1911 thumb safety issue

[drewga11]

To update this thread, I ordered a new Wilson safety and got it correctly fitted this time.

I also ended up just going ahead and replacing pretty much every spring and moving part on and in the gun. The only parts I didn't replace were the ejector, extractor, firing pin, firing pin plate, hammer strut, and barrel link.

Proud to say I did all the fitting myself and the gun functions properly. I do still need to work on reducing the trigger pull a bit. It's crisp, but a lot heavier than I would like. Their is also a significant gap between the frame and beaver tail, but I am not seeing a way to reduce it and I am not wanting to start filing on a frame that was factory Cerakoted.

I started with a $500 Tisas. Grip safety and mag release are Ed Brown. Everything else is Wilson Combat.

I originally did not intend to go this far and was only going to replace the safety because I hate ambi safeties. Then one thing led to another and I ended up with a clone of a Sig Nightmare Carry minus the stupid external extractor Sig uses on their 1911s.

This whole project that this thing turned into has now led me to want to build a 1911 from a bare frame and slide. That project is going to have to wait til I save up some more money.

 

[Braxton1]

The reason that you have the large gap on the Beavertail is that the Ed Brown is designed for a .250 radius on the frame ears, not the "contoured" cut that your OEM frame has. I would try to find a Wilson Combat beavertail (not the drop-in one, but the one that requires fitting). It appears that your frame is closer to that cut....

If the Brown hasn't been cut/mangled, I'd buy it from you so that you can recoup your costs a little. I use them in all my builds.

 

[drewga11]

The reason that you have the large gap on the Beavertail is that the Ed Brown is designed for a .250 radius on the frame ears, not the "contoured" cut that your OEM frame has. I would try to find a Wilson Combat beavertail (not the drop-in one, but the one that requires fitting). It appears that your frame is closer to that cut....

If the Brown hasn't been cut/mangled, I'd buy it from you so that you can recoup your costs a little. I use them in all my builds.

I appreciate that information as well as your offer. I would take you up on that, but I did have to do some filing on the bar that contacts the trigger bow so I don't know how much use it would be to you at this point. It's not mangled in any kind of way, but it has been filed on.

The gun functions well and isn't loose or sloppy at all. The gap on the beaver tail is just a cosmetic thing that slightly bothers my OCD or whatever. I can live with it as long as it is functional.

I'm not sure I want to try a different grip safety because I do prefer the way the EB feels. This whole project snowballed from just getting rid of the original ambi thumb safety. Planning to start my first "full" build by the end of the year.

 

[Tony Carney]

Hi all and nice looking piece, it was stated you did install a larger radii beavertail, if you ever decide try one with a smaller radius cut and /or a gunsmith fit grip safety so you can contour it to your frame obviously. Also if you can get your hands on Jerry Kunhausen manual of the 1911 a shop manual, it is probably one of if not the most definitive and informational pieces of 1911 knowledge you'll ever need. Your going in the right direction and that's what makes customization and learning fun especially with the old warhorse model of 1911.