Next project . . .

[BigJon]

Colt Series 70 carbon-steel slide, bought NIB off Ebay

Kimber stainless Receiver (Model 80) off old pistol, whose slide I utterly butchered.

Lord KNOWS what OTHER parts!

[RIKA]

How did you butcher the slide? I promise no snide remarks because I once turned an $1100 Mauser Broomhandle into a shooter.

RIKA

[BigJon]

Trying out "new and innovative filing" and grinding techniques! lol!!!

In other words, I got just a liiiiiiiiitle too brave!

[BigEd63]

Sounds goog Jon, would like to hear how it progresses. Minw will be ither a 1911 build also or may be an AR Pistol of some kind, maybe.

There is supposed to be a good quality flash suppressor by Noveske, IIRC, that directs the worst part of the blast from an AR shorty forwards. I need to do more research though.

Otherwise a Commander build is looking more likely.

[DaRkWoLf]

There is supposed to be a good quality flash suppressor by Noveske, IIRC, that directs the worst part of the blast from an AR shorty forwards. I need to do more research though.

Its called the KX3. I have one on my Infidel upper. It kicks ass in addition to looking pretty cool, IMO.

http://noveskerifleworks.com/cgi-bin/imcart/display.cgi?cat=11

[BigEd63]

DW- So it works pretty well then? Do you happen to know anyone who has tried the Levange(sp?) that works along a similar concept?

[neolithic hunter]

bigjon if you haven't screwed up parts you haven't built guns. :cool:

[DaRkWoLf]

DW- So it works pretty well then? Do you happen to know anyone who has tried the Levange(sp?) that works along a similar concept?

The KX3 is the only thing I'd put on the end of a sub-carbine other than a sound suppressor. No ifs ands or buts, its that good. No blast or flash apart from the ejection port comes back at you or upwards, so your view is not obscured and I'd imagine it'd be very cooperative with NVDs.

I don't know of the Levange device, but if its the general krink flash suppressor concept, the KX3 stems from it.

[BigJon]

Okay. Gettin' there! Was glad to see that the slide and the receiver were actually too tight a fit. Gave me the option to mate them correctly, which I have done. Also, was extremely surprised and excited to find that the stock Kimber barrel was oversized for the Colt slide, so I was able to fit the hood and upper lugs and lower lugs properly. Still have to measure to see if the link is the right size (the gods couldn't smile on me that broadly, I'm sure!)

Have started in on the body work, but still have a lot to do. Have started opening up the area around the trigger guard and straightening the lines - this will probably end up looking more like a 1911 receiver when I'm done.

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n169/BigJon3333/Kimber%20Project/BodyWork2.jpg

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n169/BigJon3333/Kimber%20Project/BodyWork1.jpg

Have also started dropping the ejection port and chamfering for a dimple. Will also finish opening up the front of the ejection port on the right front just a tad so that the pistol will eject live ball rounds.

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n169/BigJon3333/Kimber%20Project/PortCut.jpg

Got the crown flush and just have to do the final finishing on that.

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n169/BigJon3333/Kimber%20Project/IMG_3788.jpg

Lots of other stuff to do also. Gonna install a beavertail, probably a S&A unit. I also have a carbon-steel flat, serrated mainspring housing with a magwell that locks onto the bottom with a torx nut (S&A maybe? Can't remember). Am going to install that and see if I can get that cut way, way down just to give me a hair more opening on the mag well, but without substantially increasing width or length of the mag well.

When all that's done, I'll turn to a pro to add sights and finish the pistol. Am thinking about either hard chrome or Bear Coat for the whole gun.

[BigJon]

This is turning out to be even a better educational experience than I had hoped. I think that's because I'm trying to mate an old Colt slide with a new Kimber receiver - there are things that don't seem to go together well. For example, the slide won't lock back on an emty mag - it just doesn't push the slide stop up far enough - it does push up just a micron, but not enough to engage the stop into the slide notch. And I'm using a Tripp mag, which is among the most positive I have when it comes to engaging the slide stop in my other guns. Am really enjoying this.

[BigEd63]

Looks like fun to me too. I gotta decide soon on which firearm project to do next:

1911 build, AR build or Mauser build..decisions decisions. :scatter:

[RIKA]

Glad you're having fun. Hmmm. Maybe I can put a 9mm top on one of my 1911 receivers. That would solve a problem.

RIKA

[BigJon]

A 9mm upper, huh? Heck, how about just doin' a .38 Super instead?

[RIKA]

A 9mm upper, huh? Heck, how about just doin' a .38 Super instead?

9mm is cheap to shoot right now. I can do both though because the 9mm slide supports 38 Super too.

RIKA

[BigJon]

Okay. Lots of progress so far. Have been going VERY slowly with hand tools, and so far I haven't screwed the pooch to badly. Here are a few photos that show the external work.

