DIY 1911 Improvements?

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WideLoadTimmy

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There may already be a thread(s) dedicated to this. If so, please link them. If not, feel free to let me know what kind of small things I can do to my RIA 1911 to make it shoot, feed and extract better. Things that I could do with a Dremel tool, little parts I can put on or good advice would be appreciated. If it needs to be done my a competant Gunsmith, please say so. I don't wanna break my new gun.
 

gsarg

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I assume you're having these problems with your new gun? If so, send it back to be fixed. I've never had any of these issues with RIA pistols.
 

WideLoadTimmy

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I think I have the bugs narrowed down to ammo. I'm more interested and learning how to do some of my own custom work. Small stuff that shouldn't harm the gun. I'm pretty competant with tools (ASE certified technichian) and I wanna know if there's some simple things I can do at home with basic tools to make it shoot nicer, straighter or more reliably.
 

permafrost

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Your right ,Timmy, there are a lot of small things you can do to help reliability and function. Are you familiar with completely taking the pistol down to all it's minor parts? sear ,hammer. trigger, mainspring,etc? These things can all be improved with a little work. If not ,you need to educate yourself on complete take down and how the parts interact with each other. A ton of info online. I can give you some advice as to small things you can do to improve your weapon.
 

Rod Snell

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do with a Dremel tool, little parts I can put on or good advice would be appreciated........... I don't wanna break my new gun.

throw away the dremel.....
buy the Kuhnhausen manual...
remember "drop ins" don't.........
find a qualified mentor..........

I am not even close to being a gunsmith, but it is nice to be able to detail strip a 1911, replace springs, and inspect parts.
 

Traxxis

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throw away the dremel.....
buy the Kuhnhausen manual...
remember "drop ins" don't.........
find a qualified mentor..........

I am not even close to being a gunsmith, but it is nice to be able to detail strip a 1911, replace springs, and inspect parts.

+10 for this guy. :)

No dremels... yes, you CAN do a lot of good with them, but you CAN do a lot of damage with them also. They are, in my opinion NOT a good substitute for elbow grease, and the right tool.

When you decide on your grips and come up here, I'll sit down with you and we can go over the function of everything, how things interact with each other, and what things can be improved on. Just bring a list of your malfunctions, and number your mags and note which malfunctions occur on which mag.

I am, by no means a gunsmith either... but I have learned a thing or two. :)
 

Buzzdraw

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throw away the dremel.....
buy the Kuhnhausen manual...
remember "drop ins" don't.........
find a qualified mentor..........

I am not even close to being a gunsmith, but it is nice to be able to detail strip a 1911, replace springs, and inspect parts.

Yup! Leave the Dremel in the drawer for the mean time. You can ruin a lot, including your frame, slide & barrel, if you don't understand exactly what you're doing. I've seen many $1,000's of guns and parts Dremel-ruined over the years.

After you read and understand Kuhnhausen (both volumes 1 & 2) you might consider taking the Dremel out. Do not use it on any part you don't wish to possibly distroy.

Drop-in parts sometimes fit. Sometimes they take many minutes to fit. Sometimes they never fit.

Study first. Get some good stones and files. Leave the Dremel in the drawer a long while.
 

WideLoadTimmy

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Mmkay, no Dremel. I was just thinking of cleaning up some of the rough edges around the mag well area but I don't wanna get hit in the face, lol.

+10 for this guy. :)

No dremels... yes, you CAN do a lot of good with them, but you CAN do a lot of damage with them also. They are, in my opinion NOT a good substitute for elbow grease, and the right tool.

When you decide on your grips and come up here, I'll sit down with you and we can go over the function of everything, how things interact with each other, and what things can be improved on. Just bring a list of your malfunctions, and number your mags and note which malfunctions occur on which mag.

I am, by no means a gunsmith either... but I have learned a thing or two. :)


I think I just want some plain old grips but just smaller. I think, if I want texturing, I should have OlYeller do that. I saw some work he did on SDarkRage's XD and I like it a lot. I don't want anything decorative, just functional and clean. I think after I get done getting done with whatever I'm gonne have done, I'm gonna have Honeybee do that Slow Rust Blue refinish. It looks fantastic on a 1911.
 

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