Best first build

[davidschow]

Hello. I am looking to build a 1911 for the first time. I am fairly mechanically inclined and I have worked on 1911s before. I have a gunsmith who will help me when I need assistance. What I want to know is what does everyone recommend for a first build. I have seen some kits for between $500 and $700, but the price of the completed gun is about the same. I found some Fusion kits for a little more. I currently have a Fusion 1911 and like it. I have also seen the Nighthawk Custom kit for about $1700. What advice can everyone give me about what kit to get for a first build? If I buy a kit for most guns I think the value will be less than I paid for the kit. Will the Nighthawk Custom be worth more than I paid when finished if i am into it $1700? I am looking for any advice.

Also, would an Aluminum frame for a 9mm Commander size be reasonable? I can get one of those in the 80% and buy the jig to finish it for about the same price as a good frame.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[ILED93]

In for the info...

 

[Mike A1]

I like the Caspian Frame I am fitting to a 1918 Colt Slide.
John Harrison has some real good internal 1911 parts I like a lot.
Lot of great parts to chose from so get good advice buy once, & chose wisely weed hopper LOL.

Much to chose from it all depends how far off the path you feel comfortable venturing.

 

[joepistol]

.., would an Aluminum frame for a 9mm Commander size be reasonable?.."

I own a DW Guardian ..Commander sized 1911in 9mm w/ aluminum frame. In all honesty, for me, it's been a disappointment.
The light frame may be great for carry, but I just don't like the way it shoots. This must put me in a minority, as many 1911 brands make
a Commander sized 1911 w/ aluminum frames. Few make a Commander 9mm with a real steel frame.
I've considered buying a steel or SS frame for it..but haven't..yet.

 

[switchback]

Unless or until one develops a "name" I believe you'll be hard put to make any sort of profit on a home build. Especially at the NH kit prices. Unless to family or friends. Everyone starts somewhere, but tuning and repair is likely a good place to begin. Can't expect to start cranking our $2k plus pistols and sell any, its a crowded market and thats Les Baer money. my .02

 

[davidschow]

.., would an Aluminum frame for a 9mm Commander size be reasonable?.."

I own a DW Guardian ..Commander sized 1911in 9mm w/ aluminum frame. In all honesty, for me, it's been a disappointment.
The light frame may be great for carry, but I just don't like the way it shoots. This must put me in a minority, as many 1911 brands make
a Commander sized 1911 w/ aluminum frames. Few make a Commander 9mm with a real steel frame.
I've considered buying a steel or SS frame for it..but haven't..yet.

Thank you. That answers my concern.

 

[davidschow]

Unless or until one develops a "name" I believe you'll be hard put to make any sort of profit on a home build. Especially at the NH kit prices. Unless to family or friends. Everyone starts somewhere, but tuning and repair is likely a good place to begin. Can't expect to start cranking our $2k plus pistols and sell any, its a crowded market and thats Les Baer money. my .02

Thank you. I don't expect to make a profit. I just don't want to spend $1700 on a kit and have it be worth nothing when I am finished. I am not looking for a business, just a hobby that doesn't cost me too much. I am building for my own personal use and the guns may not sell until my kids sell my estate. I just don't want to be throwing money away on too big scale. I realize that hobbys cost money and I am prepared for that. I appreciate your comments. That is what I asked for.

 

[Babboonbobo]

.., would an Aluminum frame for a 9mm Commander size be reasonable?.."

I own a DW Guardian ..Commander sized 1911in 9mm w/ aluminum frame. In all honesty, for me, it's been a disappointment.
The light frame may be great for carry, but I just don't like the way it shoots. This must put me in a minority, as many 1911 brands make
a Commander sized 1911 w/ aluminum frames. Few make a Commander 9mm with a real steel frame.
I've considered buying a steel or SS frame for it..but haven't..yet.

I have a Guncrafter NN bobtail commander in 9mm with a steel frame plus a matching 45acp and I would highly recommend either caliber in this setup as it is awesome to shoot!!

 

[joepistol]

nice set of pistols!

I do have a steel framed Commander in 9mm..it's a American Classic by Metro Arms..
it's a fairly nice budget pistol, but not in the same class as a Guncrafter.

Bought my DW Guardian as an upgrade, but dislike the lightweight frame.

 

[davidschow]

Thanks for the replies and advice. I found an American Classic by Metro Arms in the Amigo size. It is a chromed gun . I am going to use it to play with and learn more about working on them. I bought this for less than I could buy a kit and it does need some tuning. It is chrome and looks nice, but the plating has made some of the tolerances be a problem. I would have preferred stainless or blued, but this one looks nice and the price was closer to right.

 

[joepistol]

for your consideration.. Understand if you start putting expensive parts into your budget pistol, plan on keeping the pistol for a long time, as
you won't be able to get the $ spent customizing your pistol back, should you try to sell it for the amount of $ you have invested in it.

