ltwguns.com

Well guys, I finally got this gun hard chromed so I can now call it complete. It is kind of a "team gun" of sorts as it was my first 1911 build from about three years ago and had the hands of many on it.

Here is a brief rundown of who did what:

All slide machining (top round flutes, sight cuts, lower bevel, panel cuts and cocking serrations) none other than our own Ned Christiansen
Mainspring housing was purchased pre-scalloped from Burns Custom
Front strap scallops by Scott Mulkerin at SDM
Ramp barrel cut in frame and barrel installation done by Ed Cameron.
I ran into a few barrel issues initially and my friend Barry Greyson looked at it for me and went over a few things and then we sent it to Ed Cameron for the barrel installation and Ed went over it for me and checked the work I had done since it was my first ground up build from all new parts. This proved invaluable not only because the final product is great but also because I was able to go over what he did and learn a lot about building a great gun.

This gun overall was an awesome learning experience, especially being in 9x23 Winchester which probably is not the best choice in calibers for your first build. I have done a few guns since then for some friends and built a few others for myself and this gun and the help from the smiths involved taught me a lot. Since getting the machine work done on this one I bought a mill and a boatload of tooling so I plan on doing most of my machine work in house from here on out. I used the gun in the white for about three years before finally hard chroming it. Tripp did the hard chrome and Cobra Coated the sights.

Since we are all detail oriented here I'll include the parts list too:

Caspian cast frame
STI slide (ordered bald and no logo)
Heinie Low Mount Sights (for Novak cut)
Nowlin ramped 9x23 Winchester barrel and bushing
Nowlin 9mm Slide Stop
Colt 9x23 Winchester magazines
Burns Custom Ignition Group
Burns Custom Grip Safety
SVI Thumb Safety
EGW Ejector
AFTEC Extractor
Ed Brown GI type Spring Plug & Guide
18.5lb Wolff Recoil Spring
EGW Firing Pin Stop
Ed Brown Pins
Ed Brown Mag Release
STI Trigger
Nowlin grip screws and bushings
Unknown Micarta Grips

And enough talk, here are the pictures

That's slick! Really slick!
That slide treatment (all of it) is pretty neat. Yet another example something that might not have sounded good to me, but I like it when I see it.
The chrome sets it all off, I think.

Nicely done. That is a fine looking pistol.

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Heirloom Precision, LLC.
480-804-1911

"If everyone is thinking alike, someone isn't thinking."
- General George Patton Jr

Thanks for the compliments. I started out thinking I was going to "go basic" the first time around but then things just snowballed into what you see. After looking at my receipts I decided I could pay for the mill just in saving from doing a couple of machining operations myself so now I am figuring that all out and getting my feet wet with that. My wife and I are just getting settled down after the last baby and now that she is a little older (the baby) I am stealing some more time for the garage & "gun room." I have several projects in the works with a couple that should be finished before too long and I will post them:

5" rust blued .45ACP
5" SVI 2011 10mm
4.25" SS 10mm
4.25" Slide on Aluminum Officer frame .45 ACP

The first one is close to being ready for bluing and the SVI is about two thirds done so I hope to have some pictures to post soon. The 10mm Commander may get jumped up just because 10mm is cool and there aren't too many Commanders around in 10mm.

I wanted to post this so Ned could finally see his slide work on a finished pistol. Just think, if I gave him a whole gun when I got the slide back I would probably be getting it now

Steve, I tried to get better than my normal pics as the pics you post of all of the gorgeous work here are truly inspirational. The motivation from this site and the smiths here really keeps me going. I learn something everytime I work on a gun or fire up the mill and I just keep Ted's "motto" in the back of my mind, "Each one must be better than the one before."

Thanks for having the site and opening it to all of us. I appreciate the opportunity to share some pictures and thoughts and I really love wht you guys do and what you accomplish both at the bench and in the world away from the salts and chips.

Great lookin' gun. The list of contributors reads like a who's who of pistolsmithing.
Mulkerin did a GREAT job on those scallops.
I see that someone else is calling scallops 'exclusive' to his pistols.

Webster's dictionary disagrees.

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http://www.rogersprecision.com

Hey Chuck,

I figure in a few months you can see your serrations on my front strap of the 10mm Commander I figure that of each smith that does a special treatment or smiths in some cases that I would like to have one of each. So at some point I'll be calling for some golfballing and fortunately I got on Ned's "short list" before he closed it so I can get some Conamyds.

