Caspian vs. Fusion Build

[Nick A]

You can always look long term and build BOTH pistols. Fusion kit now, using Bob Serva as your backup. And then buy Caspian frame & slide later for a pure custom buildup from scratch. Think big!

Yes, 9mm ejector is longer beause the cartridge is a lot shorter, and the magazines have a spacer to push the cartridge all the way to the front of the magazine. So the extended ejector nose helps get empty brass out and up and right.

I've used a Colt Delta 10mm ejector with 9mm and it works, but brass kinda goes over your head, or hits your right ear cup. It isn't optimal at all.



Although I've had good luck with 3 ramped barrel installations (one was a bitch but she came around) it is extremely difficult to deal with the ramp on the barrel if it isn't right. Look at it this way, a ramped barrel that works right is a dream, but one that doesn't work is worthless steel because you can't cut it deeper to correct it without compromising case head support, especially important if you want to deal with THREE ramped barrels at once. A ramped frame can always be fixed or altered or an insert installed, a frame is seldom thrown away. Your 10/40/357Sig concept uses the same ramp, so getting a traditional ramped frame (with the ramp cut correctly) is not such a bad idea.

[Alland]

I have two 1911s with both 9mm and 38 super barrels. Not wanting to change ejectors all the time, I use 9mm Metalform mags with the front spacer, the shorter 38 super ejector then seems to work well.

[wilie]

Originally Posted by Nick A

You can always look long term and build BOTH pistols. Fusion kit now, using Bob Serva as your backup. And then buy Caspian frame & slide later for a pure custom buildup from scratch. Think big!

I like this idea =) I guess I'll go with Fusion for a first build with less to worry about like slide-to-frame, barrel-to-bushing-to-barrel, etc and once I get this tackled move onto another pure custom build, not an assembly.

A ramped frame can always be fixed or altered or an insert installed, a frame is seldom thrown away. Your 10/40/357Sig concept uses the same ramp, so getting a traditional ramped frame (with the ramp cut correctly) is not such a bad idea.

Just to make sure I understand you correctly - with a frame that's been ramp cut, I wouldn't need to put a ramped barrel in it too? I thought the two went hand-in-hand... I'd love some more clarification on this.
Thanks for so much helpful information ideas, Nick! You're definitely giving me a better grasp of what I'm in for =)

[Nick A]

Get some books (like Jerry Kuhnhausen) on the 1911 and learn a lot more.
Before you buy any parts to build, you'll have to learn what you're going to do.
Although some guns like the AR15 are just assembly, no real gunsmithing.
The 1911 requires fitting as part of the assembly process.


All semiauto pistols need some way to get the cartridge from the magazine
up to alignment with the chamber so the slide can push it in.
Nearly all pistols have some sort of ramp from the top of the magazine
to guide the nose of the bullet up until it touches the roof of the chamber,
then the back of the bullet raises up as the cartridge tips forward.

The ramp that guides the nose may be part of the frame, or part of the barrel.
The original 1911 design made it part of the frame. The frame ramp.
Later they developed a configuration to make the ramp part of the barrel,
so there is no ramp on the frame (or just a tiny leftover).
[There are two common types of ramped barrel, go research them.]

Ramped frame.

Ramped barrel.

Two different configurations. Get some manuals and learn more, my friend.

[wilie]

I have ordered Jerry's book "The Colt 45 Automatic" and plan on reading it cover to cover before I start filing on anything =)
In the past I'd never really payed attention to how guns were put together and having sold the only 1911 I ever owned to fund the purchase of something I wanted more at the time, I don't really have any way of looked at it now. My Sigs have all had ramped barrels, so the ramped frame is interesting. For some reason I thought ramped frame meant that it was cut to accept a ramped barrel, but it sounds like I mistaken in that regard.
I should be receiving the book in the next week or so... =)

[Nick A]

Kuhnhausen has two volumes. Get both.
I'm sure he meant both volumes to be owned.
You will appreciate the extra knowledge.

[wilie]

Found an interesting article on feed ramps. Is this what you were talking about?
http://38super.net/Pages/supported.html

[Nick A]

Yes. Although vocabulary may differ somewhat from person to person. You get the idea.

The two common 'ramped barrel' are the Wilson/Nowlin and the Clark/Para. They do the same thing. The ramp itself is the same, but they differ where the impact surface hits the frame (its deeper down where you can't see). Both perform similarly. Some like one, some like the other. More of a Chevy vs. Ford preference. Just be sure the frame and barrel are both cut for the same type.

But the conventional setup works perfectly well. Just don't try to file either type of ramp deeper into the barrel ("I thought it would feed better, I didn't know it would blow up like that"). I believe Kuhnhausen has advice on that. And I'm sure there is advice and picture on this 1911 Forum somewhere.

[sum4all]

I believe the Wilson/Nowlin cut is more common. I have both. I can't tell the difference one way or the other. When I first started, I had a dumbo smith tell me it didn't matter that I could put one over the other. In fact, that's what happened, he told me to order a ramped barrel for the frame I gave him. Oddly enough, I went on ebay, ordered a "ramped" barrel from Fusion and they asked me what type of ramped barrel, I ignorantly said whatever is common. Well, turned out I had a Para/Clark ramp and the barrel that came was a Wilson/Nowlin. It fired, but I had jamming issues. I finally took it to a real smith who told me that there was a difference. Luckily, I didn't shoot that many rounds to dig into the corners of the para/clark ramp.