tools & instructions needed for 1911 trigger jobs ?

[Grelber]

Would like to establish and maintain reliable triggers of about 2.5# on my 1911 & 2011 guns.

Anyone in the same boat found good instructions (book or dvd) and a comprehensive tool kit (or list) that worked for them ?

 

[ghitch75]

buy this book and go from there....

JERRY KUHNHAUSEN THE COLT .45 AUTOMATIC | Brownells

 

[1911ly]

Not trying to be a nay sayer but.. Are these carry guns or target guns. 2.5lb's is a really light trigger for a carry gun. I know everyone is different. If you haven't handled a 2.5 lb trigger I'd find someone with one to try. If you have and your comfortable with it then ignore me! Just be safe.

 

[30calmachinegunner]

I have some fixtures and stones if you want to do it, I'll just sit back and watch as I don't want to let someone take these with them

 

[partyboy6686]

I just give my 1911's to AllenM and let him work his magic. My competition 1911's have a very nice 2# trigger pull thanks to him.

 

[Grelber]

Not trying to be a nay sayer but.. Are these carry guns or target guns. 2.5lb's is a really light trigger for a carry gun. I know everyone is different. If you haven't handled a 2.5 lb trigger I'd find someone with one to try. If you have and your comfortable with it then ignore me! Just be safe.

I appreciate the advice. Competition only, currently only have one trigger that light and 100% agree that it requires getting adjusted to, or at least it did for me.

I have some fixtures and stones if you want to do it, I'll just sit back and watch as I don't want to let someone take these with them

That is a very generous offer. Thank you! I'm a bit of a tools and information junkie though so if I go the DIY route I'd like to buy what I need so it is there for whenever the mood to study or tinker (or a new gun) comes around.

 

[Rob377]

The kuhnhausen manual and this guy
1911 Sear Jig

Good parts (just because it says "Wilson" on the bag doesn't make it a good part, FWIW)

Add a little bit of knowledge and experience tweaking a sear spring, and 2.5# lb triggers with perfect reliability AND a good positive reset are easy.

Too many people focus on just the pull weight, and end up getting there at the expense of reset pressure, which is NOT conducive to reliability nor fast shooting.

 

[churchmouse]

The kuhnhausen manual and this guy
1911 Sear Jig

Good parts (just because it says "Wilson" on the bag doesn't make it a good part, FWIW)

Add a little bit of knowledge and experience tweaking a sear spring, and 2.5# lb triggers with perfect reliability AND a good positive reset are easy.

Too many people focus on just the pull weight, and end up getting there at the expense of reset pressure, which is NOT conducive to reliability nor fast shooting.

That is a nice piece but I like mine a lot better. Brand name escapes me but I got it on brownells.

Reset is something that gets overlooked.

 

[Rob377]

You'll also want a set of these
TRIGGER ADJUSTMENT PINS | Brownells

and one of these
http://www.amazon.com/25mm-Glass-Je...qid=1405383126&sr=8-1&keywords=jewelers+loupe

and some feeler gauges from .010 to .030 are also useful.

Not to mention good stones.

The 4000/8000 Norton and 12k stone I use for my straight razor are also great for ridiculously smooth, flat surfaces

 

[churchmouse]

Bob Marvel Auto sear and Hammer jig. Superior tool. No need for the pins with this tool.

 

[partyboy6686]

The kuhnhausen manual and this guy
1911 Sear Jig

Good parts (just because it says "Wilson" on the bag doesn't make it a good part, FWIW)

Add a little bit of knowledge and experience tweaking a sear spring, and 2.5# lb triggers with perfect reliability AND a good positive reset are easy.

Too many people focus on just the pull weight, and end up getting there at the expense of reset pressure, which is NOT conducive to reliability nor fast shooting.

Great Advice Rob. For sure spend the money on good parts. If its not made by EGW or Infinity/SVI I will not put it in my 1911. The Fusion 1911 AllenM built for me had all Ed Brown parts in it. Went with the Hardcore hammer and sear. Suppose to be the best Ed Brown makes. The whole trigger group crapped out within 2500 rounds through it. The disconnector and sear where totally trashed. I'm glad the hammer has the safety notch or the gun would have went full auto. From what AllenM has told me it looks like the trigger was failing to reset properly and caused the wear. The last USPSA match I shot at Atlanta I had so many gun issues on the 3rd stage that it ruined any chance of having a good match time. Im just glad I brung a backup gun or my day of shooting was over with.

 

[Rob377]

Bob Marvel Auto sear and Hammer jig. Superior tool. No need for the pins with this tool.

