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Rafe is a member of the Texas state junior pistol team and attending college at UTSA. In a sport which requires many dollars, he has spent the last few years saving his money and buying parts to build his own 1911. He’s 18, so we (obviously) ran into the issue of being legally allowed to purchase a frame…we took care of it. It’s odd…the Texas team has won countless competitions, have national champions, are some of the most responsible and mature people I’ve met – more than many adults – but not a single one of them are allowed to own their own handguns…that’s so retahded.

He decided he wanted to build it himself…so I obliged. From 0900 – 1200 on Saturdays, until he’s done, he comes to my house and that’s what we’re doing…building his next .45. He already has one from me; an un-fancy, mil-spec 1911 which I built for him…his team took 1st place at nationals last year (with his scores near the top), so that makes me happy, LOL. It cost his mother under $400, held under 2″ with handloads and is a shining testament to my thumbed nose at the ‘idea’ that a 1911 has to cost $3000 to be any good. Of course, I didn’t charge labor – that was my ‘gift’ to the Junior program – so maybe that’s where the discrepancy lies, hehe. Makes me wonder how much is being charged for ‘labor’ these days…meh, gotta make a living, I guess.

Anyway the project was officially started on the 17th of October 2009. He was commanded (:P) to buy the Kuhnhausen book because, since I actually broke down and bought it, I find it to be a very good tool. Since Rafe has a sparse knowledge of what he’s reading, I’m there to explain it and show him how to complete what he needs to. That and I’m pretty sure his lovely mother doesn’t want him to build a “shop” in his bedroom, LOL. After some lessons in various techniques, we got right into it. For the record…I’m just instructing (translated: drinking coffee and laughing at his fear of hacking metal, LOL); Rafe is doing all of the work.

Day 1: The Slide and Frame Fit

Rafe uses an Alpha Precision rail guage, installed into the slide, as a foundation for measuring the height of the slide rails. He measures them with a caliper fitted with a depth base – a depth micrometer works best, but I don’t have one, LOL. He marks some points on the slide with a marker so he knows where he took his measurements, with the idea that he needs to ‘cut’ the slide rails to a uniform height…this is called ‘truing the slide’. I had him measure the points three times each, ensuring the caliper was ‘zeroed’ each time. This was to make up for his having never used a caliper before.

After he took his measurements, he needed to ‘true’ the rails to a uniform depth. This can be done in a few ways, but it depends on the amount of metal that needs to be removed. It would make very little sense to load the slide up in the mill to take of .001″ of material…it’s just a waste of time. Stones might not take enough and a file might take too much – you have to find a happy medium. Luckily, Rafe’s slide measured out where he could afford using a file and finishing up with carbide paper and stones to clean it up. It was a perfect time to teach Rafe how to draw file…muahahaha. Of course, I’m nice (*cough*) so I let him practice on a piece of steel before I let him go to town on his slide.

Once he was confident and understood the filing method, he put his slide in the vise and started cutting. He cut and measured, cut and measured until he got to within a tiny breadth of his goal. Then he went to a stone to clean up his filing and paper marks…yes, I know the gauge is still in the slide It is imperative that all ‘metal chips’ be cleaned from every part, in every step of the process…so I gave Rafe a rag, hehe.

Of course, not all projects run completely smooth…Rafe decided that he was going to lose one of the tiny screws for the rail gauge…so I made him look for it. He never did find it, so he owes me one screw…I’m still waiting for it LOL.

So, that was day 1.

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I’ve heard this guy’s name for years and often sluffed off what people told me about building a .45 when they prefaced it with “…well, Kuhnhausen says this…” – especially when said individual has never built a 1911. Of course, I mean “built”…not “assembled”, LOL. I’ve been fairly successful with guns I’ve built using the methods I was taught and figured out through trial and error…at the time, I had the resources for trial and error…not so much now, hehe. Anyway, I never understood why the guy was regailed – then again, I never read his books. I equated it to those who try to cram the Bible down your throat…you might dig the message or the theme, but the method by which it’s force-fed is a distasteful turn off. Last June/July however, when I had the chance to mingle with the ‘smith’s of the various services, Kuhnhausen’s name popped up again. So, I decided to give it a whirl and bought both of his books; ‘The Colt .45 Automatic – A Shop Manual’ and ‘The U.S. M1911/A1 Pistols & Commercial M1911 Type Pistols – A Shop Manual – Volume 2 in the Kuhnhausen .45 Auto Series’.

Holy Crap!

Talk about in depth! These books are the most in depth publications I have ever seen…and I read A LOT. If you’re a fan of the 1911, these are a must-have! In print, I am pleased to write that I was wrong for sluffing off people’s praise of the man – I’d have probably saved countless man-hours had I read these a long time ago. From detailed specs to theory of operation, this series it loaded. It only lacks in ‘employment’, that is: when it talks about a task, it speaks to the desired outcome but doesn’t often address ‘how’ to do it – i.e. how to actually ‘cut’ or ‘file’ or ‘stone’ etc. Often that is appeased with pictures and, if you have any experience, you can usually figure it out. Conversely, I’d like to offer a hearty ‘piss off’ to the Kuhnhausen droids. The books address most, if not all, popular methods for fitting and the like, citing (quite often) his ‘preferred’ method. He is great at justifying why he does things the way he does, but also makes concessions for varying opinions and practices on the matters at hand – based on his experiences. Except in matters where such things are a necessity, he rarely presents his methods as the ‘only way’. To wit; the series encompasses a ‘complete’ persepctive – which is very refreshing to see…in anything, these days.

Gripes and Grins…

If you’re going to try to use Volume 1 to actually build a 1911 – you’ll come a cross a bit of a snag. There are some fixtures and tools he uses which are no longer in production. So, you’ll have to discern the desired outcome of the task, figure out what it is you’re trying to accomplish and either a) find an equivalent tool or fixture or 2) fabricate the fixture on your own. That’s a bit of a bummer because some of the things he uses are better than what’s currently available and making your own takes the ability or the funds. On the other hand, there are things he uses which are still available, but only made by one manufacturer and not offered by Brownell’s (the gun guy’s Mecca). So, again, suck up the cost of the minor-monopoly or fabricate your own. Either way – if you dive right in and go for it, you’re definitely going to need a bigger tool box, LOL. The bright side of it is, if you’ve been doing this for a while (and have never read these books), you’ll find that some of his methods are far easier and produce a better result. It’s one thing to be told there’s a better way, but it’s a different thing entirely to be ‘shown’ there’s a better way *grin*. My way is still better for some things, but for others I’ll bow to Kuhnhausen – and that’s the goal, isn’t it? Learn what you can, take what you need, employ what works.

Kudos to Kuhnhausen. You can get the books at Brownell’s…but I’m not trying to sell you anything, so no links, hehe.