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Caspian build almost done!

27K views 53 replies 30 participants last post by  ArnieS 
#1 ·
I started this build earlier in the spring and worked for a bit on it, and then work and other stuff kicked in, so I had to set it aside for a while. It's a Caspian Recon Gov't frame, 5" slide all in Carbon with a 5" Kart EZ Fit barrel and bushing.



Plus most of the rest of the goodies:


Not shown were some parts like the EGW HD Extractor, grip screws, recoil spring guide, etc.

Got the frame and slide fit:


Worked on the barrel, but since the frame/slide back end didn't match up, I wasn't sure where to stop. I left it where it was so I wouldn't ruin the barrel.

Started on the beavertail:



I ground down the beavertail to match the frame tangs on the upper side instead of building up the frame.

Got the trigger and mag release fit and installed:


I also fit the extractor and FPS and Firing Pin, using the EGW Square bottom FPS with a tiny bevel.

And this is how she sat for a couple of months while I caught up on everything else I had to do!
 
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#2 · (Edited)
The original plan was to have JoJo's in CT (where I got all of the stuff from) fit the internal pieces like the hammer, sear, disconnector, grip and thumb safeties, stake the plunger tube, pin the ejector, clean up the feed ramp, etc. I figured I would have them take a look at the barrel fit and see how it was and tweak and massage everything into place. They have the know how and the tools, so I let the experts do the internal stuff while I did most of the outside work. This is what it looked like when I got it back! They did an awesome job and did stuff I didn't even think of, all for a great price! I recommend them to anyone in CT!!




Well, it's almost done finally; I still have to blend the frame/slide/ejector/extractor and BT together.
Beavertail, still gotta get some of the deeper scratches out:


Still gotta finish it off, smooth out the thumb safety, etc, but it's pretty close!!


Lone Rider Grips I got from JoJo's; I have them on all of my and my parents 1911's!



G10 or Micarta, I think Micarta. Grippy, but they don't grab at clothing.

Sights will be Novak Lo Mounts, and finish will be either Hard Hat or Melonite after bead blasting everything.

I couldn't wait to get the sights in, so I went out and test fired it w/o the sights!

7yds, 24 rounds:

3 rds Speer 230gr GD, 7 yds:


These are w/o any sights. Can't wait to get the sights installed!!!

I fired around 200 rds overall, mostly Independence, Winchester White Box and American Eagle 230gr FMJ. I shot some Fed HST 230+P Tactical, Speer 230 gr Gold Dot and Short Barrel Gold Dots. I had 2 jams total. One, I though I was shooting a 7rd mag and it was an 8rd mag, so after the 7th shot, I started to move the pistol back towards my body for the reload and got a stovepipe. 2nd jam was with the Gold Dots; I didn't have the round seated fully in the mag when I loaded it, so it stubbed on the feed ramp. Dropped mag, put bullet back in mag all the way back this time, fed fine.

Now I'm working on cleaning up the frame/slide/BT fitting, breaking the sharp corners and edges. I will replace the EGW mag release lock with one with a slot on it (I always lose the allen wrenches) and the Guncrafter MSH. The MSH has the lanyard cutout and my hand sits right there and the corner digs in. I tried to round the corner out a bit and it didn't work. I have one last thing to try and I will pick up a new MSH if that doesn't work.

I've had a ball with the build so far! I have a CBOB and my mom has a Les Baer and I always like the guns that are tight and clean in the back and I got exactly what I was hoping for! Gun cycles smoothly, shoots accurately. The Firing Pin Stop works great; even the +P ammo felt nice and soft and the gun came right back down on target!
 
#4 ·
Got the sights installed, working on breaking the sharp edges and cleaning up the beavertail and the rest of the pistol! Cleaned it up, hosed down with oil.




I hope to get to the range tomorrow to run some more rounds through her to make sure it's working smoothly still and ready for the Hard Hat finish!!
 
#6 ·
Nice work! If you don't want to post it in the forum could you pm me what jojo's charged you for the internal fitting. I am working out the logistics to the same kind of project. They do indeed do excellent work, a guy in the squadron I work with had his 1911 worked on and it came out great. Keep up the good work!
 
#9 ·
The Ed Brown BT didn't require a ton of fitting on the bottom side; it went fairly smoothly with files and a dremel. Grinding the tangs down wasn't too bad, used a file to rough them out, then the dremel to blend them in fully. Same with the back of the frame that I had to relieve a bit, files then dremel to smooth. The biggest pain was the top portion of the grip safety and the frame tangs; the grip safety was taller than the grip tangs. You can either weld up the tangs or grind down the beavertail to fit, which is what I did.

I did the frame/slide fit by hand. I took several measurements of the rails and the grooves in the slide, determined what I needed to remove and where, used a file and filed down the frame rails until the slide started to go onto the frame. From there, it was a little filing, some JB Non Embedding Bore compound as a lapping fluid and working the slide back and forth. Took a few hours, but I went very slow with it.

I am going today to the LGS to have them bead blast the frame to get it ready for Hard Hat. Gotta run another 100rds or so thru it to make sure it's working smoothly, and then I finally get it sent out! I had some car issues, which sucked down a lot of money, so I had to put the finishing on hold; I was hoping to send it out in like June, but that didn't happen :(
 
#11 ·
Awesome job! Cant wait to see the finished product, smart to ensure perfect function before putting the finish on, be a shame to have to re do it. My gunsmith finished mine and told me to put 500 plus rounds throught it before final finish was applied, it was my first custom so it was kinda strange to have a pistol in the white for a few weeks, ha ha! Congrats on a fantastic build!!
 
