[govt1911]

I've learned alot by reading posts here and would like to contribute what I can. I'm fairly new at locksmithing and related tasks/skills, but I've been an avid shooter/competitor/collector/home gunsmith for many years.

If any of ya'll have any firearms related questions, I'll do my best to answer them.

I'm most familiar with handguns and military semiautomatic rifles, especially the 1911 and FN FAL platforms.

John

[BLK]

I recently put a new hammer and beavertail on my M1911 GI Model. It was a standard GI model including the web biter tail piece and hammer. I got the Commander style hammer and beavertail installed without any problem. BUT, I cannot get the safety fully installed now. It will not seat completely. It will go in all but 1/16" or less, but it will not seat or move once it is in that far. The rest seems to be fine--it will cycle, trigger works, hammer drops, trigger will not work when the grip safety is not engaged (as it should not), etc. Any clues as to why the safety won't work? I have a 1911 Gunsmith video with complete dissembly, assembly and troubleshooting but nothing in it points to this type of problem.

The new hammer is from the manufacturer of the gun and the beavertail is a Wilson Combat drop in that works as it should and fits very well on this model. Any ideas as to why the safety will not fully seat and will not move at all?

[govt1911]

If you strip the frame down, will the safety seat completely?
I've got to run out on mission, I should be able to check back here later and give you a few ideas to try.

[govt1911]

Most "drop in" parts aren't REALLY drop in. The notch which physically prevents the sear from moving isn't really "drop in fit", the often (most of the time) require a bit of finish fitting. cover the surfaces on the notch on the safety with black magic marker and attempt to reassemble, where the marker is rubbed is where you're making contact.
You can attempt to stone it to fit, but I'd be VERY cautious on this. I'd say safest bet would be to locate a qualified 'smith in your area. I wouldn't think it'd be more than $30-50 for him to correct it.
Let me know if you can't locate any spots that have the marker rubbed showing contact. When you're done, the marker can be wiped off using rubbing alcohol and a Q-tip. Make sure you relube it as the alcohol will remove ALL oil from the parts.

Hope this helps

[Customer Support]

I did a quick search for '1911' -- it seems to be a nice weapon with a ton of stopping power. Right now I've got a .40 CAL Firestar but I'm always looking for upgrades.

[govt1911]

Slick,

You might be able to tell by my choice of screenname which is my choice for handguns. LOL

I'm a big fan of bigger bullets. I pretty much subscribe to the line of thinking of "the larger hole you punch in the badguy, the better". The actual truth of the matter tho is that size doesn't matter nearly as much as shot placement. If you hit a guy in the hand with a 50 caliber, he's still a threat. If you put a .22 thru the eye, odds are the threat has been neutralized.
I do like .40 though. It's not a bad compromise between size and magazine capacity. I've got a couple, both Glocks. (G22 and G23)

Actually, firearms are the reason I got interested in locksmithing. I enjoy working on guns and all things mechanical. It's a bit cheaper to get and take apart locks to see how they function than it is guns. LOL

[govt1911]

Hey BLK, any luck with that pistola? I wish I could give you more/better info, but just like in locksmithing sometimes it's kinda hard to understand or explain things in writing without actually holding the object in hand.

Hope you get it all figured out!

[BLK]

govt1911 said:

Hey BLK, any luck with that pistola? I wish I could give you more/better info, but just like in locksmithing sometimes it's kinda hard to understand or explain things in writing without actually holding the object in hand.

Hope you get it all figured out!

There was some "wear" on the safety on the Commander and works just great on the GI with the new hammer and beavertail. Passed all the safety checks and runs great. Now I have to add some "wear" to the safety from the GI to make the Commander run again.

I open carry the GI when I am not stuck in the office (it is legal in TN with the AG's blessing) and get some funny looks...and have some interesting conversations with some locals that obviously slept through Government and Civics classes.

Shoot Straight and Stay Safe!

[Mr.172]

Fellow gunsmith and fresh member on this end! Just wanted to say hello!

1911 is the only way to go in my book. Did you know you can make your own from what they call an 80% frame for around $300 if you do some serious shopping and are not in a rush (that is as long has you have home machining knowledge and access to a milling machine)

[american lockpicker]

I use to do gunsmithing as a hobby. I did everything from rebluing to replacing broken and worn out parts but I quit because of all of the various gun laws. I got into locksmithing because I seen an ad for locksmithing courses in a magazine and thought it would be fun....

[govt1911]

I originally got into gunsmithing because of my interest in firearms and pretty much anything mechanical. Been doing the WECSOG thing for years. (Wile E. Coyote School Of Gunsmithin') LOL

Haven't been on the boards much lately, been busy since I got home from Iraq. Hope to start spending more time around here again.