80% 1911, How hard??

ashershapiro · Nov 29, 2016

I'm thinking about doing an 80% 1911 build. Has anyone done one, and could you comment on how hard it was.

I would say I have a medium level of competency with firearms. I've built a few AR's and modify my handguns with no issues(sights, trigger, Etc.). My dad just gave me an old drill press as well.

I just dont wanna drop $200+ on a lower and mess it up.

Fox123 · Nov 29, 2016

I think it depends on the parts you pick up and who made the 80% frame.

For instance if you buy a slide and barrel that have already been fitted together etc, or if you buy parts that need accurate measure and hand filing/fitting.

Also not all 80% frames are created equal, stealth arms for instance say you don't have to deck the top vs 1911builder you do have to deck the top.

Search on YouTube for a channel named "mosin virus" he has built several 1911's

tkd4life · Nov 29, 2016

I finished 2 different 1911 80% receivers and honestly each build varied in difficulty. Finishing the receiver was easy honestly. There really wasn't much to it. I used the Stealth Arms Phantom Jig and if you follow the instructions it is painless.

The difficulty came in trying to fit the receiver parts to the receivers. I wanted to build a 22lr 1911 from a kimber conversion kit that I had and I also wanted to build a 45 acp build. I was able to find a 45 ACP colt gold cup slide and parts kit locally which worked out really well. I put all the receiver parts from the gold cup kit into the 22lr build and it went together very easy. It was literally just a matter of assembling the kit. I didn't have to fit anything. For the 45acp build however, it was a completely different story.

For the 45 acp build, I bought wilson combat parts and I had to hand fit just about every component. The wilson combat spring kit was no joke in spring tension. I had to cut a coil off of the plunger tube spring for my slide catch to work right. I had to hand fit the ejector to the slide, the slide catch to the receiver, and the main spring housing and beaver tail grip safety to the back of the receiver and the safety to the receiver. It was just spending a couple of hours with a file and sandpaper. I didn't buy any "drop in" parts either so maybe if you did, it would be an easier process. But for me it was a labor of love. I really like how they turned out and I learned a lot about the 1911 design in the process. There are many youtube video's out there showing you the process. I would recommend it for someone who wants a 1911.

I actually have the phantom jig for sale if you are interested shoot me a PM. Good luck if you decide to go through with the build.

Jaybeez · Nov 29, 2016

Fox123 said:
I think it depends on the parts you pick up and who made the 80% frame.

For instance if you buy a slide and barrel that have already been fitted together etc, or if you buy parts that need accurate measure and hand filing/fitting.

Also not all 80% frames are created equal, stealth arms for instance say you don't have to deck the top vs 1911builder you do have to deck the top.

Search on YouTube for a channel named "mosin virus" he has built several 1911's

Last time i checked, you need to deck the top of the stealth arms. Not alot, and it can be done by hand, but its necessary.

tkd4life · Nov 29, 2016

Jaybeez said:
Last time i checked, you need to deck the top of the stealth arms. Not alot, and it can be done by hand, but its necessary.

I guess it depends on what you mean by decking the top. You have to cut the barrel channel in the stealth arms 80% but you don't have to remove any material on top along the whole length of the slide rails. Some 80% receivers you do. Personally I wouldn't say you have to deck the top of the stealth arms kits as the cut you are making is rounded and not flat.

ashershapiro · Nov 29, 2016

tkd4life said:
I finished 2 different 1911 80% receivers and honestly each build varied in difficulty. Finishing the receiver was easy honestly. There really wasn't much to it. I used the Stealth Arms Phantom Jig and if you follow the instructions it is painless.

The difficulty came in trying to fit the receiver parts to the receivers. I wanted to build a 22lr 1911 from a kimber conversion kit that I had and I also wanted to build a 45 acp build. I was able to find a 45 ACP colt gold cup slide and parts kit locally which worked out really well. I put all the receiver parts from the gold cup kit into the 22lr build and it went together very easy. It was literally just a matter of assembling the kit. I didn't have to fit anything. For the 45acp build however, it was a completely different story.

For the 45 acp build, I bought wilson combat parts and I had to hand fit just about every component. The wilson combat spring kit was no joke in spring tension. I had to cut a coil off of the plunger tube spring for my slide catch to work right. I had to hand fit the ejector to the slide, the slide catch to the receiver, and the main spring housing and beaver tail grip safety to the back of the receiver and the safety to the receiver. It was just spending a couple of hours with a file and sandpaper. I didn't buy any "drop in" parts either so maybe if you did, it would be an easier process. But for me it was a labor of love. I really like how they turned out and I learned a lot about the 1911 design in the process. There are many youtube video's out there showing you the process. I would recommend it for someone who wants a 1911.

I actually have the phantom jig for sale if you are interested shoot me a PM. Good luck if you decide to go through with the build.

I'm interested in a commander size bobtail frame in 9mm, so that really limits my options. Do yours run reliably?

WeaponsCollector · Nov 29, 2016

I've built a couple Stealth Arms 1911's and the difficulty will depend on what kind of 1911 you want to build.
A normal mil-spec 1911 is the easiest to put together if you buy a mil-spec parts kit, the parts should just drop right in with very little fitting and/or adjusting.
If you want to build a custom 1911 with high end/tactical parts it will probably require much more fitting and adjusting.
It was easier than I though it would be and I'm no gunsmith but the 1911's I've built work pretty good.
Took me about 5 hours to build them and it took about 2 hours to build a Polymer80 Glock 17.

jjones88 · Nov 29, 2016

I've built 3 so far (all stealth arms). Each has been unique in it's own right. My second was by far the hardest out of the 3.

