A shameless plug for this guy

[jg rider]

I'm bought 2 1911 frames from RIA to use as dedicated lowers for .22 conversions. In the past 20+ years I've always did my own pistol smithing. Now my hands get to painful for hand checkering and filing, and my eyes are weaker. So I'm having Arnel do the checkering and the grip safety fitting, and I'll fit all the rest and have them refinished.

Last week I was on vacation in Las Vegas so I got the chance to meet with Arnel in Pahrump and to see the work he's doing for me. I can honestly say I'm going to be a happy camper when he's done.

I was going to buy a third frame that was going to be a wide body because it closely resembled a Para-Ordnance P14. So I took a Para P14 mag along to try. It wouldn't seat. The mag slot cut wasn't high enough by about 1/16"so we thought about maybe enlarging the mag slot, (that's not gonna happen). We thought about reshaping the mag catch shelf, (maybe). We even thought about shortening the frame (LOL).

Also Arnel had told me on the phone that the rear tangs on these frames were to short for a good non gap blending of a grip safety. So I sent him a 250* radius Ed Brown, a Wilson compound radius jigs and a .220* radius S&A jig that is usually used on the shorter tanged Springfield Armory frames, along with grip safeties to try out. None looked good enough to us for what I wanted.

.220* S&A grip safety
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p100/jgriders/1911%20Pistols/Arnels%20work/HIcapframe.jpg (http://s126.photobucket.com/user/jgriders/media/1911%20Pistols/Arnels%20work/HIcapframe.jpg.html)

I also took long a set of Para grip panels to try to fit. They wouldn't, the bottom panel holes needed to be elongagated. I was told that even their VZ grips needed to be modified in this way. Arnel did say that the newer frame would have the frame hole relocated for Para style grip panels
Maybe sometime in the future RIA will fix all issues to allow for after market parts to be fitted.

My 1911
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p100/jgriders/1911%20Pistols/Colt%20Gold%20Cup/GoldCup1.jpg (http://s126.photobucket.com/user/jgriders/media/1911%20Pistols/Colt%20Gold%20Cup/GoldCup1.jpg.html)

My Para
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p100/jgriders/1911%20Pistols/Para/Para1.jpg (http://s126.photobucket.com/user/jgriders/media/1911%20Pistols/Para/Para1.jpg.html)

Arnel's checkering
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p100/jgriders/1911%20Pistols/Arnels%20work/Arnelscheckering2.jpg (http://s126.photobucket.com/user/jgriders/media/1911%20Pistols/Arnels%20work/Arnelscheckering2.jpg.html)

Arnel's grip safety work
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p100/jgriders/1911%20Pistols/Arnels%20work/Arnelsgripsafety1.jpg (http://s126.photobucket.com/user/jgriders/media/1911%20Pistols/Arnels%20work/Arnelsgripsafety1.jpg.html)

Arnel's grip safety work
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p100/jgriders/1911%20Pistols/Arnels%20work/Arnelsgripsafety3.jpg (http://s126.photobucket.com/user/jgriders/media/1911%20Pistols/Arnels%20work/Arnelsgripsafety3.jpg.html)[/QUOTE]

[jg rider]

Arnel called me yesterday to say my frames are on the way. He sent pics of the finished checkering on one of the 2 frames I ordered. He wrapped it around up to the grip panels as I requested. This one will also have an Ed Brown Grip safety
The other frame which is for my grand daughter will only have an Ed Brown grip safety. The checkering would to harsh for her 9 yr. old hands. Both frames are for dedicated lowers for .22 conversions
Now I have to decide how to finish them.

All Arnel's work is done on his own time.

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p100/jgriders/1911%20Pistols/Arnels%20work/Arnelsfinishedcheckering4.jpg (http://s126.photobucket.com/user/jgriders/media/1911%20Pistols/Arnels%20work/Arnelsfinishedcheckering4.jpg.html)

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p100/jgriders/1911%20Pistols/Arnels%20work/Arnelsfinishedcheckering5.jpg (http://s126.photobucket.com/user/jgriders/media/1911%20Pistols/Arnels%20work/Arnelsfinishedcheckering5.jpg.html)

[URL=http://s126.photobucket.com/user/jgriders/media/1911%20Pistols/Arnels%20work/Arnelsfinishedcheckering6.jpg.html]http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p100/jgriders/1911%20Pistols/Arnels%20work/Arnelsfinishedcheckering6.jpg

[Bawanna]

He does darn nice work don't he. Very nice job.

You have the grip safeties pinned on your 1911 and Para's?

I know my retired SEAL buddy had a bunch of clips made up long ago and he puts those on all his 1911's. His hand/grip just doesn't always push it in reliably.

[jg rider]

You have the grip safeties pinned on your 1911 and Para's?

I know my retired SEAL buddy had a bunch of clips made up long ago and he puts those on all his 1911's. His hand/grip just doesn't always push it in reliably.

Yes they are. I drilled vetical holes into the top of the msh and inserted a removable pin and then drilled another hole into the bottom of the grip safety that lined up with the protruding pin.

Sh!t ! The hanger for my Foredom tool just broke. Now I need to find another one. Why do these things happen to me ? It's a conspiracy !

[ltxi]

Just gotta ask.....why do you do this? Pin the grip safety.

