I'm glad you "axed" for some pics, P-Wrench. I like to show pics of my work but maybe am a little shy about it unless a specific topic comes up. That plus the page download time gets long, so sometimes I'd rather just post a link. But.... here are six of a Commander I just got back from refinishing.
Unfortunately, my most feared nightmare came true on this one and both the anodizing and the blueing are flawed. I'm trying to give them the benefit of the doubt and see how much of "the right thing" they'll do-- and wouldn't ya know it they're off the rest of the week. Gun is not fully assembled because they, ah, lost five parts.... I will name them in a future post but since I've had good luck with them before, I want to make sure they get a full whack at making it right. Would rather be able to post the happy outcome with the booboo. It can happen-- it's hard to get good help, run a business and get everything perfect every time. 4 of the 5 parts are just pins-- I could order them in all ready to go, but #5 was the feedramp insert, made fromt scratch, "T"-slotted and pinned in-- if they can't find that one it'll have to be made over.
Anyway-- the frontstrap has my Shallowmyds since it's aluminum and was none too thick. These give a gripping factor nearly equal to regular checkering but are only half as deep. I gave this one what my wife calls "baguettes"-- a skip-line border and a couple of skipped-rows in the middle. This guy did not want a super-slender grip, nor a particularly "prickly" gun (checkered all over to the max) so the Colt aluminum mainspring hsg. is left somewhat proud, and not checkered to its edges. Likewise the bump in the grip safety, which is reduced in height and checkered to match the MSH. MSH is rebated slightly at the top to help the reduced bump stand out. Frame is hi-grip modified under the trigger guard.
Magwell is opened up and frame bottom shortened to depth of standard magazine floor plate. I won't go into the explanation here but it's on my site. I couldn't open the magwell to the extent I like on this one since he wanted me to use the Colt MSH. Had there been a little more in the budget I might have used a steel one, welded so as to be able to go deeper in the rear and alleviate the feather-edge, or maybe made one from scratch out of aluminum.
Front sight is silver-brazed on, tritium insert not yet installed (pending outcome of blueing SNAFU). That is my preferred method, 'specially for a job like this, the client is a Chicago-area gang unit guy who wants this as a first-line gun. Dovetailed is OK too-- just a little less solid, depending on how far you go with it (double-pinning it is not wrong). Rear is a Novak (with further slight dehorning), which, once the gun is sighted in, will be pinned with a small pull-dowel, under the firing pin retainer. Not that the dovetail isn't tight enough. For a deal like this I want him to be able to bust his way out of an overturned prowler without moving or breaking anything! This gun had the abominable Millet front with the twin 3/16 stake-holes, so it pretty much had to be done this way anyway (this was a very nice 1950-vintage gun except for the awful sights). Doesn't show well in the pic but slide's top rib is serrated Shallowmyd-style.
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[This message has been edited by Ned Christiansen (edited 07-04-2001).]
[This message has been edited by Ned Christiansen (edited 07-04-2001).]
[This message has been edited by Ned Christiansen (edited 07-04-2001).]
[This message has been edited by Ned Christiansen (edited 07-04-2001).]
[This message has been edited by Ned Christiansen (edited 07-04-2001).]
