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I am a total newbie to custom 1911 since I never had one built for me before. So can someone please recommend a good gunsmith for this project? Also what parts are recommended for 9mm?

I am thinking starting with Caspian frame & slide or is there something else better?

As for barrel and ignition parts I don't have a clue. So all help is greatly appreciated.

Welcome to LTW, f. I'm just gonna say, give yourself sometime here to read around a bit and you'll prob'ly find yourself coming up with the answers. Or at least more questions I know that's a bit of a cop-out of a start, but it's a start.....

Typing out a list of good gunsmiths to do the project for you would be a very long list and we would run the risk of leaving out someone and making them feel bad So as Ned said, look around here and take a look at all of the nice custom guns and you will see that each smith has a style that is a little different from the next guy. You may prefer one style to the next, or you may like them all (like me).

Any of the smiths that post here and/or are members of the LTW Board will do an awesome job for you. There are also some very talented smiths that are not found here, you just have to do some looking. Keep in mind, good smiths are backlogged for a reason, they're good. I'm not saying that a smith that can get you started tomorrow is no good, but research who you are giving your chunk of change to along with your parts or gun.

Any smith that builds 1911s will know what parts to get for a 9mm 1911 build and any other parts for that matter. A Caspian slide and frame are a great start for a full custom build. I would suggest letting the smith get everything but the frame. If a smith supplies the frame and builds it into a gun for you I believe that he has to charge the 11% federal excise tax, but if you get the frame he's just selling you parts and labor. I would also get it with no machining done to it, that way the smith has the most metal with which to work.

I could go on & on with the parts I like to use for building, and what I think are good parts, but truth be told it's best to let the smith have free reign with the project. Choose your smith, discuss with him what you expect from the gun & it's usage and let him/her know if you have any specific preferences, like an Ed Brown beavertail over a Wilson, or short trigger over a long one, and let them go with it. The person you choose will most likely be an artist trapped behind a work bench loaded with frames, files & boxes of parts so it's best to let them do their thing.

BTW, the custom images forum has a little bio of each of the smiths involved here along with some awesome pictures. Not to mention, the custom forum has some super sweet images.

Good luck and enjoy.

Josh, Fortunately, the FET on complete builds no longer applies unless that 'smith sells over 50 guns per year (one of the smarter things to come out of the Congress in recent memory).

I believe that Springfield is still making a 5" 9MM gun, and Kimber has made some I think, but not certain if it's still a production item. Colt used to make them, but hasn't for a few years. If you stumble on one of those, you'll likely pay more for it.

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Don Williams
http://www.theactionworks.com
http://www.ltwguns.com

Don,

I did not know that. It is good news for sure.

Me personally, for a full custom I prefer a new Caspian or similar frame & slide or a Colt, but that's my personal preference. Colt only for nostalgia's sake. For what a used Colt 9mm would cost a new frame & slide from Caspian would be cheaper assuming the frame, slide, slide stop and a few small parts are all that I would keep from a Colt. Springfield makes a good gun & so does Kimber but the rollmarks on them both do not excite me. I like either a nice Colt Rollmark (not the Mark IV or ORM 1991 rollmarks) or a bare slide on a full custom.

I actually have been reading this forum and 1911 forum a lot. And I know there are a lot of good gunsmith out there. But many of the best smith seem to be oaded with work and some are not even taking orders.

Therefore I just want some pointer to a good gunsmith with reasonable turn around time. Don't get me wrong, I know good work takes time. And I wouldn't want the person who is building my to rush. On the other hand I don't think I can wait two years or more for my gun either.

http://www.geminicustoms.com is a good gunsmith that right now I think has less than a year waiting list but it is growing quickly. You should also check with http://www.yost-bonitz.com as even though they are very busy they also have several smiths doing work so their backlog may be a little less. http://www.trippresearch.com is known for hard chrome but I have heard that he has fairly quick turnaround on custom work.

Your best bet is going to be to just contact some smiths and find out from the horse's mouth.

Thanks for the info