9x23, oh my . Had one and loved it. Big bang boom.
Lenny

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Show 'em where you live....

As is his 'exclusive' 25 LPI checkering (whatever) and his other treatment that IIRC Krebs did first, but who is counting.

Josh, not to steal you thunder, that is one hot looking shooter. There isn't one thing about that gun that I wouldn't have done to one of my guns. When I get my next two projects out of the way I think I am going to have a 9X23 barrel fit to my Caspian/Tripp 9MM.

To echo Chuck's comments about Scott's frontstrap work it is very nicely done. Scallops are quickly becoming an obsession for me.

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"Domari Nolo"

If I had my way, I would have named Chuck's Treatment "Chainmail" like the Knights of Old would wear when they bore arms against one another. Then Ed Brown would be having a Hissy!
That's what it reminds me of, but what do I know?
I know this. Whatever we do, someone will copy it if it is good.

That gun pictured is a thing of beauty and a joy to behold. Terrific pictures, too! I love everything about it!

IIRC the first place I saw scallops was on a Richard Heinie gun. And IIRC again he posted here or another forum that he did not "come up" with the idea but that he saw it from one of the guys at STI but I can't remember who. Now the way Heinie does them (or at least DID them) left a little space between them and it was a less agressive purchase than the way Chuck & Scott do them. I think I saw one by Chuck first where the spacing is a little closer, or perhaps cut a little deeper so that the scallops intersect forming sharp lines such as the front strap of this gun. This method I feel gives much more "stickshun" (Ned word there I think ).

If I were the originator of an idea I would be a little perturbed for someone to call it exclusive to them. It's only exclusive in that it is cut on their equipment vs. someone else's but it looks like what the custom smiths here and elsewhere have been doing for what, 5 years or better? Hardly exclusive when there are hundreds if not thousands on custom guns. Not to mention STI calls it STIppling on their Trojan series.

They say imitation is the best form of flattery. I think that is true unless the imitation or copy is claiming to be exclusive

I for one am glad that the smiths here and the other well known smiths in the 1911 community are able to share with one another and push each other to constantly think and improve. That is surely why we are at the zenith of custom 1911s today.

Long time coming Josh! That musta been three years ago I worked on that slide?

But the final product-- ooo la-la! Looks to me like you dun good as "project manager" on this one. I look at your list and find myself in good company. Scott I know from the Second Chance days and is somebody whose work and general approach to it all, I hold in high regard.

The grips almost look like a set of Dane's but not sure.

I don't have tons of experience with 9X23 but it does have some quirks. They are not insurmountable but must be addressed. Once addressed it really is an impressive caliber.

Hey Ned,

Glad you saw it! Three years seems right. No rushing perfection, LOL. It's not perfect but as close as I could ever hope for on a first build. 9x23 has some quirks and is definitely not insurmountable but will cause some head scratching.

I am planning a Commander slide/Officer frame 9x23 to be the baby brother to this one. So I guess we'll see how much I've learned on the mill. I want to replicate the gun down to the details. Well except for a few mistakes I made I have the barrel, slide and frame so I can get started before too long. Well, when the other four "partials" and finished. Besides I'll have to figure out the rotary table before I tackle the slide top flutes, LOL.

Ned, you were my first 1911 custom smith and truly were and are a professional and I still can't get over the metal work you do. Thanks for your contributions and answering all of my annoying questions for the past three years

Been a pleasure, Josh. Just remember, for the best results on the mill, run it wide open in reverse

I'll try that on some scrap first. Just to make sure you aren't kidding

Hey Josh,
...its been awhile....glad to see you finally finished your "baby" ....my "arteries" have hardened by at least 10% the last 3 years waiting in anticipation J/k...it looks great!...you've come a long way the past 3 years.
I hope you and family are doing well.
Barry

I've been dying to get a 9x23 custom myself. This one has the whole package. Congrats.

That is one cool lookin gat

Josh,
What type of camera and lighting are you using to get such great photos? Mine don't come anywhere near yours in clarity and detail.

Canon Rebel XT 8 Megapixel. Shot outdoors, 10am EST with overcast skies, no flash. Shot in Macro mode. There are many sites on the internet that tell how to get good pics. These are the best I have personally done. However, with what I have read I feel I can do much better without too much work. These are almost too white for what I want/like.

The best thing I can say that makes a difference is do not use a flash and use natural light, be it from a window or outside. If outside, it's best to be somewhat shaded and/or with a little clouds or overcast conditions.