The biggest thing that I'm working on right now is opening the port so that the pistol will eject better, especially live ball rounds. The photos show the lowered port and dimple, both of which I have done with files and cratex. They also show the right, front part of the port, which I've attempted to open up a bit inside to allow the nose of ball rounds to pass as they are ejected. I already know that I'll be needing an extended ejector, and that's on the way.

Other stuff the photos show includes the opened area and straightened upper lines in all areas around the trigger, which tends to give the receiver more of a 1911 look, the flush cut on the muzzle, which is complete except for final smoothing, the edges I've broken all around the slide, and the beavertail I installed yesterday. None of this has been final finished.

Best,
Jon

[BigJon]

And here is the work around the port - lowered, dimple created and the front, right inside, where I have beveled things for ejection of live ball. Have stopped that part for now, until the extended ejector arrives, and I can install it to see what else, if anything, I need to do to get those little round bullets to jump out unimpeded.

Best,
Jon

[RIKA]

Good job. It looks very professional so far. Your ejection port is very nice.

RIKA

[BigJon]

Thanks. High praise coming from you. Still mighty impressed by you job o' rust bluin' that old Colt, and believe me, I noticed the details - you kept the lines straight, smoothed things out just enough but not too much, and put the gun back in good shape, but with the "character lines" it should have on its face given its age. Bottom line is that from the pictures, I'd be hard-pressed to tell that it had been refinished.

I hope the port work will be good. I have never even seen one in the flesh that had the front right inside scooped out for live-ball ejection, so I'm just going on pure logic here. When I get the extended ejector installed, that oughta tell me more, so I'll hold off doing anything else up there 'til I get that done.

I'm really getting a brave streak. Now that I've gotten the dimple done pretty well, I'm mentally eyeballing the slide with an idea of flat-topping it. If I do that, though, it won't be until I finish everything else and see if I like the look as is or not (don't want to put that extra, superfluous brush stroke on the Mona Lisa. LOL!!!!), and also, I'll have to dump some cash to get checkering files and jigs. I already have the little curved files to point up checkering, but not the big files.

In the end, I'm going to have a pro put the finish on if I do anything other than shine the hell out of the receiver and then brush-finish it, and rust blue the slide.

Either way, I sho' am having FUN!!!

[krept]

looks awesome so far. Seeing pics like this of a work in progress is a big inspiration.

[neolithic hunter]

looks like your doing a fine job bigjon, keep up the good work. :cool:

[BigEd63]

Looks great Jon. How does it feel in your hand with that type of thunb safety and the beavertail grip safety?

[BigJon]

Thanks amigos. Believe me - again, BELIEVE ME when I say that I am an utter rookie at this stuff. For example, I posted above that I was going to install an extended ejector to help the gun eject live ball, but after thiniking about it some more, I think that an extended ejector would probably ADD to that problem by starting the round toward the side earlier.

As for inspiration, I'm glad. I have learned an incredible amount during the Patriot course, and it's not even over yet. One of the big lessons I learned is a very simple one - don't be afraid to try. Guns are just machines made of parts. If you are learning how to build the machine properly, you will invariably screw up parts along the way. I have screwed up the same part as many as three times! The downside is that it's costly to learn, but it's the only way I know of. The Patriot Course gave me the fortitude to try, and the backup to keep really, really bad screwups to a minimum.

Best,
Jon

[BigJon]

Thumb safety, beavertail and slide stop have been replaced, the muzzle has been flush fit, and a LOT of body work has been done to change the lines in keeping with what I envisioned - a very sleek pistol with a lot of straight, horizontal lines and nothing pokin' out. All the work I plan has been done, except that I'll have to have a pro dovetail in some decent sights, since my eyeballs just cannot use these any more.

I got the function work done and took her out to the range the other day. Yeeha! Ran 200 rounds (admittedly just ball for the initial outing) and had zero malfs! AND the gun even ejects live ball slick as glass.

My old eyes couldn't get a clear view of those crumby Colt sites if they had to, but I still managed to group at 2 inches at 10 yards 0 and at dusk at that. I have a drop-in brown bushing on it now, and that's the only item of barrel stuff that's not really fit, so I'll be addressing that before long.

In the meantime, here is another batch of photos of the gun in its current state. In these shots, you can see the substantial modification to the trigger itself, port, beavertail, crown, and the body work to straighten out the lines I mentioned in my earlier posts.

So, other than the sights, all that remains is pretty much finish work. But, that will be detail work and so I know it'll take a long time. For now, I'm going to leave it with a blued top, and I'm getting pretty good at faking a brushed aluminum look by hand on stainless, so that's how I'll finish the lower. I still have hours of work to do, though, to get the finish like I want it. Still got a LOT of sanding and polishing to do.

Best,
Jon

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n169/BigJon3333/Kimber%20Project/Almost%20Finished/IMG_3820.jpg

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n169/BigJon3333/Kimber%20Project/Almost%20Finished/IMG_3821.jpg

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n169/BigJon3333/Kimber%20Project/Almost%20Finished/IMG_3822.jpg

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n169/BigJon3333/Kimber%20Project/Almost%20Finished/IMG_3822b.jpg

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n169/BigJon3333/Kimber%20Project/Almost%20Finished/IMG_3823.jpg

[RIKA]

Wow! Now that just looks professional and best of all its all your handwork. Bet it feels so good to be almost finished too. Only thing I would add would be some really visible sights but I'm sure you're going to do that already. Congrats and well done.

