Going against my better judgement

[schambers]

I recently finished a project I had going with an LMT MWS (pics coming when I stop being lazy) and I started work on refurbishing a Buck Mark .22

I ended up buying some ceramic stones to smooth out the action and one thing lead to another and I talked myself into picking up a Colt Commander to use as my new carry gun... then I bought the jig and parts to re-do the trigger group... and now that I've spend the money to get some basic 1911 specific tools, I might as well start looking into completely refurbishing an old 1911 right?

I figured I would use this thread to document my misadventures with working on a new pistol and then moving on to some more intensive refurbishing work.

[Ride4frnt]

Sweet. I've always wanted to do a 1911 build.

[GOST]

This is gonna be a cool thread. I got hooked on this idea also after watching the Wilson Combat instructional videos, those videos are great.

[din]

Yes! So stoked to watch your project come together!

[DutyUse]

I wanna see photos of the browning! I've been looking for Buckmark like this for awhile now

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15/03/31/66c7c747455eec02d17dd8db4a001484.jpg


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Deadwing]

Nice! I look forward to seeing how things come together for you!

[schambers]

Tore down the Buckmark today and I was pretty shocked at how rough the overall tooling was. I decided to clean out as much carbon as I could without doing a complete tear down. Replaced the barrel assembly and replaced the stock rail with a Tactical Solutions integrated rail/sight.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-W154B5t1shc/VR3QMawYILI/AAAAAAAABV4/72YA4xT4X4Q/w1076-h714-no/DSC02361.JPG

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-GFGG2Y93Dv0/VR3QPU0jSRI/AAAAAAAABVg/h9qi1TsM6WU/w1076-h714-no/DSC02362.JPG

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-EcPvIM-0Qr8/VR3QUlvGcuI/AAAAAAAABVo/7p-2MOapGgM/w1076-h714-no/DSC02364.JPG

It looks like I'll have to stone the contact surfaces of the upper assembly, feed ramp, firing pin, etc. I also want to get into the magazine well as much as possible. Even after cleaning it out, loading and unloading is extremely gritty. There was an over travel trigger stop installed on the trigger as well. I can't tell if its stock or an aftermarket modification, but there are tooling marks on the trigger itself.

The trigger is fairly well done and crisp for what it is so I don't want to mess with it if I don't have to.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-RrUZaAxv_0w/VR3QaHFbGmI/AAAAAAAABWA/P2HHui6IyqU/w1076-h714-no/DSC02366.JPG

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-lEjWUVXDr3Q/VR3QX9xdiYI/AAAAAAAABVw/0ZsILECKho4/w1076-h714-no/DSC02365.JPG

Cleaned and Assembled.

I'm planning on taking it to the range tomorrow to get a baseline on how it cycles, and then go at it when the smithing tools come in.

[DutyUse]

Tore down the Buckmark today and I was pretty shocked at how rough the overall tooling was. I decided to clean out as much carbon as I could without doing a complete tear down. Replaced the barrel assembly and replaced the stock rail with a Tactical Solutions integrated rail/sight.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-W154B5t1shc/VR3QMawYILI/AAAAAAAABV4/72YA4xT4X4Q/w1076-h714-no/DSC02361.JPG

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-GFGG2Y93Dv0/VR3QPU0jSRI/AAAAAAAABVg/h9qi1TsM6WU/w1076-h714-no/DSC02362.JPG

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-EcPvIM-0Qr8/VR3QUlvGcuI/AAAAAAAABVo/7p-2MOapGgM/w1076-h714-no/DSC02364.JPG

It looks like I'll have to stone the contact surfaces of the upper assembly, feed ramp, firing pin, etc. I also want to get into the magazine well as much as possible. Even after cleaning it out, loading and unloading is extremely gritty. There was an over travel trigger stop installed on the trigger as well. I can't tell if its stock or an aftermarket modification, but there are tooling marks on the trigger itself.

The trigger is fairly well done and crisp for what it is so I don't want to mess with it if I don't have to.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-RrUZaAxv_0w/VR3QaHFbGmI/AAAAAAAABWA/P2HHui6IyqU/w1076-h714-no/DSC02366.JPG

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-lEjWUVXDr3Q/VR3QX9xdiYI/AAAAAAAABVw/0ZsILECKho4/w1076-h714-no/DSC02365.JPG

Cleaned and Assembled.

I'm planning on taking it to the range tomorrow to get a baseline on how it cycles, and then go at it when the smithing tools come in.

Grats, it looks like you got a fine piece


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[schambers]

The first 1911 came in on Friday!... Now I'm just waiting on the tools so I can start working! [bash]

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-tt6CGrFAt9E/VSF4Ce4XdnI/AAAAAAAABWc/vR9TM3AL_Fk/w1137-h714-no/DSC02368.JPG

This is the Wiley Clapp Lightweight Commander. The overall package is very pretty nice but the trigger leaves a lot to be desired in my opinion. There's a lot of up and down play in the trigger itself, and there is some pre-travel before the sear disengages.

Before the gun came in, I figured I would have to do a little work but after initial inspection I'm glad I got the parts necessary to re-do the entire trigger setup.

I'll be replacing the trigger, hammer, sear, dis-connector, hammer spring, sear spring, trigger bow and safety.

