Re: And so the journey begins...
Thank you sir for the feedback.
The best informative guide I found was Scott A. Duff's book (
Link ) THE M1911 COMPLETE ASSEMBLY GUIDE. It sounds like you are already up to speed on 1911 function, but for those that need the basics, his book (
Link ) THE M1911 COMPLETE OWNER'S GUIDE is a starting point.
Most of the internal parts were stock Ed Brown items. Initially, I bought every size and shape file I could find at the home improvement stores. The tools that came in very handy that I would recommend were the: Ed Brown Beavertail Installation Jig, Ten-Eight bench block, Brownell's trigger track stone and slide file, Gun Runners plunger staking tool, Marvel sear stoning jig and The Kart barrel EZ Fit kit. I was amazed at the custom feel of the trigger let-off and reset after simply stoning the sear with the Marvel jig in place.
I realize that it's a pretty good investment just in tools, but I won't be using them just once (I have another son who will be built a 1911) and I spread the purchases out over a long period. I'm 8 years from being eligible for retirement and would love to work in someones shop, so I considered it an investment for life #2. I guess you could also just sell off what you don't need after finishing your pistol.
The bottom line is that by having a truly excellent 1911 smith only a phone call away resulted in my success. Any issue that I couldn't resolve he steered me through. Thanks again to Morey Butler for his assistance.