Springfield Armory's raw 1911 slide & frame forgings?

Here's a link to a 1911 frame being forged by the S&W factory. Notice how the end result raw forging is very similar to the one in my photo shared above 👍


Here's a screenshot of a S&W raw forged frame...


And here is a raw 1911 frame investment casting... As one can see, a lot of the work is already done, it will need a lot less machining then a raw forged frame would require.



Btw, I have no idea the manufacturer of this frame casting, I just put it up here as an example 👍

glider said:

, Springfield did use some cast frames from Brazil, I don't know if or when they stopped.

Click to expand...

When Springfield Armory was using Imbel as their source partner, they used Imbel's forged frames and slides. Some of these were partially machined in Brazil and sent to SA for final in house machining. Some forgings were sent to SA for complete SA final machining, (usually SA higher end models). Some of the forgings were completely machined and all assembly fully done in Brazil, (usually the more basic models).
In any case, that was all back when Brazil's Imbel was SA's 1911 source.
Fast forward to some years ago when SA switched to using a US sourced forged frame and slide, which then gets sent to SA for all the final machining, (for all of their 1911's. Basic to higher end versions get done in house using the US sourced forgings). 🇺🇸

The Brazil connection has been old news for some years now, but since so many folks were used to hearing about it, many simply never knew the US forged sourcing transition had occured.

By the way, this link is where I found the picture of the raw forged frame & slide that Springfield Armory uses to make their 1911...


As for whether or not Springfield Armory still uses frame and slide forgings to build their 1911's, their website clearly states that they do...


They also have forged barrels, but the method used for the barrel making is called cold hammer forging, it not being the same hot drop forging method used to make their frames and slides.
The Cold Hammer Forging of barrels does also increase the steels strength, similar to what hot drop forging does for the frames and slides.
Cold Hammer Forged barrels are pumped out quite quickly during their production, but it's done at facilities that are well heeled, because these cold hammer forging machines are pricey.
Big name companies like Glock, Remington, Ruger, and others, have these machines in house and produce their own barrels. If a company doesn't have the resources to have such machines in house, they can still, of course, have them done elsewhere for them. So, just like SA sources their raw frame and slide forgings from an outside US foundry, maybe they also get their cold hammer forged barrels from an outside source. Not uncommon in the gun world. It's just like AR-15 maker's that use forgings for upper and lower receivers... they don't actually forge their own. They buy them from outside foundries, and then get them delivered to their own facilities, where they machine them to their final dimensions.
There are exceptions, like S&W that has it's own in house foundry, but that is not the norm for most manufacturers.