[jpwright]

I am still in the planning stages of building my own 1911, and I would like to know something.

Is it primarily a CYA issue when people advertise "drop in" parts, then say they need to be fitted by a gunsmith? Are they drop in or not?

Assuming you buy a mil-spec frame as a foundation, what mil-spec parts require the touch of a gunsmith as opposed to a careful layman with minimal tools?


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If God didn't want us to own guns, why did He make the 1911?

 

[GrandmasterB]

I think CYA may have something to do with it, but there are so many parts manufacturers and so many parts are being made to "match" tolerances, and mixing and matching parts from different manufacturers will almost certainly mean that most of them will require fitting of some sort.

As an alternative, if you buy most of your parts from one source, they will fit together with less adjusting required. For example, a Chip McCormick easy-fit frame slide and barrel will fit together more easily than a Kart barrel in a Caspian slide on an Essex frame. To keep going with this, a Chip McCormick thumb safety will fit a CMC frame and CMC sear/hammer/disconnector easier than buying an Ed Brown thumb safety and fitting it on a Caspian frame with a Wilson Combat sear and a Cylinder-Slide hammer and no-name disconnector.

I'm not recommending any of these parts manufacturers over any other, but if you stick with one company you'll likely have less fitting to do and more luck "dropping-in" parts.

Best of luck to you!

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Byron Simpson

 

[supercomp]

most drop in parts, don't. they usually require less fitting then the over-sized, gunsmith fit parts. but its not something that you couldn't do with a good file set and stones. just remember, go slow and check the fit of the parts often, once you remove too much metal, its a bitch to put back.