Anyone hear of fusion firearms?

Calculon said:

Would love to build a 1911.

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Saltwater60 said:

I thought about that too. Seemed like it would be a cool project. Not sure it’s worth it for the cash you save. No grips and $100 off.

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I wouldn't want to discourage anyone from trying it really, but it's a huge mistake if you're someone who's built a few ARs or Glock builds and think you can build a gun. ARs are basically legos and Glock builds are basically drop in parts with maybe a tiny bit of fitting..rarely. Versus 1911 builds though, at least if you want to have one with anywhere near flawless function (and if you want a really nice trigger..whoo boy that's a specialty in itself).. it's like throwing the ball around with dad v.s. college ball (in this weird analogy Pro ball would specialized professional 1911 gunsmiths). Building a 1911 generally requires special equipment (jigs for sear/hammer engagement, fitting files and stones and compounds) and basically hand fitting for every important part (which is all of them). You've got to fit and lap the slide to the frame, the barrel to the slide, sear fit, hammer fit, disconnect fit, grip safety fit, frame safety fit.. the list goes on and then you've got tuning of a dozen or more things. It's going to be a labor of love and you won't save anything (you'll probably spend a LOT more unless you already have every tool). You shouldn't even be thinking about it if you haven't taken apart a 1911 down to it's bare frame many times and carefully inspected exactly how and why everything fits and works.

That said, yes you can buy the pre-built kits where everything is made to the same fit and will be ..eh.. somewhat.. drop in, but don't think you're not still going to have to do some fitting and you'll wind up with a loose crap spec gun that won't be worth anywhere near what you put into it.

I know I'm making a nightmare scenario out of this, buut.. well, just remember that there are trained gunsmiths who specialize in making quality 1911s run right (as well as trained generalized gunsmiths who couldn't do it easily); while a minimally trained monkey could probably put together an AR.

Acer-m14 said:

making your own 1911 would be a good workout for the hands and arms fitting the slide to the frame ..

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I have spent a couple of hours lapping a barrel to a frame before. Usually takes about 2 hours till it is smooth as glass. The toughest one took me 3 and a half to go from not wanting to go on the frame rails to sliding on a sheet ice.

HEX said:

I wouldn't want to discourage anyone from trying it really, but it's a huge mistake if you're someone who's built a few ARs or Glock builds and think you can build a gun. ARs are basically legos and Glock builds are basically drop in parts with maybe a tiny bit of fitting..rarely. Versus 1911 builds though, at least if you want to have one with anywhere near flawless function (and if you want a really nice trigger..whoo boy that's a specialty in itself).. it's like throwing the ball around with dad v.s. college ball (in this weird analogy Pro ball would specialized professional 1911 gunsmiths). Building a 1911 generally requires special equipment (jigs for sear/hammer engagement, fitting files and stones and compounds) and basically hand fitting for every important part (which is all of them). You've got to fit and lap the slide to the frame, the barrel to the slide, sear fit, hammer fit, disconnect fit, grip safety fit, frame safety fit.. the list goes on and then you've got tuning of a dozen or more things. It's going to be a labor of love and you won't save anything (you'll probably spend a LOT more unless you already have every tool). You shouldn't even be thinking about it if you haven't taken apart a 1911 down to it's bare frame many times and carefully inspected exactly how and why everything fits and works.

That said, yes you can buy the pre-built kits where everything is made to the same fit and will be ..eh.. somewhat.. drop in, but don't think you're not still going to have to do some fitting and you'll wind up with a loose crap spec gun that won't be worth anywhere near what you put into it.

I know I'm making a nightmare scenario out of this, buut.. well, just remember that there are trained gunsmiths who specialize in making quality 1911s run right (as well as trained generalized gunsmiths who couldn't do it easily); while a minimally trained monkey could probably put together an AR.

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Most people can’t get the barrel timing right. It is a difficult concept for some reason.

Trigger/sear geometry is not that difficult with the right tools. My latest build has a nice crisp 3.5 pound trigger.

I do have over 700 dollars in tools specifically for the 1911. It is very much cheaper to buy one than build one.