The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post

MarkJawn · June 14, 2018, 04:57 AM

Hey guys, I’m still sort of new to shooting (only a couple years under my belt) and I’m looking to get into some DIY ‘gunsmithing’.
I have an old Remington 870 that was passed down to me when my father died so I figured a good start would be trying to disassemble that as far as I can with the help of YouTube, and put it back together. It also has some minor pitting and rust so maybe one day I may even be able to practice that aspect of gunsmithing as well and try to remedy that issue once I’ve built more confidence.
I recently listened to a podcast that had some Gunsmiths on, and one of them said a good way to get started with this hobby would be to buy a cheap 5 inch 1911 and start changing parts on it over time. I figured that would be a great idea, I could also duracoat it eventually and maybe even engrave a pair of super cheap wooden grips if I feel capable after more YouTube studying.
My question is do you all agree?
If yes, my next question is which cheap 1911 would be a good ‘beater’ for this type of project? Rock Island? ATI? American Classic?
I assume it would have to be one that has strayed very very little from the main blueprint for a 1911 so that a lot of these spare parts I buy will fit it.
Another question I have is should I stay with 45 ACP or would 9mm be okay as well? My thought is that maybe the 9mm has slightly different internals and they could be more difficult to find?
Thanks for the help!

June 14, 2018, 04:57 AM	#1
MarkJawn Junior Member Join Date: June 13, 2018 Posts: 2	1911 parts interchangeability Hey guys, I’m still sort of new to shooting (only a couple years under my belt) and I’m looking to get into some DIY ‘gunsmithing’. I have an old Remington 870 that was passed down to me when my father died so I figured a good start would be trying to disassemble that as far as I can with the help of YouTube, and put it back together. It also has some minor pitting and rust so maybe one day I may even be able to practice that aspect of gunsmithing as well and try to remedy that issue once I’ve built more confidence. I recently listened to a podcast that had some Gunsmiths on, and one of them said a good way to get started with this hobby would be to buy a cheap 5 inch 1911 and start changing parts on it over time. I figured that would be a great idea, I could also duracoat it eventually and maybe even engrave a pair of super cheap wooden grips if I feel capable after more YouTube studying. My question is do you all agree? If yes, my next question is which cheap 1911 would be a good ‘beater’ for this type of project? Rock Island? ATI? American Classic? I assume it would have to be one that has strayed very very little from the main blueprint for a 1911 so that a lot of these spare parts I buy will fit it. Another question I have is should I stay with 45 ACP or would 9mm be okay as well? My thought is that maybe the 9mm has slightly different internals and they could be more difficult to find? Thanks for the help!