I did this, 1X.. modding a RIA GI model, Govt. sized, 9mm 1911.. Changed grips, trigger, had cerekoted, added nicer sites, etc..ended putting as much $ into the pistol (or more) than I paid for it. Then, I found & bought a (lightly used) Springfield Armory Loaded Target 9mm, which had more features, was SS (which I prefer) and paid about the same for it as I had spent on the RIA + the mods on it..

Posting this only as a precaution... & added: On a local firearm site, I read a post about the cost of building a custom 1911.
If using .using high quality parts, + buying some special tools, the writer came to the conclusion that ( discounting the education he gained) it wasn't a cost effective way to own a custom 1911.. He wanted to own the tools & develop the skills to build his own. He made mistakes (part of the learning curve) and eventually got what he wanted..though it was @ considerably more expense than he'd planned.
Sort of like building a car & buying each piece separately.. costs add up quickly & exceed what you'd have paid for a new one, already assembled.

So , if you want to learn & devcelope skills to build a 1911..go for it..just accept the fact that the education has a price.

 

[Snakebill]

Here's what I've done. Bought a colt slide on eBay. Measured the dimensions on the slide and ordered the frame with a custom serial number from JEM guns in Texas. They're now making slides as well I believe. Also purchased matching mainspring housing and jem high cut grip safety. Kart xact fit barrel and xact fit tool kit. All my small parts from Egw. I also used a dremel with different grit sanding wheels for blending.

 

[joepistol]

Can I make a suggestion ? Post up some pics of your build.. Parts pics, what parts you had to fit, etc..
would be interesting to me. as well as others here. My gunsmith described what he does to properly fit a barrel to the slide, frame , etc..
I was glad I had him do ithis for me.

 

[davidschow]

for your consideration.. Understand if you start putting expensive parts into your budget pistol, plan on keeping the pistol for a long time, as
you won't be able to get the $ spent customizing your pistol back, should you try to sell it for the amount of $ you have invested in it.

I did this, 1X.. modding a RIA GI model, Govt. sized, 9mm 1911.. Changed grips, trigger, had cerekoted, added nicer sites, etc..ended putting as much $ into the pistol (or more) than I paid for it. Then, I found & bought a (lightly used) Springfield Armory Loaded Target 9mm, which had more features, was SS (which I prefer) and paid about the same for it as I had spent on the RIA + the mods on it..

Posting this only as a precaution... & added: On a local firearm site, I read a post about the cost of building a custom 1911.
If using .using high quality parts, + buying some special tools, the writer came to the conclusion that ( discounting the education he gained) it wasn't a cost effective way to own a custom 1911.. He wanted to own the tools & develop the skills to build his own. He made mistakes (part of the learning curve) and eventually got what he wanted..though it was @ considerably more expense than he'd planned.
Sort of like building a car & buying each piece separately.. costs add up quickly & exceed what you'd have paid for a new one, already assembled.

So , if you want to learn & devcelope skills to build a 1911..go for it..just accept the fact that the education has a price.

I appreciate your insight and cautions. Learning is my plan. I considered attending a 1911 build school, but decided this would be less expensive and should still work. The build course woulld have cost me about $4000 to $5000 and I would have a gun that was not a brand name and might sell for $800 if I was lucky. I am just trying to keep my "tuition" as low as possible. A couple of years ago I bought a Fusion Arms pistol that I think was a kit build. I paid about $350 for it and at the time the kit was about $900. That is some fairly expensive "tuition." One comment on here was that I shouldn't expect to make any money on the finished gun and I appreciate that. I realize that I will not make money and expect to loose money, but I will have fun. One of my concerns was buying the Nighthawk Custom kit for about $1700 and having it be worthless when completed. I do appreciate your comments.
My goal on this first gun is to tune it so it is smooth and reliable. That won't make it any more valuable really, but I should learn something and this should not hurt the value too much.
Just trying to keep my "tuition" as low as possible.

 

[joepistol]

wow.. $4Kfor a class ?

Must have been some build class !

I thought it interesting that my gunsmith told me that if a customer paid him to properly fit a factory barrel ( on most brand name 1911's) , it would be as accurate as the custom barrel they purchased & had him fit to their 1911. He has a LOT of customers that buy a new Colt, Springfield, Kimber, (whatever) and before they even fire the gun, they want him to fit a Kart (or other custom name-brand barrel) to their new pistol. His remark was that often, a properly fit factory barrel will shoot as accurately as an expensive barrel...that for most shooters, a custom barrel is an unnecessary expense.

Taking this information to heart, I had him do a "refit " of the barrel on one of my oldest 1911's... a Springfield Armory GI model I bought about 40 yrs.ago,
had Terry Tussey do a trigger job, install adj. sights, & then had the frame & slide hard-chromed. After having Doug ( my current gunsmith) fit the barrel ,
Using a new barrel link, fitted for max. lock-up.. he build up the locking lugs of the barrel( with weld), then fitted barrel to slide. Finally, he fit a tighter barrel bushing..tighter bushing to slide fit, and bushing to barrel fit. After returning the pistol to me.. it shoots tighter groups!