On the plus side, the fitment of the other parts seems well executed. The trigger guard is undercut and the checkering on the front strap is very well executed. The barrel seems to be fit very well and the grip safety is nicely blended to the frame. I have a nighthawk magwell/mainspring housing that I might throw on as well. The sights are a special Novack run, with a brass bead in the front and a blacked out square U-Notch in the rear. They seem to be working for me so I'll probably end up keeping them. The grips are also unique to this Wily Clapp run of 1911s. They are wide in the back and taper down towards the front. The checkering on the grips match the 25lpi checkering on the front strap and mainspring housing. This all combines to result in a very positive, firm and comfortable grip. Probably the most comfortable and natural feeling 1911 grip that I have held so far. I would like to replace the grips with something that doesn't have a cartoonish "Colt" lettering, but they feel so good that I might just leave them as-is. Its a 70 series as well, so I won't have to fiddle with the extra firing pin safety mechanism.

I also got new bushing screws and forged pins, to replace and mim parts that I might find.

[schambers]

The final parts for this project came in on Wednesday and the wife is gone all day today, so I woke up early to start this project. Hope you guys enjoy the short write up. Spoilers: Everything went well with the parts fitting and refinement. So now its on to finding a good host weapon for a complete build project!

Parts laid out along with tools. I decided to purchase new parts instead of modifying stock parts because I always expect to mess something up and want stock parts to fall back on. Colt is in its stock configuration.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-BzUjy1mZ-Xw/VSlS5diz1sI/AAAAAAAABeM/xzMcV9wDgAw/w1076-h714-no/DSC02379.JPG

Another shot of the same mess.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-YH1E4FDv-zA/VSlTETMMOmI/AAAAAAAABeY/yaSMXqTgfIQ/w1076-h714-no/DSC02380.JPG

A shot I took after playing with the stones. It took me a while to get a feel for how to use them correctly, but once you get the feel for them, they become pretty easy to use.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-_iRtCRl-Kkg/VSlTRM1qG5I/AAAAAAAABeg/AiftYWS0TPg/w1076-h714-no/DSC02381.JPG

10-8 Flat trigger. I've used the same model in another 1911 that I have and its definately my favorite design. Fitting the trigger took about 2.5 hours (The total project took about 5 hours) and it was a constant process of shaving off metal, fitting, polishing and shaving some more. The time spent was worth it though. There is no up/down side-to-side play in the trigger and it travels back and forth like its gliding on air.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-_AVZV6xhAtk/VSlToD9dRFI/AAAAAAAABeo/5wVEEPviKp4/w1076-h714-no/DSC02383.JPG

Smoothing and polishing the trigger track with a trigger track stone.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-GC0t_IRg7uU/VSlT_0QWSpI/AAAAAAAABc0/fak4Xc-_aQM/w1076-h714-no/DSC02385.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-HfwVsLKpcBw/VSlUKfcUkDI/AAAAAAAABew/1hJuXo78pl4/w1076-h714-no/DSC02386.JPG

10-8 ejector button. After the disassembly I noticed that the Colt's magazine release appeared to be plastic, so I replaced it with a 10-8 I had lying around. Again, fitting was required.
Made sure the sear and other parts were smoothed and conformed to the correct angles.... I forgot to take pictures of that process. It was pretty easy though.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-K_dwBbMISMk/VSlUU59i7bI/AAAAAAAABe4/0kdmUgKhA8k/w1076-h714-no/DSC02387.JPG

Testing to see that the trigger system parts actually work together, before fitting the safty. The last adjustment I had to make was filing down the over travel screw on the trigger, and polishing all the contact surfaces.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-vGRMFq91bAU/VSlU2MbqYvI/AAAAAAAABfY/kfUPCZSNJHE/w1076-h714-no/DSC02390.JPG

Grinding down the safety. This was the part that I was most nervous about, as I do not like taking a Dremil to weapon parts. Fortunately everything worked out.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Qa-BU3falLk/VSlUq9APDxI/AAAAAAAABfQ/JNiqfD4cJnA/w1076-h714-no/DSC02389.JPG

Final test fitting of parts and functions check before lubing and re-assembly.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-vdWp8NnYAZA/VSlUgOOMriI/AAAAAAAABfA/wVGIXQVHip4/w1076-h714-no/DSC02388.JPG

Final assembly. I had some 10-8/ VZ grips lying around and decided to throw those on as well.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-acRKfF_P-zs/VSlVaWXAyKI/AAAAAAAABfg/alu1jnPaaNI/w1076-h714-no/DSC02394.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-w6WLkQUvsHA/VSlVmRE54FI/AAAAAAAABfo/sIcfST5P2VQ/w1076-h714-no/DSC02398.JPG

Total Time: Approximately 5 hours
New Parts added:
10-8 Magazine Release
10-8/VZ grips
10-8 Trigger
Cylinder and Slide Sear
Cylinder and Slide Disconnector
Cylinder and Slide Hammer
Cylinder and Slide Extended Hammer Strut
Cylinder and Slide Leaf Spring
Cylinder and Slide Main Spring
Ed Brown Extended Safety
Nighthawk Mainspring Housing/Magwell
Nighthawk Forged Pins
Wilson Standard Length Bushing Screws
Brownell's Flat Head Grip Screws

[Deadwing]

Looks great! I need to get a 1911 to tinker with.

[mustangfreek]

Nice job.and nice colt..
I still remain without one..but one day...


deadwing..there addictive...and ive seen you post so...be careful..[BD]

[Deadwing]

Nice job.and nice colt..
I still remain without one..but one day...


deadwing..there addictive...and ive seen you post so...be careful..[BD]

I don't have an addiction. I can quit any time i want! [BD]