Other than special needs....as per bawanna's post, I thought we got past this. If for none other than scum lawyer reasons.

[jg rider]

Just gotta ask.....why do you do this? Pin the grip safety.

Other than special needs....as per bawanna's post, I thought we got past this. If for none other than scum lawyer reasons.

I've lost count of how many times I've seen almost the same question / opinion thrown at people that decide to do this mod. (WHERE'S A BEATING A DEAD HORSE SMILEY WHEN YOU NEED ONE ?)
I did it because I know how to do it, and I can ! :behindsofa:
The 2 guns pictured were for competition when I was young and viral http://kahrtalk.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Seriously, I remember the original JMB design did not call for a grip safety. it was the military that demanded it for service. Browning objected.
JMB's next design was the P35 / Hi Power and it didn't have a grip safety.

In a lot of opinions it is a useless band aid and I agree. It's just another moving part that can possibly fail.
The special needs that Bawanna wrote about is an all to common problem with people with small thin hands like my wife. It's hard to quickly get a full grip to completely depress the grip safety.
The wife kept a pinned 1911 gov't in her night stand drawer for over 20 yrs. and competed with it, until she fell in love with her Glock 17. She concealed carried a pinned Colt alloy framed O.M. and others for over 20 yrs. until she discovered her K9 and PM9

IMHO I don't see a safety function that a grip safety creates.
Stop the trigger from being pushed ? If your finger is on the trigger shouldn't your hand be around the grip and the grip safety depressed ?
What about the thumb safety ?
Drop the pistol on it's muzzle causing inertia to drive the trigger back ? I haven't seen or heard of that happening.
What about the thumb safety ?

If a hand wasn't around the grip and the trigger go pushed.
We should have " read owner's manual before operating" written on the slide

If an attorney gets involved that means a hand was round the grip and the grip safety was deactivated.
Or someone didn't read the owner's manual

I'm through ranting ! :mad:

Did you mean all lawyers are scum ?
I find the term "scum lawyer" to be offensive to me. The father to our god daughter is an attorney

[Bawanna]

It used to be quite common to just take a piece of rawhide and tie the grip safety down. We have a real world operator that trains our swat guys annually, think he was retired LA Swat.
He still uses the rawhide tie, his hand after so many years of lots and lots of shooting just doesn't depress it, same as my SEAL buddy.

i don't pin mine as it always works for me. I would not hesitate to do so if it didn't and I like the method CJB used to accomplish that.

The little clips my friend had made are a clean and simple application that work fine too but not invisible, only nearly so.

Brownings original offering had no safeties at all, no thumb safety, nothing. A little scary to me but I ain't gonna question anything JMB thunk up. That there was one smart cookie.

[jg rider]

Brownings original offering had no safeties at all, no thumb safety, nothing. A little scary to me but I ain't gonna question anything JMB thunk up. That there was one smart cookie.

Then this happened. The grip safety came before the thumb safety for military trials. The thumb safety, I believe was a military request.

[jg rider]

Look ! No grip safety

[Bawanna]

That's sure nice and clean. Is that pinned the same way you described or is that yours?

Perfect.

[jg rider]

That's sure nice and clean. Is that pinned the same way you described or is that yours?

Perfect.
Good morning,

That's a fixed piece that Wayne Novak offers on his custom guns. It's called "The Answer" It's a new version of an old 1980s design from another out of businesses company.

On those early JMB 1911s without thumb safeties, I wonder how the hammer and sear pins were held in place ? I need to search

[jg rider]

I think pinned grip safeties weren't a big legal concern back in the old days. A shooter's defense probably was to say "he needed killing"

The first is a Fitzed Colt revolver used by the likes of Rex Applegate, Charles Askins, and even Charles A. Lindberg. Fairbain and Sykes, instructors for the Shanghai Police even carried them
As some may know, it was shown and mentioned as the carry gun of the commish. of the NYPD in the show Blue Bloods. Selleck says it was his father's gun when he was commish.

The blued 1911 I read was carried by a Texas Ranger captain, M. T. Gonzaullas

The other 1911 is an unkown

[jocko]

some people think they just have to be different, I guess. Nice photos though.

[Bawanna]

Wow, I didn't even notice the trigger guard gone on the Ranger gun. Funny how your mind just expects things to be there.

Where's my hack saw?

[jg rider]

Getting back on topic, unfortunately for me

I wrote earlier about receiving 2 frames on Wed. from RIA. After receiving them I fitted parts and did a 3 1/2" # trigger, so far so good. I had Arnel checker the front strap 20 lpi because my fingers hurt to much for me to do this work anymore. His work was flawless. So I decided that I wanted to checker the front of the trigger guard in 30 lpi as I've always done on all our 1911s.

Well when I started this is what happened, A SINK HOLE !
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p100/jgriders/1911%20Pistols/Arnels%20work/DSC00001.jpg (http://s126.photobucket.com/user/jgriders/media/1911%20Pistols/Arnels%20work/DSC00001.jpg.html)

What this is, is porosity in the casting. There was a thin layer of cast metal over a pocket if slag. Even if I hadn't decided to checker the trigger guard the sink hole would have appeared during bead blasting of the frame to finish it.
I have a call into RIA and emailed them pics, we'll see how they are going to handle this.
Anybody have a ruby about the size of the hole they want to sell ?