Double stack 1911-2011 build.

Ripdog38

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I love 1911's and shoot them in competition. Springfield custom shop build and Les Baer in .45acp and recently a Guncrafter Industries in .40S&W. So I bought a L-10 Machine frame (2011 style) a few years back and had it in the safe. A year ago I grabbed a Caspian slide in .40S&W. After grabbing an Index 645 last year and a surface grinder recently, I got a little anxious. Got my dimensions for the frame and slide and determined where to cut. Due to the 2011 style frame being thicker at the back, I measured the rail and rear of the frame. Made a quick shim that measured .0834. Laid it on the SG and checked with a dial indicator. Before cutting anything, I looked over my measurements and realized i did not need to cut anything off of surface A. Being .00175 undersized is within recommendation of .003 or just over at .0035 if you add both sides together.
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The top of the frame was only .0005 oversized so I laid it on a granite plate with 1500grit paper and after a few strokes it was good. The next step was to hit the lower end of the slide rails. Grabbed an endmill, stuck it in my mill vise, leveled it and dropped the spindle. One pass at .0065 and it was set. I was extremely happy with the results as it was a better fit than my SACS build. nearly as tight as the Baer but will have to wait for the barrel install to really lock it all up. There is zero felt play at the back. The front of the rail was .001 out of square and seeing that the rails stop half way, I have very slight play at the nose of the gun. Still not enough to allow the slide spring tunnel to hit the frame.IMG_0416.jpgIMG_0415.jpgIMG_0418.jpg
 
Watch out for OS firing pin stop plates, they can over hang and won't let the slide come off. Don't worry about a little slide / frame slop, good barrel lock up cures that.
Make sure the trigger stirrup is free when the grip is installed. Some vendors don't have enough clearance.
 
Very cool build! I am a big fan of 1911's myself. I only have a dozen of them!
Did you say you built a custom Les Baer using his frame and slide? I have been wanting to build a monolith 1911 for a while and thought about buying a LB frame but they are expensive and I believe that there are 3 of companies now making monolith frames.
 
Very cool build! I am a big fan of 1911's myself. I only have a dozen of them!
Did you say you built a custom Les Baer using his frame and slide? I have been wanting to build a monolith 1911 for a while and thought about buying a LB frame but they are expensive and I believe that there are 3 of companies now making monolith frames.

No, It is a factory build, Custom Carry. Had a bit of work done to it by Canyon Creek. Rich stopped working on guns because of back problems though. Yes, Jem makes Mono frames. I would love to grab a Baer mono though.
 
Nice! I did an aluminum framed commander a while back and love it! It took a while to get it reliable (the extractor ended up being way oversized, so it took a ton of filing to make it work right!), but I took a 1911 maintenance/armory course so I got to have an expert look at it :)
 
File to fit is normal and expected with better parts, otherwise it's GI tolerance which is why they sound like a baby rattle.
 
Yes, I am aware of the JEM monoliths. I use to make parts for JEM when I worked at Evolution Gun Works. I know our parts are top notch but I have never seen a JEM straight from the factory. I am actually more interested in a 80% rather than serialized. Fusion Firearms keeps telling me they are going to offer their monolith as an 80% which should be any day now if they decide to do it.
No, It is a factory build, Custom Carry. Had a bit of work done to it by Canyon Creek. Rich stopped working on guns because of back problems though. Yes, Jem makes Mono frames. I would love to grab a Baer mono though.
 
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Nice fit, the frame to slide fit is very tight.
I too love the 1911's. The trigger (no creep) is incredible.
I had a Kimber Super Match II. The slide would stop and not cycle forward when it was fired.
I assume that is common when a bit too tight.
Had to work out the bugs a bit.
I'm looking forward to your next posts on this build and the 80% .
I'm getting that itch to get back into firearms.
Thanks for sharing.
 
If the slide stalls while your finger is holding the trigger back, it's trigger stirrup over traval binding disconnector. Adjust the screw on the trigger shoe for less travel.
 
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