RIKA

[BigJon]

Thanks, R!!!! I have to laugh at myself. You should have seen me when I loaded the pistol, held it in my left hand (I'm right handed), reached around a fat tree and closed my eyes before I pulled the trigger! LOL! What a "manly man," huh?

Best,
Jon

[BigJon]

As I said, I'm down to the real nuts and bolts of trying to get everything cosmetically perfect. My goal when I started was to make this pistol as sleek as I could, and to do that I wanted to have as few lines as possible, and then make the few lines I had either completely horizontal, or if curved, then all curved at the same radii as much as possible.

For example, here's one area I have a lot of detail work left on, the slide-stop. This slide stop was an eye-opener when it arrived from C&S. It was very long, very wide, and everything on it was at sharp angles. I kept chewing on it, though, with a Dremel, hand files and sandpaper, and I've gotten it almost where I want it. During finishing, I'll try to bring it's top and bottom lines parallel with each other, and also with the bottom edge of the slide. I'll also finish raising the line where the front of the trigger guard meets the frame until it is completely horizontal from the curve of the guard at the rear all the way out to the front where the frame and trigger guard meet.

One thing I did manage to accomplish pretty well (surprised myself!) was at the lower back corner of the slide stop's main plate. It too was sharply angled, and I created a divot there with a radius that pretty much matches the radii on the back of the thumb safety and the frame and beavertail right behind it.

Still a long way to go, but fun, fun fun! Then, of course, I'll have to drop the dinero to get some better sights - tried them again yesterday, and I surrendered. My eyes just can't use them any more.

Best,
Jon

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n169/BigJon3333/Kimber%20Project/LineCut.jpg

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n169/BigJon3333/Kimber%20Project/LineCut2.jpg

[RIKA]

And then I thought I was a nut for detail! :) But then every file stroke adds to your education and skills. I'm betting that this won't be your last 45 and each one will be better than the last.

RIKA

[BigJon]

Looks great Jon. How does it feel in your hand with that type of thunb safety and the beavertail grip safety?

Hi, Big Ed. Sorry - just saw this. The answer? It didn't feel right. Swapped the thumb safety out for a standard set up.

[BigEd63]

Ok, I was looking at that and wondering if that would either be an asset to or a PIA to us guys with big hands.

[krept]

lookin GOOD so far. What's the trick that you use to get the lowest line (on the frame) parallel with the slide? I'd think that would be a PITA.

I've gotten good experience with some of these techniques taking steel barstock and making them into knifelike objects. Can't wait to get into 1911s.

cheers

[BigJon]

lookin GOOD so far. What's the trick that you use to get the lowest line (on the frame) parallel with the slide? I'd think that would be a PITA.

I've gotten good experience with some of these techniques taking steel barstock and making them into knifelike objects. Can't wait to get into 1911s.

cheers

Hi, krept - as far as technique goes, there may be one, but if so I don't know it! I just got a little jeweler's file with a safe edge and kept filing from front to back until that line was straight, and then I just smoothed everything out.

[BigJon]

Krept - Also, I've been having these really dangerous thoughts - about maybe putting a power drill with a very wide bit into my vice at an angle, rigging up a jig of some sort, and using it for a mill.

At least I still have the original slide from the Kimber that I destroyed to practice on. lol! I plan on seeing if I can French Border it too just using hand files and a guide jig that I'll have to build. Oh well . . . no other way to learn without screwing up parts along the way.

Best,
Jon

[RIKA]

Krept - Also, I've been having these really dangerous thoughts - about maybe putting a power drill with a very wide bit into my vice at an angle, rigging up a jig of some sort, and using it for a mill.

At least I still have the original slide from the Kimber that I destroyed to practice on. lol! I plan on seeing if I can French Border it too just using hand files and a guide jig that I'll have to build. Oh well . . . no other way to learn without screwing up parts along the way.

Best,
Jon

Jon, a power drill with a wide bit in a vise doesn't sound like such a hot idea even with a jig. How about, instead, using a Dremel with a variable speed device to slow it down. I think that they make a little router type jig that holds the tool precisely. I would think that with a little ingenuity and WECSOG engineering, you could make very nice French Borders.

Just an alternate idea.

RIKA

[BigJon]

Hi, R! Long time no see. Yea, I know you're right. I bought one of those Dremel drill presses a little while ago. It'll do okay for VERY tiny jobs, but there is no way to angle it for a French Border cut. Oh well. I think I"ll end up trying to do one by hand on my FUBAR'd slide and then see what happens. I've got the little V-shaped checkering files, and those ought to do well, expecially for a light border.

Best,
Jon