Printable View
I have recently built my own AR-15 from scratch and am wondering if there is a pistol that i can do the same with. I know there are alot of parts around for the 1911 models but i would like to make something in 9mm. Preferably where i can buy all the parts separately and assemble it myself without any full kits. I am open to many makes and models as long as it is 9mm and has the most available custom parts.
You can buy all the Lone Wolf parts to make a Glock. You can also do the route you mentioned and build a 1911.
Lone Wolf makes frames?1911s are the only thing I thought had aftermarket frames.
For the 1911,Caspian,STI,Wilson,Baer and I believe Nighthawk has the big stuff like frames and slides,and some have the whole 9 yards or packages.Caspian is very popular with custom builders.Small parts are plentiful but don't buy cheap stuff,buy from top names.Masen is crap.EGW makes some of the best parts around,Wilson is great and most of Ed Brown's,Cylender&Slide,Nowlin,and others.
Now,you have to realize there are no drop in parts in a 1911 unless you have a pile of old GI spec parts,and they still need mating checks.The guns are simple,studying them will show this,but it's what you don't see and think about that will screw with you.Buy both of Kunhausen's books and study them,then study them some more.Shuemann's site has some very good info on proper barrel fit,and Kart has an easy fit barrel and a small tool kit to do it,Kart has excellent barrels.Drop ins normally do but you aren't necessarily going to get real good lockup.If you do this,you will need to blueprint,or measure,your parts for holes and surfaces being in the right spot,especially frame holes,ramp angle,and rails to fit the slide to frame.Pin holes are critical to the trigger system.You will also need a good investment in tools,I'm not a smith and have a good $500 worth of stuff and could spend alot more if I wanted to do what I prefer to let someone elsedo for the economics of it.
You can buy a frame and slide prefit,and sometimes a barrel fit in the package,that's a good route because both take alot of work to do right.Learn all you can about the trigger system,do not trust a drop-in trigger group to do so.If your frame pin holes are in the same spec that the manufacturer made theirs to,they generally are fine.The trigger itself can screw up the whole hammer/sear/disconnector operation depending on who made it and the frame,they aren't all the same bow length and can cause a few problems.Study and research the system well,the trigger group is about the most dangerous area that can seem fine and fail later,causing injury or death.The barrel's chamber and the feedramps is another ares that can be dangerous if dinked with without knowing and measuring.
Many have done what you want to,so if you want to go for it,but study up really well on every area of the gun so it's fit togetyer well and right.Then you'll have something to be proud of and not something you're chasing problems on or it ends up a proverbial timebomb waiting to happen.
Good luck and stay safe.
Lone Wolf Distributors - Product Detail - Timberwolf Frame (Bare Frame) - $199.95Quote:
Originally Posted by rex
I'll be,you learn something every day.
Well,that's a better option than a 1911 for a first build for sure.That would be more like an AR,more modular and drop together with minimal fitting.