Author Topic: 1911 parts (Read 808 times)

jjcoe · « **on:** June 08, 2004, 01:59:11 PM »

I am fairly new to 1911's and was wanting some info from some one with more experience than myself. I recently got a good deal on a Norinco made 1911 ($250) and was wanting to do some slight modifications, mainly a beavertail grip safety, and drop in trigger components. Want to keep the barrel that I have, as it shoots good and I really don't have the $$$ for a match barrel now. What manufacturers should I be looking at for parts, and what other mods should I look at making? I have checked out Ed Browns page and am considering his products. I am pretty good with my hands and have done some gunsmithing/sporterizing on a few military long guns to gain some experience. Any info you guys can come up with would be greatly appreciated.

John Traveler · « **Reply #1 on:** June 08, 2004, 02:09:16 PM »

Congratulations on your new M1911 and welcome to the club!

That Norinco is a pretty good platform to start with. It's dimensionally compatible with "GI" M1911A1 guns and accepts the whole rainbow of accessories.

For starters, I'd recommend more visible sights, ambidexterous safety, and non-slip grips. Either checkered wood or the black rubber wraparounds are good, if the ugliness of rubber doesn't bother you. Recoil spring buffer and stronger spring are nice if you shoot a lot of hardball. There was a gadget called the "Dwyer Group Gripper" that replaced the recoil spring guide. It used a spring finger to push upward on the barrel, camming it into tighter lockup to the slide to increase accuracy. I knew the guy that invented it.

Brownells is a good source for accessories, but they are pricey. Try searchin on EBay. There are always M1911 accessories listed. Plenty of other M1911 suppliers. Try a web search for "M1911 parts".

No hurry in fitting a match quality barrel and bushing if the gun shoots well already. I've had stock Norinco guns shoot into 2" at 25 yards right out of the box.

John

BamBams · « **Reply #2 on:** June 08, 2004, 04:59:58 PM »

My two cents:

Ed Brown is a good parts maker. I like their thumb safeties especially. Their parts are also reasonably priced.

I'm also a BIG fan of Cylinder & Slide.

If you're going to spend the money on parts, try and make sure they aren't made by the MIM process. Many of the inexpensive ones are. Oh they do work, but for how long is a huge topic of debate. No point in going there really....but if you're gonna go through the trouble to improve your pistol......nuff said.

Also do yourself a favor and go slow and ONLY change something if you have a good reason to change it. There's no point in changing something for no reason. In my case, all my guns are made up of various manufacture's parts, but I don't do this for the heck of it either.

Since you're planning on beavertail work........

I'm not an expert on the Norinco frame, but most likely you'll have to fit that beavertail to it.

There are somewhere about 30 varieties of grip safeties out there right now. Some are "drop in" and the others will either fall into the "Ed Brown" or "Wilson" genres.

What you want to know, AHEAD of time, is the radius you'll have cut on your frame. There is the .250 radius, which includes Brown, Baer, and McCormick etc, and there is the other which includes a Wilson, Caspian, and others.

Whatever else you do....ORDER THE JIG before you go grinding on your frame. Most jigs will come with instructions.

The other thing is fitting the safety "hand" to the trigger bow. This is a real sensitive undertaking. One extra stroke of the file or even a stone, and you've got scrap metal for a grip safety. Aftermarket grip safeties come oversized on the hand for that reason.

My suggestion on that is to fit it carefully by only installing the trigger, mag release, mainspring housing, and the thumb safety pin through the right side. This way, with a good flashlight, you can observe the working of the grip safety against the trigger bow as you proceed to fit it. Follow that 45 degree angle on the hand also. Don't change it, or you'll regret it.

Another thing you may run into is having to file off some of the top of the mainspring housing to get the proper travel for your grip safety. A grip safety, in my opinion, should NOT release unless you have a proper and firm grip. I run across grip safeties that release if you just sneeze on them, and this, again in my opinion, presents a safety hazard during carry.

If you DO screw up the hand, there are other options that can get you out of trouble, but there's no need to talk about those right now. *smiles*

Oh yeah, and "Dremel" tools are all demon possessed! Avoid them at all costs.

Good luck....and let us know if we can help you.

Mikey · « **Reply #3 on:** June 09, 2004, 04:01:02 AM »

jjcoe: I have used Kings drop-in beavertail grip safeties on all my 1911s and they work very well - no problems and the fit and feel is just fine. I have tricked out each of my 45s with Chip McCormack trigger group kits (trigger, hammer, sear and plunger) and am very happy with them. I also have installed an Ed Brown drop in accuracy barrel and will get another one because they shoot so well.

Each of the parts mentioned was a drop-in that did nto require any fitting at all, and I am very happy with the results.

ps - Bam Bams is right about the Demon Dremel tools - beware (LOL). HTH. Mikey.

Questor · « **Reply #4 on:** June 09, 2004, 05:46:23 AM »

I had a recent experience where I needed to buy a spring I had lost, and both Brownells and Midway were out of stock. I ended up buying it from Wilson Combat and it's a good quality part. They sent me a catalog with it, and the catalog contains an exploded view of the 1911-A1 and the part numbers. I believe some of the parts were not compatible with Norinco.

I tried egunparts.com but I couldn't figure out how to order my parts without first buying a diagram.

Is there another particularly good source of routine replacement parts (as opposed to custom accessories?)

BamBams · « **Reply #5 on:** June 09, 2004, 04:35:06 PM »

I'm a fan of Brownell's for gun parts and tools. They aren't the cheapest place in the world, but their customer service and variety are great. You can get a catalog for free from them by placing one order. Otherwise it's $5. www.brownells.com

Castaway · « **Reply #6 on:** June 22, 2004, 07:04:23 AM »

Got a Norinco as a practice smithing pistol. The first thing I'd do is install a match bushing. They come oversize and with a little work you can polish them in to fit the slide and allow the barrel to function. After that, I'd install a trigger with an over-travel stop. Then, either with judicious work with a stone, or you can purchase and install a drop in hammer/sear combination and you are set. If you want to continue your custom job, remove the slide, wrap it in leather and place it in a vice and compress the rails to the point they bend inward. There's a bit of spring in the rails and you may have to do it a time or two after you get a feel for what you're doing. The next step sounds crude, but you can take a hammer and peen the rails down on the frame so they bend to the point that the slide is now binding slightly. A more cosmetic approach is to order a peening tool from Brownell's and get the rails bent down without all of the individual hammer strikes. Afterwards, lap the slide and frame together and you'll have a pistol worth of calling custom match. The last step I'd consider after the above mentiond work is to install a match barrel.