Tonight I tackled what to me are the two most glaring flaws with Kimber's pistols.. (Well, flaws is strong, let's just say the two parts they seem to spend the least amount of effort fitting...)
First off, big thanks to PVT Ryan and Blindhogg for their HIGHLY informative and confidence-boosting websites, and friendly advice.
Tonight I fitted a Brown High Grip BT and Thumb safety to my relatively new Classic Stainless.
First, the BT...
The Brown BT proved to be just a hair longer than the stock one, necessitating some minor lengthening of the wide area in the frame. No problem. It popped right in. I guess the guys at Kimber got the radius right. Surprisingly, there wasn't much to remove on the frame, the sweep was remarkably similar. There was, however, a decent amount of blending to be done on the lower arms of the tangs. 15 minutes, a sanding drum, and a cratex bit later, it was blended as smooth as a baby's rump. On to the top... WOW! No work to be done... Out of the box the top blend was as close to perfect as I could want. Polished the bt and the rear of the frame to a mirror and called that part done.
On to the thumb safety.... CRAPOLA!!!
Brownells sent me the wrong safety... I ordered the tactical... The sticker on the baggy says Tactical, but the part and the card in the bag are the WIDE safety.... (Bummed now..) Put down the part, tools, and went for an adult beverage... (BRAINSTORM ALERT!)
Right about now I'm thinking how long I'll have to wait for the exchange, and I'm going to their website to get the phone number to call... By mistake I click the wrong bookmark and land at Burnscustom.com.... Hey wait, doesn't he trim Brown's safeties??? So I put a cut-off wheel on the dremel and have at it, figuring at worst, I'll reinstall the factory safety, chalk one up to experience, and order another safety. Well, 3 cut-off wheels later, I now have the thin, countoured safety I wanted, and it looks better than the Tactical. Fitting was no problem, just took 4 strokes of the file.
After cleaning and reassembly, I must say I feel good. The pistol now sits better in my hand, looks better to the eye, and sounds soooo cool when I click the safety off and on...
I intend to bead blast it back to the original matte finish, but I think I'm gonna hold off an extra day or two, just to admire the mirror finish of the BT... In fact, I think I'll just get the frame blasted...
Again, thanks guys for the help... I'm sure I'll be asking more questions and sharing more stories, as you've gotten me totally addicted to home smithy work.
Now all I have to do is figure out my next mod... (Already did a sweet trigger job and polished the ramp.) Suggestions?
Patrick
[This message has been edited by Arrowman (edited 11-14-2001).]
First off, big thanks to PVT Ryan and Blindhogg for their HIGHLY informative and confidence-boosting websites, and friendly advice.
Tonight I fitted a Brown High Grip BT and Thumb safety to my relatively new Classic Stainless.
First, the BT...
The Brown BT proved to be just a hair longer than the stock one, necessitating some minor lengthening of the wide area in the frame. No problem. It popped right in. I guess the guys at Kimber got the radius right. Surprisingly, there wasn't much to remove on the frame, the sweep was remarkably similar. There was, however, a decent amount of blending to be done on the lower arms of the tangs. 15 minutes, a sanding drum, and a cratex bit later, it was blended as smooth as a baby's rump. On to the top... WOW! No work to be done... Out of the box the top blend was as close to perfect as I could want. Polished the bt and the rear of the frame to a mirror and called that part done.
On to the thumb safety.... CRAPOLA!!!
Brownells sent me the wrong safety... I ordered the tactical... The sticker on the baggy says Tactical, but the part and the card in the bag are the WIDE safety.... (Bummed now..) Put down the part, tools, and went for an adult beverage... (BRAINSTORM ALERT!)
Right about now I'm thinking how long I'll have to wait for the exchange, and I'm going to their website to get the phone number to call... By mistake I click the wrong bookmark and land at Burnscustom.com.... Hey wait, doesn't he trim Brown's safeties??? So I put a cut-off wheel on the dremel and have at it, figuring at worst, I'll reinstall the factory safety, chalk one up to experience, and order another safety. Well, 3 cut-off wheels later, I now have the thin, countoured safety I wanted, and it looks better than the Tactical. Fitting was no problem, just took 4 strokes of the file.
After cleaning and reassembly, I must say I feel good. The pistol now sits better in my hand, looks better to the eye, and sounds soooo cool when I click the safety off and on...
I intend to bead blast it back to the original matte finish, but I think I'm gonna hold off an extra day or two, just to admire the mirror finish of the BT... In fact, I think I'll just get the frame blasted...
Again, thanks guys for the help... I'm sure I'll be asking more questions and sharing more stories, as you've gotten me totally addicted to home smithy work.
Now all I have to do is figure out my next mod... (Already did a sweet trigger job and polished the ramp.) Suggestions?
Patrick
[This message has been edited by Arrowman (edited 11-14-2001).]