#13 · (Edited)
Be warned, no home gunsmithing allowed

Are you sure that you know what to do and how to build a 1911? :D

All kidding a side, this is a very very nice job and something to be proud of for sure. Very cool pistol and very tastefully done. I think that if anyone has the desire and some skills that very very nice pistols can be done by most people as long as they know when to turn over some parts of the build to those "that know" when they should defer to the experts. And are willing to invest the time and tools and money to do it right. And there is a huge amount of satisfaction in the DYI aspect of project like this. Congrats.

Jess
 
#14 ·
Taz, I completed (except for the parking) a build very similar to yours last fall. I used a Colt military hard slide, Foster Recon frame and some slightly different components. Even used the EZ Fit barrel system. Love the way it handles with weight of the rail up front.
Nice job on yours.
 
#15 ·
Thanks guys! The Caspian frames have more metal left in the mag well area and the extra weight of the rail. I have a 18# recoil spring (I shoot Hardball 230gr usually or SD ammo) and I did the small radius on the FPS. The 230 +p feel almost the same as the regular hardball in shooting, very soft shooting gun. It's at the gunsmith getting bead blasted and a shorter front sight (I am hitting way high), then it will be going off for Hard Hat finally!
 
#20 ·




Got the bead blasting done, new taller front sight, and we switched out the MSH. The lanyard loop on the other one just didn't feel good in my hand. I tried blending the corner, but it was still annoying. Gonna run a few rounds thru it, hopefully Sunday, and then clean and get it ready to get Hard Hat!!!!
 
#22 ·
Nice job, Jody does great work (jojos), he has built a limited para for me and done several other gunsmith work on other 1911's, some rifle work as well. Very helpful, knowledgable and easy to work with. Best gunsmith in ct in my opinion. Been doing this for at least 15 years and he's a young guy.
 
#25 ·
The guys at JoJo's blasted it; I believe it is a bead blast, but I'm not sure what grit they used. It's not insanely fine, more of a medium grit. It's a no nonsense gun, so I didn't need shiny and fine finish, plus we were trying to reduce the look of some of the machining marks, like on the light rail.
 
#26 ·
First off very nice job on the pistol. you may be just the guy i need to talk to. i am looking to build my next 1911, i own a para gi .45 and love it. but i want to take on the challenge of building one.i'm looking to get the caspian gov. 5" slide and the recon frame in 9mm. I cant find the exact info i want to know on the net so i thought id check here. what kind and how much gunsmithing did you have to do and would you encourage or discourage doing this to someone like me with no gunsmithing knowledge? what kind of tools do i need and things of that nature. hope i dont seem like a complete idiot for the questions. i would just like to do what you've done and own something i can be proud of and shoots good but can say yeah i built it.
 
#27 ·
I had done some modifications to a Springfield GI 1911 repro a few years back, so I had some background knowledge of what I would need to do. When I got the frame/slide, the slide wouldn't go onto the frame. I used sandpaper and some fine files to get the slide started on the frame after taking measurements and seeing where I needed to bring down to size and how much. Once it started to go onto the frame, I put some JB Non Embedding Bore Compound onto the frame and slide and used that to lap it in. I would push the slide back and forth a few times and then check the fit, and repeat the process. If I wasn't getting anywhere with the lapping, I would check to see if it was rubbing and where I needed to remove material. To fit the barrel, I got a Kart Barrel EZ Fit barrel and an EZ Fit tool set which included a file, fitting bushing, and a gauge to measure the hood fit and a piece to make sure the barrel was in the slide correctly.

To do the beavertail, I got the frame with the standard GI type beavertail and used a Dremel and files to trim it down to size. The Caspian frame tangs on the top side are lower and I really had to grind down the Ed Brown Highrise beavertail to get it to fit; I would probably use a Wilson or Les Baer next time.

You can have Caspian fit the frame/slide together and from what I have read, pretty much just lap it in.

I also have an awesome gunstore/gunsmith near by called JoJo's in Southington CT. They helped me pick out the components and helped me along with what to do to build it. I got the Kuhnhausen books and read those and a few other 1911 smithing books to see what I would have to do, but I had JoJo's tweak my barrel fit and fit the hammer/sear/disconnector/trigger, safeties, etc. All of that stuff dropped in or was close, but needed to be fit together. I wanted JoJo's to fit the internals together so they would be correct and safe.

I would try to find someone locally who could help you with the build to avoid costly/dangerous errors. On my SA GI, I went through 3 thumb safeties trying to fit them properly, and messed all 3 up, even with books telling and showing me how to do it. You can learn from books/videos, but having someone there helping you along is invaluable. At the very least, have a gunsmith who is familiar with working in 1911's check your progress as you go to catch any issues and make sure the gun is safe to fire.

So I would get some files, Kart EZ fit barrel and fitting kit, sandpaper, Dremel (only if you are CAREFUL!!!), and start reading up on how to build up a 1911. It can be fun to do, but there are safety issues you need to be aware of!
 
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