Springfield 1911 mods

[old1911guy]

I have a Springfield .45 model 1911 stainless. It is an inexpensive bare-bones gun. I would like to replace the grip safety with a beavertail version with speed bump, the arched rear grip with a straight one and the safety lever with an extended one. Will the regular Colt parts fit this gun or will I have to scrounge Springfield stuff. This is my first attempt at gunsmithing a 1911 so any advice you guys can give would be appreciated. I feel I am capable of doing minor fitting of the new parts but don't have access to machine shop tools. Thanks.

[raycm2]

old1911guy,
The regular Colt parts should work fine with minor fitting. Brownells has a wealth of aftermarket 1911 parts, get their catalog here: http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/cid=4...nells-Catalogs

Then go here: http://forum.m1911.org/forumdisplay.php?f=58 and if you're not already a member, become one. There are some very experienced 1911 smiths and some very talented amateurs that frequent the forum. I'm sure that your questions have already been addressed. Use the search tool.

[old1911guy]

Thanks much. Appreciate the link to the 1911 site. Its a good one.

[spddrcr]

the only thing i can add is if you plan on doing it yourself and you plan on doing the grip safety/beavertail get the ed brown jig. well worth the 20 bucks it cost's. also there is no such thing as minor fitting on a 1911. always plan on going into it knowing it's going to take some work as they usually do.

[kmca]

If you're going to fit a beavertail, get a good smooth cut file, some good quality stones and of course the jig. Fitting it is easy, but takes some patience. Use the file on the exterior to get close to fitting and finish with the stones, especially on the safety/trigger bow interface. A couple of cuts with the stone and try...repeat until it feels just right. Don't use the file here, it takes material off too fast, unless you really know what you're doing.

Fitting a mainspring housing is pretty easy. You might want to look into something like a Smith & Alexander with the internal mag well. This is where a Dremel tool comes in handy, to blend in the well. Don't get carried away with the Dremel, they're said to be the gunsmith's best friend.

You could also look at the Brownell's tutorial on building a 1911:

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/lid=12537/GunTechdetail/Building_A_1911___Part_I

Be very patient with the fitting and good luck.

[old1911guy]

Thanks everyone for all the good advice. I am now hip deep into this. I have replace the trigger with a lightweight short version from Cylinder and Slide. It fit perfectly with only minor stoning. I purchased a jig from Brownells to stone and polish the hammer and sear. Worked great and well worth the twenty some bucks. I carefully polished all the mating surfaces of the hammer, sear, disconnector and trigger and replaced the sear spring with a Cylinder and Slide light pull model. The trigger breaks at just under 4 pounds and is very smooth.
Next was an oversize Ed Brown barrel bushing that took a while to fit but made a major difference in how the gun shoots. It was grouping around 4 inches from a rest at 25 yards. The bushing and trigger work reduced that to about 2 inches shooting white box ball ammo. I'm very happy with that. Next was a set of MGW fixed sights. I now know a lot more than I ever wanted about staking 1911 front sights but got it on and it is solid. The rear sight required some machining on the rear of the slide. No milling machine but I have a nice new file so very carefully filed the rear of the slide to allow clearance for the back part of the sight (God hates a coward). I really came out nice but now it shoots about 4 inches too low at 25 yards so gotta figure something out. I may replace the sights with a good set of adjustable Millett sights. Last change was a flat mainspring housing with a reduced power mainspring. So far so good and it shoots very well now. One nice thing about working with a SS gun is that if you goober up the finish (as I did on the slide in a couple of places) you can polish it out with 600 grit wet/dry paper. It is the perfect grit to restore the finish perfectly. Use long full length strokes just like sanding with the grain on a piece of wood and it looks perfect. Finished off this stage with a Wilson Combat magazine well (the one that hooks over the lower grip bushings) and a set of black buffalo horn grips. Looks awesome!
Next project is probably going to be fitting a new barrel and tightening the slide. After that will be the beavertail grip safety with commander style hammer and an extended thumb safety.
....pray for me
Constructive criticism welcomed

[krashstitches]

Here you go, I just went through the same thing. Maybe it will help http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/s...d.php?t=317017

[Roccobro]

[adamsreeftank]

If the gun is shooting low you can take a little off the front sight to bring it up.

[Ninja45]

I agree 100 percent with Roccobro! TTIWWP