action upper and went to my buddies farm for a function test. Happy to report it worked perfectly, unfortunately I had technical issues with my camera. Oh well.

Got back home and decided to de-neuter it back to gods intended form and viola! Overall took around 2.5-3 hours to cut and fit the slide, drill and fit the holes, and assemble completely



If I had known the coating would have been here today I would have sandblasted the frame at work earlier, but I guess thats a project for next week

[Cuda440]

so after a weekend shooting and proving this builds function, it was stripped right back to a bare frame for a little sandblasting and some rattle can



a quick trip to the oven



and a nice fresh baked sig, nothing quite like homemade baked goods

[Fozzie TheBear]

Looks great! I think my wallet is going to get a little lighter.

[VaderSpade]

This is my tool box that's dedicated to various jigs, files, stones, power tools, oils/solvents used for pistol builds... It's almost completely full and I can't even fit my Matrix jigs in it...

That's funny,I have that same toolbox and I can't even get all my 1911 tools into it.

[nuggethunter]

Looks awesome!

[Cuda440]

How do you like that coating and how did it affect slide fitment?

I like it so far, it was easy to spray on a few light coats to get a decent finish and coverage, bakes on in 30 minutes and didnt scratch or chip at least when I reassembled everything.

It does build up slightly but I left a bit of extra clearance in the rails when I cut them so it still fits well and actually feels smoother than bare metal did. All of the pins still fit their holes too and I dont feel any extra drag in the magwell.

I'll see how it holds up over time, hoping it sticks well because I really like this finish

[cooper74]

Very nice looking, please let us know how the coating holds up. It looks great!

[Jon Road King]

Beautiful. Where did you get the frame?