Here we go again...

[MosinVirus]

Was going to sell the paperweight...
Not anymore.

So, starting to do things to it.

Trigger guard undercut - went with a softer transition this time around. I think I like it.

And decided to try my new 30 lpi checkering file. OMG! It feels so much longer to do 30 lpi than 20 lpi.

Anyway, so far...






Not sure what to think about all the soft edges... specifically, I hope there is enough meat on the tangs to have a seamless blending of beavertail. That will likely be next.

[pklin1297]

Nicely done Mosin. Did you do anything to "true" the front strap before checkering? My last checkering attempt with one of 1911builders' aluminum frames ended with vertical lines only matching one side. One nice thing about 30 LPI is you don't have to go as deep on the cut to point the diamonds. Are you using the 60 degree checkering file?

For the beavertail, it doesn't look like they flattened the top of the tang so hopefully it'll be good to go. EGW .245 beavertails are usually my go to, but on new builds I'll be trying Harrison Design's .240 beavertails for even more material for blending to over-cut tangs. Give that a look if you haven't purchased your part. Harrison also sells their own jig for cutting .240 radius.

What type of build you going with this time?

[MosinVirus]

I did true up the front strap a bit after I did the undercut.
Yes, using the 60 degree files. It turned out very grippy.
This is the one I will be sodering the magwell to (well, trying at least).

I actually bought the concealment set for the grip safety. Wanted to see how it looks, but it may not be a good fit. I will check into Harrison safety if the concealment fails.

[Steponmytoes]

wow dude, pretty great. checkering is one of those things that seems simple enough but takes a butt load of time to do right

[mtenenhaus]

great job as always. may i ask, how do you sure the front strap?

[RamonSJC]

Badass!

[MosinVirus]

wow dude, pretty great. checkering is one of those things that seems simple enough but takes a butt load of time to do right

For sure. I think in the future I will stick to 20 lpi.

great job as always. may i ask, how do you sure the front strap?

By cross filing. I lay the file flat along the vertical axis, and do a couple of strokes like that along the entire face. Brings out high spots. Then I do the same horizontally. And remove all the high spots I can find/see. If you don't do that, when starting to layout a pattern with a checkering file, some of the lines will be there, some will have gaps, etc.

Badass!

Could always be better, but I do like the undercut.

[Jon Road King]

That's a frame begging to be bobtailed...

Nice work too!

[pklin1297]

I did true up the front strap a bit after I did the undercut.
Yes, using the 60 degree files. It turned out very grippy.
This is the one I will be sodering the magwell to (well, trying at least).

I actually bought the concealment set for the grip safety. Wanted to see how it looks, but it may not be a good fit. I will check into Harrison safety if the concealment fails.

Looking forward to your updates on the silver soldering, especially on the clean-up part...

Something dawned on me last night... I've yet to hear back from Stan which is fine, as he is super busy making his $10K+ 1911s. But with his Gen 2 magwells, which basically requires you to cut your Government frame to Officer frame length, I wonder if I could install one straight onto one of the problem Officer frames I have, and just drill the mainspring housing pin hole in the magwell to match the frame, since the magwell comes without a pin hole already drilled?! I may or may not do this ultimately, since the magwell defeats the purpose of a small concealable 1911, but as soon as Stan gives me installer status and allows me to order one, I'm going to slide one onto the officer frame to see if its even possible. I know there's another cut that must be made inside, but at least I can get an idea...

Still so much to explore in the 1911 world.

[MosinVirus]

Indeed, I feel like I am learning something new every day.
Soldering will be on video if it goes well. If it doesn't I feel like there will be no reason to publish a "oh well, here is something that doesn't work" video.

Clean up should be minimal, and I imagine sandblasting will take care of that in a jiffy. I think using that ribbon solder will make it much easier on cleanup.

The thing I feat the most is drilling the MSH hole after soldering.

[MosinVirus]

Gotta say, I am liking the Wilson Combat compound radius.

Fitting the concealment one right now. Well, almost done actually in the pictures, and completely done after I took these.

I think I got a pretty good fit, except for the gaps on the underside of the tangs. Cannot do anything about those.

But... The railed frame from 1911 builders seems to marry to these WC safeties really well.







I will be blending soon, when I get the Thumb Safety, but also thinking I will bring the underside of the beavertail up a bit. There seems to be a whole lot of meat on it that can go.

[pklin1297]

I'm fitting one of those Wilson BTGS also now, they do well for those radiuses that have been over-cut from the manufacturer, or if they cut the top of the tangs for no reason. Their smaller profile also makes for easier carry and concealment, but you're correct in that they have a lot of meat below which does not give you as high a hold as other .250 radius safeties, that's why I also got the thumb safety with lowered thumb shelf from Wilson. Awesome looking project MV!

[cooper74]

Looking good Mosin!

Following this build... can't wait to see more.

[MosinVirus]

Time to learn something new. Going for Stan Chen weld-on magwell. I will be soldering it on, since I don't have the means to weld it. Plus, that is how Chuck Rogers does it...

So, the MSH rails were oversized and I had to take off .005 from each side to make the MSH fit. The fit is nice.

The frame had to be reduced by .300" (height of the magwell).

Mistakes made:

When cutting the frame vertically, I should have simply done a 90 degree cut to the horizontal cut. Not sure why I thought it was a good idea to cut it following the angle of the rear wall of the magwell.

Anyway, I first marked the sides of the frame at .300 from the bottom, then used a hacksaw and finished with a file.

The rear magwell wall will need to go to allow the MSH to go into the frame as much as necessary.

















I will have to modify my plates to allow the magwell to fit, then position one plate onto the drill press table aligned for MSH hole, take the frame off, solder on the magwell, and then put the frame into the clamped and positioned plate, and drill the MSH hole through the Magwell.

Will continue to share. I will make a video of the process later once I have had a chance to try this one.

[SonofWWIIDI]

BeautIt's work sir!...as is usual!