ltwguns.com

I will most likely be disliked for this but then again I never care what people think of me. My name and deeds speak for me. When I joined LTW I saw a glimmering light in the world of darkness. It even pertained to a subject I loved, 1911s and the finest gunsmiths we only get to read about. Now we could interact with them. See the work. Talk to them. All the while good deeds and charity being done. LTW flourished. Members came from all over the world. Gunsmiths knew that charity meant giving up their time and income to not only build the works of art but make sure posts were made to keep forum members interested and more coming.
I have not seen that happening in several years. There has been a steady decline of the posts and pics by the smiths. Some nonexistent. I gave even when I couldn't afford too. Others were more deserving. I see the decline and fall of LTW coming. A shame. Such a wonderful idea that blossomed to fruition. I rarely come here any more and I doubt I will even come back. I sincerely hope I am wrong. It would not be the first time.
Good by and good luck,
Al Shear

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"No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave."
Calvin Coolidge

I sincerely hope you are wrong too, Al, especially knowing what a loyal follower and supporter you have been. Not to mention your kindness to each of us personally and individually.

To disappoint any follower of LTW is-- well it just stinks. I know we're in a slump; I know that as a group right now there are a lot of things going on that have seriously curtailed posting. We've had some trouble with the site.

Each of us wants LTW to flourish... no doubt about that. We're working our way through the dry spell.... don't give up on us yet.

Al, you are our friend and have been with us since the beginning. Please don't give up on us yet. When our server crashed, it caused a whole slew of problems. We are trying to bring this Phoenix out of the ashes. Changes ARE being made. We've got a new opening page to replace the original that was lost. Try going to:

LTWguns.com

We're working with our new server to disable the current link that bypasses the landing page.

Admittedly, there are a few that have ceased being as active. We're working on a remedy for that, too. Some of us are having trouble posting with the new server, and we're working on that as well.

We're trying - give us a little time to mend. Don't forget, just this past year we were able to do a charity gun that brought KARA's hope $41,000.

To date, our list of donations is

2006 $20K to Ted Nugent's Kamp for Kids
2007 $20K to Ted Nugent's Kamp for Kids
2008 $28K to Cops for Kids/ POSA, for pediatric cancer research
2008 $36K to americansnipers.org, helping servicemen with needs not met by the system, or in short supply
2009 $28K to americansnipers.org
2010 $40K to the Naval Special Warfare Foundation-- helping wounded SEALS and the families of those killed in the GWOT
2011 $22K to Navy SEALS Foundation
2012 $50K to Navy SEALS Foundation
2013 $41K to Kara's Hope

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CT Brian Custom
'Blending Art With Firepower'

CT, I read your response and kinda zoned out until I was reminded of the Kara's Hope project where we raised $4100. Wait, Four-thousand-one-hundred for a dumb ol' 1911? Well that's just a ridiculous amount for one o' them ol' .45's.

Wiat a minute.

WHAT!? $41,000!!?? Forty-one THOUSAND?

Thanks for the reminder CT..... sometimes in the forefront, sometimes in the background..... LTW gets it done.

I just want to let the LTW contributors know that even though I haven't been a member of this forum for as long as Mr. Shear; I still enjoy it as much as the day I first joined. Given the fact that the popularity of the semi-custom and custom 1911 has grown, it is understandable that the fine smiths on this forum find themselves busier than ever. With that said, lets not lose sight that they still find time to carry on their charitable work and post their fine work on the forum when time permits. Please carry on with the excellent work you are doing with your builds and on this forum, hopefully Mr. Shear will remain with us on this fine forum. God bless all.

While I agree at times it seems that the contributions to the forum have died off, when you look at the numbers over the past 9 years you see that the true purpose of LTW is going strong. With that said I do miss the daily contributions that we had at one time.

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And this eternal resting place Is known as Fiddlers' Green.

I have noticed the drop off also. I left pistolsmith,com years ago to follow the great smiths and their work. Changes in jobs have left me out of the market for many of the works I see here however I always come back to see the latest toys and pick up some good tips...


Willing to volunteer in any way I can. Work in tech and have more than a passing understanding of web protocols, etc. if I can help in any way drop me a pm. I would like to see this place stick around...

Thanks a ton, Chris. Might be throwing some questions your way at some point.

Ride the wave and stay positive gents! If I can be of service in anyway please dont hesitate to call me 405-229-9856.

"To achieve great things, two things are needed; a plan, and not quite enough time."
--Leonard Bernstein


A

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Anthony Durning
Owner/Gunsmith
Durning Defense Customs LLC
www.durningdefensecustomsllc.com
(405)229-9856

Thank you to all the smiths here. This place is a wealth of information, and will help me plan my next purchase without having to tie up all the bust smiths that are trying to work hard.