ltwguns.com

I just hate it when Brownell's runs out of stuff. The good news is that it doesn't happen very often

My current Saturday project is another 10mm Operator on a NM frame. I had ordered an S&A plain magwell for the piece, in spite of a couple of reservations I have about using that part. One of my phobias relates to the seemingly inevitable flaws in the castings that only show up after the part is painstakingly hand checkered and perfectly blended. The other "issue I have with S&A's is the potential failure of the gun if one side of the well or the other are crushed into the magazine well. This traps a magazine quite securely and effectively limits the weapon's capacity to what happens to be left in that magazine. In the past, I've used pins to prevent this, resting on the outside of the frame flats. Today, I tried a something a little different - It's the "S&T mag well" ( For Stan & Theo )

Starting with one of Stan Chen's excellent mainspring housings, I added a piece of A2 steel, just a bit oversize.



I left a couple of small "ribs" in place, to rest against the frame flats and not only keep the piece perfectly aligned, but to prevent the inward movement of the sides of the magwell if it should be impacted or crushed.



The rest is pretty easy stuff - cutting the inside bevel...





Final exterior shaping and hand checkering, and it starts looking like something...













That's all you get for now...The lanyard loop is installed and the final blending is done, but I can't work Burton's camera

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Heirloom Precision, LLC.
480-804-1911

Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.

TR

Ooooo, I can't WAIT to see that one finished.

Very cool Ted!

--md

Ted,
Thats beautiful...Ok...back in line...ahhh, wheres the line start?


Fantastic!!!

Jim

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"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." Benjamin Franklin , 1759

Yost..... we gotta talk. That is just.....

......we gotta talk!

Holy Toledo, Ohio!

Where there is a will, there is a way.
I can't wait to see this one finished.

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http://www.rogersprecision.com

Simply Fricken Amazing. Art that shoots.

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"Semper Fi"

Pretty damn cool, Ted!

And knowing it's gonna be a 10MM

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ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE
Thunder Ranch THG & UR(x2), Gunsite 250C,
Yavapai Firearms Acad HG1(x2), HG2, & SG,
Shootrite Prvt Inst HG, NRA Life Member

That's SICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In a beautifully twisted way! Go Ted! Hey... wait a minute..... Ted... Ned... I may be crazy, but.......

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Classic Custom

Ted,

That is both creatively imagined and beautifully executed. Outstanding job, sir.

~Jim Keeney

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"I'd rather die on my feet than keep living on my knees." - Emiliano Zapata, Mexican Revolutionary

Damn
Ok nough said.

except for when does the waiting list start.

Jerry Kee

wow,THAT IS AMAZING.turning a flat block of steel int a beautiful magwell!
No wonder you guys have huge waiting lists

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sitting here quiet,wanting to learn.

Yikes! Talk about makin a few chips. Verrrry kewl Theo.

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

Great tutorial and insight into the skill and planning a great 'smith puts into their work. Whe someone questions why one should invest money into a custom gun, they should read this first.

Oh yeah... this gun is going to be cool, super-cool!

Watching this mag-well come together has been a very good learning experience and it’s another great example of the ‘perks’ of sharing a corner of the shop with ‘ol Theo. This is also a great illustration of form following function and being able to recognize and remedy one of the deficiencies of a conventional add-on mag-well. It may take a bit more work to make this one happen but in the end it's gonna' be bullet-proof!

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Heirloom Precision
http://www.heirloomprecision.com

i guess i have a question... was their any thought in leaving the front of the magwell intact? (instead of cutting it like a s.a.?)

just curious..

I don't want to speak for Mr. Yost, because he may have another reason for it, but a lot of people like the Smith and Alexander style mag wells (with the open front) because you can still get a good grip on the front of an inserted magazine and be able to pull it out if it becomes stuck.

Not too much more work, and I had the material to work with - just decided to leave the toe cut open.

I'll do yours that way though Sounds interesting...

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Heirloom Precision, LLC.
480-804-1911

Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.

TR

It is simply amazing to see the craftsmanship and abilities of the smiths on this forum. I just hate having to replace keyboards so often. Does anyone know where I can recycle old ones?

Really cool, really impressive, could you you do it like a Heinie where the grips come over the magwell? That would soo cool!!!

Bill, I'd need to make extra long grip panels just to cover the sides. This magwell lives below the frame line.

But to answer your question... Sure, I could. It's just metal, wood or micarta, and time.

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Heirloom Precision, LLC.
480-804-1911

Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.

TR

Wow.
It's too bad he doesn't bother about the details when he builds a gun.

Sweet Ted! Looks awesome..... This is some of my favorite pistolsmithing stuff, where talented dude sees a need, fires up torch and Bridegport and makes it happen!

Though I certainly didn't do enough to be mentioned.....

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Stan Chen Customs
http://www.chencustoms.com

Awesome! Can't wait to see the finished product!!

That's some nice chip makin' there, Theo.

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CT Brian Custom
'Blending Art With Firepower'

Outstanding idea, Mr. Yost! Not to mention superb craftsmanship!

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shop.HarrisonCustom.com
www.HarrisonCustom.com

The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love and something to hope for.

I am officially jealous, both of Ted and the owner.

I can hardly wait to see what Ned does in the way of a response.

Outstanding!
Simply excellent Ted, looking forward to the finished product.

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1911's are like Doritos, you can't have just one