1911 project

[Greschner 4]

After looking at all the commercial tools for squeezing the slide I decided to go a little different route. Since CNC machine vices are very ridged I figured I could use one of mine to do the squeezing. I decided to mill some hardened vice jaws with a carbide end mill into a shape I thought would work well. I used some brass shim stock to pad the jaws so the slides finish would not get damaged. This set up works very well but a lot of care is needed around the ejection port because it is very thin. I had read about cracking the slide from over tightening, this did not happen but I can see how it could. I basically tightened the jaws on the slide with a fair amount of pressure, let it sit for a few seconds and then struck the vice with a lead hammer to help it take a set. It worked well but a little to tight, some lapping took care of that.

Once fitted to the frame I milled some cooling or just cool slots on the sides and a ball mill groove on the top. I then bead blasted the entire slide and sanded the sides to give it a contrast to the bead blast finish. Adjustable sights finish it off.

Next up hammer, sear work and final assembly.

That is frighteningly sweet!

 

[wcmachine]

Looks great! Squeezing the slide near the thumb safety cut out is tough, they can snap there. Also with lightening the slide, you will need to go with a heavier recoil spring if you plan on shooting the same loads before you lightened it. Too light a spring can cause excessive battering. 8 hours to checker is one reason we do it by machine now. It also comes out better. Keep up the good work.

I will never checker by hand again but I wanted to try it old school for the experience. Thanks for the kind words, it means a lot coming from a master.