i need some help.

[Lonestar grips.]

a while back the sear broke in my Colt series 80 government model and i'd like to fix it myself instead of taking it to a gunsmith, so today i bought a Tom Wilson sear jig from someone over on the big forum, and i know i have some arkansas stones that my dad had in his gunsmithing tool box so what i need now is....

#1 recommendations for a sear, brownells has quite a few i'm just not sure which is the best.

#2 are there any good threads out there that show how this is done? the jig is used so i don't think it will have the instructions.

any tips or advise is greatly appreciated.

.

[Dave Waits]

Wow! Don't know where to start here. First, and I'm not trying to be insulting, Mating a hammer and sear isn't a job for a beginner. A lot of things come into play here when you start changing out interrelating parts one at a time. What I'm trying to say here is that if you change the sear, it affects the Hammer and the Thumb-safety. If you replace one, you should really replace all three. Why? Because the Hammer hooks are mated to the previous sear and may not work well with the new sear. Factory sears are often different lengths from one to another. They're all fitted to the hammer and vice-versa at the factory. Your replacement sear may be too long or too short, or, your hooks may be too short for the new sear even with a breakaway angle. Your Thumb-Safety is fitted to the sear for reliable operation, replacing the sear may well make the Thumb-Safety inoperable. For example, if the factory sear was thicker in the Sear engagement area, as shown below, the Thumb-Safety Sear engagement area may be too short to block the new sear


I would suggest you instead purchase one of the Sets sold by Brownells, such as the Cylinder&Slide MARSOC set along with a new Thumb-Safety. These sets are drop-in and all you will have to fit is the Thumb-Safety, a much simpler job for someone who doesn't work on guns like the 1911 a lot. I'm not familiar with the Wilson Jig so, I can't help you there. I used until recently, a jig I built to fit the hammer and sear. Now I use a TR jig made by Chuck Warner.
Hope this helps.
Dave

[Lonestar grips.]

hey Dave thanks for the reply!, i see what your saying, it would be easier and take less time to just get the Cylinder&Slide MARSOC set instead of buying a bunch of sears and hoping one will safely work.

while we're on the subject i'd like to start working on and modding 1911's and was wondering if you or anyone else on the forum knew of some good books that i could start with?

[Dave Waits]

What I always suggest is to first get Jerry Kuhnhausens' great manuals in the 1911/1911A1 and study them with your pistol in front of you. A good understanding about how all the parts work and how they work with each other will make doing the mods much easier as you'll know what happens when you do what.

As for how to do things, I would suggest that when you're ready, start hanging out and reading the how-to threads in Forums like 1911pro.com and other sites where the pros like John Harrison, Dave Berryhill, Chuck Rodgers and such hang out. There are some large egos there but, there is also a trove of great information.

[AutoMag]

Large egos Dave.........you got that right!!!

Like Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry said........."A legend in their own minds"!!!!!

[navman]

As far as a sear goes I can not recommend EGW highly enough! I use their hard sear in just about every build.

As for a jig I have been using the Chuck Warner true radius...perfection! Alternatively I have the powers custom for those times when a traditional sear nose is desired.