It'll depend on your OCD levels, tight fitting parts that have a great blending to the frame is difficult. A sloppy fit, but surprisingly reliable isn't that hard.

For comparison I've built: Sten mkIII, pps-43, cz-26, ar-15's. This is one of more straight forward ones but took the most time.

tkd4life · Nov 29, 2016

ashershapiro said:
I'm interested in a commander size bobtail frame in 9mm, so that really limits my options. Do yours run reliably?

My 45 acp runs like a top, my 22lr didn't at first. I was getting stove pipes and failures to feed. But then I read online that the 22lr 1911's don't like the standard 1911 hammer spring so I got a lighter one from Wolf and now it runs just fine. I guess the 22lr didn't have enough balls to push the slide and hammer back with the standard hammer spring.

My 45 ACP ejects brass right into my face from time to time, but I wear eye protection so it isn't an issue. I might try to tune my ejector a little bit eventually. I even cerakoted the frames myself too. That was a fun little project as well.

Jaybeez · Nov 29, 2016

tkd4life said:
I guess it depends on what you mean by decking the top. You have to cut the barrel channel in the stealth arms 80% but you don't have to remove any material on top along the whole length of the slide rails. Some 80% receivers you do. Personally I wouldn't say you have to deck the top of the stealth arms kits as the cut you are making is rounded and not flat.

I wasnt talking about the barrel channel. Im talking about decking the entire top of the frame.

The last time i checked, SA listed their frames as slightly oversized and needing the frame decked for a tight fit.
Its easy to do with a sheet of glass and some 1000 grit wet or dry.

tkd4life · Nov 29, 2016

Jaybeez said:
I wasnt talking about the barrel channel. Im talking about decking the entire top of the frame.

The last time i checked, SA listed their frames as slightly oversized and needing the frame decked for a tight fit.
Its easy to do with a sheet of glass and some 1000 grit wet or dry.

Ok. That makes sense. But as an FYSA for those interested, I didn't have a problem fitting either of my SA frames to a colt or a kimber slide. I didn't deck either one of my frames.

stu929 · Nov 29, 2016

I got a Beautiful frame from vytamenc i believe they are 1911 builders frames but are not as expensive. It was a bobtail commander that had front strap serrations.

I ended up selling it because I didnt want to invest the money in the rail jig but it was truely a beautiful frame.

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

Mark75H · Nov 29, 2016

Asher, you might consider getting a copy of Kuleck and Oldham's The Complete 1911 Assembly Guide for some idea of what you will be doing in addition to watching a bunch of the Youtube videos of the work being done.

If you have done some work filing, polishing and fitting parts, its helpful to know about that kind of work in advance. A very good digital caliper is important for the many measurements you will do. I highly recommend the iGaging Absolute Origin caliper. The price is right and the quality is outstanding. Hard to buy a better caliper for less than $200.

My first 80% was functional. #2 turned out amazing. #3 is a Sig, which was much harder to do, but again, functional. Almost done #4 - actually hand lapping the slide to the frame when I saw this thread.

Vetted84 · Dec 6, 2016

I have a question to those of you that have built a 1911 from the Stealth Arms 80% frame.

I have the frame and the jig but I am not sure on the best way to purchase the balance of the parts.

Should I buy a parts kit or buy parts individually? What are good sources for the parts. I looked at the Stealth Arms kit but it seems God awful expensive.

Thanks in advance for taking the time to respond.

Mark75H · Dec 6, 2016

You are correct they make a lot of money on their kits and the quality of the kit parts is mediocre.

A big step down in price and slight increase in quality would come from buying from a seller like Klonimus on eBay.

Every once in a while on eBay you hit the jackpot with something poorly described or otherwise overlooked and get a tremendous bargain. I bought a 9 mm barrel with a fitted bushing and a slide set up for 9 mm for less than half of what I could find them for elsewhere. Good namebrand stuff that for some reason nobody else wanted.

gorckat · Dec 6, 2016

YouTuber mosinvirus has several series of videos building 80% 1911s.

If I ever get in a position to build one myself, I'll be going back to rewatch his stuff and take notes.

Jaybeez · Dec 6, 2016

Vetted84 said:
I have a question to those of you that have built a 1911 from the Stealth Arms 80% frame.

I have the frame and the jig but I am not sure on the best way to purchase the balance of the parts.

Should I buy a parts kit or buy parts individually? What are good sources for the parts. I looked at the Stealth Arms kit but it seems God awful expensive.

Thanks in advance for taking the time to respond.

If you can get one of the sarco parts kits (ria) most everything drops in, maybe a little clean up and polish here and there, and they work well with each other. From there you can upgrade or customize.

I might go with stealth arm's own beaver tail if i did it again.

Vetted84 · Dec 7, 2016

Jaybeez said:
If you can get one of the sarco parts kits (ria) most everything drops in, maybe a little clean up and polish here and there, and they work well with each other. From there you can upgrade or customize.

I might go with stealth arm's own beaver tail if i did it again.

Thank you all for the responses.

I have been checking the Sarco web site for close to a year. The 1911 parts kits seem to be perpetually out of stock.

Do you know if one can just place an order and it eventually arrives at your doorstep?

80% 1911, How hard??

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