Rock185
US Veteran
So were the other guns stored in a safe, and for some reason just the 1911 stored "under" the house???
This One Will Break Your Heart
- Thread starter merl67
- Start date
AJ
US Veteran
Will be interesting to see after it soaks for a while.
I do not feel sorry for the owner of firearms that does not keep his firearms at home and does not care for them properly .
First date with young lady was doing what I enjoyed for a weekend to see if we were compatible . If she did not enjoy the weekend I probably would have not dated her any more . She had never been in the SW FL swamp lands or fired any gun . This was a 4x4 club weekend in the "Big Cypress: and this young lady loved ever thing about it and bought her own handgun 2 weeks later ,
That first date was in 1976 , married 4 years later and were still together . So if your GF or future wife does have the same interest as you Better think real hard about marring that lady .
First date with young lady was doing what I enjoyed for a weekend to see if we were compatible . If she did not enjoy the weekend I probably would have not dated her any more . She had never been in the SW FL swamp lands or fired any gun . This was a 4x4 club weekend in the "Big Cypress: and this young lady loved ever thing about it and bought her own handgun 2 weeks later ,
That first date was in 1976 , married 4 years later and were still together . So if your GF or future wife does have the same interest as you Better think real hard about marring that lady .
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Turnbull is expensive but if you want perfection he is worth every penny. I nice guy too, I met him at a Greenwich Ct high end show many years ago.
AJ
US Veteran
Turnbull is very good at what they do in that shop. However, you will probably pay more that the piece is worth.........
Nice sharp corners and lines (where they still exist) on the OP's pistol.
Nickel plated or not, the gun can be restored.
Plating if there can be easily removed in a couple of ways.
With the amt of pitting on the gun, it'll be gone one way or another anyway.
Stripping it before beginning any work would be done so that the inside surfaces would be void of any nickel as well when you are done.
Most of the pitting can be polished out. Some damage would have tobe filled either by welding (pick your method, pick your welder).
Some areas can be 'fixed' by inlaying steel into steel. But that would be more of a process tat an engraver would do than a 'smith doing polishing work.
Markings would need to be re-cut or re-stamped/re-roll marked.
Orig done, some were simple hand stamps and some were roll markings.
A few of the restoration shops have roll dies to do the work. But they often don't have ALL of the dies to cover every variation of the Model in question. The 1911 and the SAA are a couple popular models to restore. But they went through many changes in just markings.
To be 'restored correctly' the markings have to be period correct.
If the roll marking die isn't the right one or the hand stamp isn't the right one, then either the price to get one made is an option or the other way is to have the markings re-cut by hand by an engraver.
Not every engraver does 'lettering' and fewer still like to do recut and restoration of stamped and roll die lettering.
When done it has to look like it was stamped or roll marked,,that's the hard part!
Polishing..The 1911 style pistol is one of the easier forms to polish when you consider the other shaps of frames and parts of firearms around.
To get it correct for a restoration is another thing,,grit lines going the right direction, the correct gloss, sharp edges, straight lines, flat surfaces,,all those Factory Look things that seem to be missing from most refinishng projects.
Then the correct blue finish.
Early enough for the Charcoal Blue? The very first production were.
Or was it Carbona Blued.
With in thelatter, the polishing style of the time of mfg effects the look of the final finish as well.
So much to it.
You can either have a nice re-blued/refinished pistol.
Or, a finely restored Pistol.
Money and time is the difference.
Final value usually doesn't make sense of the investment for the restoration if it's being done strictly for financial gain.
At a gun show this past weekend, a table holder had on display (again) a Winchester Model92 deluxe, 32-20 w/ orig 30"bbl.
Complete restoration by DTRestoration.
The DTR invoice for the work was $6200 and change
Rifle was priced at $3800 for the last couple shows I've seen it at.
At this show marked down to $3400
No one looking at it.
Great investment
Nickel plated or not, the gun can be restored.
Plating if there can be easily removed in a couple of ways.
With the amt of pitting on the gun, it'll be gone one way or another anyway.
Stripping it before beginning any work would be done so that the inside surfaces would be void of any nickel as well when you are done.
Most of the pitting can be polished out. Some damage would have tobe filled either by welding (pick your method, pick your welder).
Some areas can be 'fixed' by inlaying steel into steel. But that would be more of a process tat an engraver would do than a 'smith doing polishing work.
Markings would need to be re-cut or re-stamped/re-roll marked.
Orig done, some were simple hand stamps and some were roll markings.
A few of the restoration shops have roll dies to do the work. But they often don't have ALL of the dies to cover every variation of the Model in question. The 1911 and the SAA are a couple popular models to restore. But they went through many changes in just markings.
To be 'restored correctly' the markings have to be period correct.
If the roll marking die isn't the right one or the hand stamp isn't the right one, then either the price to get one made is an option or the other way is to have the markings re-cut by hand by an engraver.
Not every engraver does 'lettering' and fewer still like to do recut and restoration of stamped and roll die lettering.
When done it has to look like it was stamped or roll marked,,that's the hard part!
Polishing..The 1911 style pistol is one of the easier forms to polish when you consider the other shaps of frames and parts of firearms around.
To get it correct for a restoration is another thing,,grit lines going the right direction, the correct gloss, sharp edges, straight lines, flat surfaces,,all those Factory Look things that seem to be missing from most refinishng projects.
Then the correct blue finish.
Early enough for the Charcoal Blue? The very first production were.
Or was it Carbona Blued.
With in thelatter, the polishing style of the time of mfg effects the look of the final finish as well.
So much to it.
You can either have a nice re-blued/refinished pistol.
Or, a finely restored Pistol.
Money and time is the difference.
Final value usually doesn't make sense of the investment for the restoration if it's being done strictly for financial gain.
At a gun show this past weekend, a table holder had on display (again) a Winchester Model92 deluxe, 32-20 w/ orig 30"bbl.
Complete restoration by DTRestoration.
The DTR invoice for the work was $6200 and change
Rifle was priced at $3800 for the last couple shows I've seen it at.
At this show marked down to $3400
No one looking at it.
Great investment
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I had a similar conversation. Date asked if I carried off duty. Yes. Always? Yes. Even when you're with me? (Oh boy, here we go. And I liked this one) Yes. She batted her big brown eyes at me. "I feel so safe". 45 years later we both always carry.
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Back in 75 a long time friend asked me about “ fixing up” a 1911, said ok I’d look at it. Well he brought a beat up pitted 1911 A-1 that had the serial number removed to me. Had a good friend that was ATF agent and asked him about serial number. He told me to make up a number and stamp it . Added made up serial number , bead blasted, and used an early Cera kote to finish and looked pretty good. Then friend wanted it back For Free! He became ex friend as he did not want to pay for costs of any refinish and threatened to take me to court. Should have turned him in to my ATF friend when he gave me the pistol……
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Back then all the ATF guys I knew were “ gun guys” and thats all I’ll say. 180 these days.
OP
After a good soaking disassembly, cleaning, oiling reassembly gun functions just fine shoots to point of aim just fine appearance isn't really much improved as the pitting especially on the slide is very deep. Given what it is I would not spend what Turnbull for just a random 1911 even if it is a WW1 era one. That being said if it was a family gun I just might especially if it came to me in much better condition, and my actions caused the damage.
AJ
US Veteran
Sounds like a good candidate for a parkerization. That will hide some if not all of the pitting.
