I started getting parts in to work on Judge's RIA 1911. The Beavertail safety, springs, tactical mag catch and assorted items came first.
Fitting that beavertail is one lot of filing, boy do I need a bench grinder. You can see that the safety really changes the look of the RIA.
Different look at the upsweep of the saftey and the "bump" at the bottom. To make this work until I get in the backordered Cylinder Slide Hammer group, I had to bob the hammer. I installed the hex head grip screws and they look fine with the original style checkered grips that Judge bought.
Here's a closer look at the hammer, after reforming and bobbing the hammer, I ended up taking off all the checkering, so I cut in some serrations free-hand to make do until the new hammer is in. I didn't do a horrible job and it is certainly much more usable than a slick hammer.
This final shot illustrates that I still have some shaping to do to blend the frame and the safety properly. Judge, you got a final finish in mind?
So far, I have 5 hours in on the gun with many more I'm sure to go. Observations? I need more tools (especially a grinder). I ordered Kuhnhausen's 1911 book as well as a tactical mag catch for my Kimber since I liked the one that is on the Rock right now. I'm not sold on two piece guide rods, I don't get why anyone likes them. I'm suggesting Judge go with a one piece and I'll see if Midway will take back the two piece. The bench block I bought is worth the price just for removing the mainspring pin. I like the look of the bobbed hammer.
Fitting that beavertail is one lot of filing, boy do I need a bench grinder. You can see that the safety really changes the look of the RIA.Different look at the upsweep of the saftey and the "bump" at the bottom. To make this work until I get in the backordered Cylinder Slide Hammer group, I had to bob the hammer. I installed the hex head grip screws and they look fine with the original style checkered grips that Judge bought.Here's a closer look at the hammer, after reforming and bobbing the hammer, I ended up taking off all the checkering, so I cut in some serrations free-hand to make do until the new hammer is in. I didn't do a horrible job and it is certainly much more usable than a slick hammer.This final shot illustrates that I still have some shaping to do to blend the frame and the safety properly. Judge, you got a final finish in mind?So far, I have 5 hours in on the gun with many more I'm sure to go. Observations? I need more tools (especially a grinder). I ordered Kuhnhausen's 1911 book as well as a tactical mag catch for my Kimber since I liked the one that is on the Rock right now. I'm not sold on two piece guide rods, I don't get why anyone likes them. I'm suggesting Judge go with a one piece and I'll see if Midway will take back the two piece. The bench block I bought is worth the price just for removing the mainspring pin. I like the look of the bobbed hammer.
1 comment:
Looks great. It's amazing how different it looks with new grips and the beaver tail grip safety.
as far as finishes I'm wondering what we could do "in house" so to speak. It would be nice to finish the whole thing up without having to send it off to anyone...research, must research.
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