Those are nice. I like the hammer hook capability for fixing hammers that aren't so great out of the bag.

But my personal opinion is to always use pins on the individual gun you're working on. The hammer and sear pin hole relationship are not EXACTLY the same on every gun, so using something other than the gun isn't ideal. The perfectly neutrally engaged hammer and sear in the STI can end up slightly negatively engaged (Bad juju there) in a Springer.

When you're looking for perfection, the few thou in variation matter.

 

[churchmouse]

Those are nice. I like the hammer hook capability for fixing hammers that aren't so great out of the bag.

But my personal opinion is to always use pins on the individual gun you're working on. The hammer and sear pin hole relationship are not EXACTLY the same on every gun, so using something other than the gun isn't ideal. The perfectly neutrally engaged hammer and sear in the STI can end up slightly negatively engaged (Bad juju there) in a Springer.

When you're looking for perfection, the few thou in variation matter.

That makes sense. I am aware of the differences in from manf. to manf.
Have not had any issues with that jig as yet but one more step in the process can not hurt.

I always square up the hammers with that jig. Very easy to set the hooks with it as well.

 

[Rob377]

Great Advice Rob. For sure spend the money on good parts. If its not made by EGW or Infinity/SVI I will not put it in my 1911. The Fusion 1911 AllenM built for me had all Ed Brown parts in it. Went with the Hardcore hammer and sear. Suppose to be the best Ed Brown makes. The whole trigger group crapped out within 2500 rounds through it. The disconnector and sear where totally trashed. I'm glad the hammer has the safety notch or the gun would have went full auto. From what AllenM has told me it looks like the trigger was failing to reset properly and caused the wear. The last USPSA match I shot at Atlanta I had so many gun issues on the 3rd stage that it ruined any chance of having a good match time. Im just glad I brung a backup gun or my day of shooting was over with.

I tried the EB hardcore stuff. Meh. I prefer EGW as well.

The EB was the best choice for the old TRP I had. Because of a variation in sear-hammer pin hole positioning, it needed a sear with longish .470+" (if memory serves correctly, rarelya great bet) pinhole-nose length to be right. The EB was the only one long enough. EGW, STI and I think the wilson were all .467-.468 (again, the remembering of numbers isn't my thing, but they were a few thou short.)

 

[ghitch75]

here is the sear jig i use......

TR Pro sear jig - Shop Now

and one more thing....get a factory Colt sear Spring and just that will make a world of difference in your trigger after you tune it......have tried ever other spring out there and Colts are the best......

http://www.colt.com/ShopOnline/tabid/62/ProdID/28/CatID/10/Default.aspx

 

[partyboy6686]

I tried the EB hardcore stuff. Meh. I prefer EGW as well.

The EB was the best choice for the old TRP I had. Because of a variation in sear-hammer pin hole positioning, it needed a sear with longish .470+" (if memory serves correctly, rarelya great bet) pinhole-nose length to be right. The EB was the only one long enough. EGW, STI and I think the wilson were all .467-.468 (again, the remembering of numbers isn't my thing, but they were a few thou short.)

Yea for the price I paid for all Ed Brown parts I could have bought all EGW parts, Koenig Low Mass Hammer, and an Infinity/SVI Trigger Bow with Flat insert. But at the time I had the gun built I knew nothing about EGW and Infinity/SVI except for seeing that you used there parts on your STI. For sure a lesson learned the hard way.

 

[1911ly]

I appreciate the advice. Competition only, currently only have one trigger that light and 100% agree that it requires getting adjusted to, or at least it did for me.



That is a very generous offer. Thank you! I'm a bit of a tools and information junkie though so if I go the DIY route I'd like to buy what I need so it is there for whenever the mood to study or tinker (or a new gun) comes around.

2.5 would be awesome for a competition! I have my carry set at a hair under 4 and it feels great. My buddy's 1911 is set to 2.5 and it is way to light. Although I have tremers so I don't like a touchy tigger. I'll never be a comp shooter :-( As mentioned AllenM is awesome and I'd bet 30cal would watch you closely. He knows what he is doing and he is generous with his tools! And that's awesome!

If you aren't comfortable doing it I totally understand. I did my own. It wasn't that hard. You just have to go slow and watch your angles and how much you take off. just polishing makes a big difference. Mine started at about 7lb's. Some day i'll change the hammer and sear to a better one. I have over 30k threw it. Still feels great for now.

 

[Grelber]

Great Advice Rob. For sure spend the money on good parts. If its not made by EGW or Infinity/SVI I will not put it in my 1911.

This is a fantastic forum when you need to find folks to help you spend money .
The answer may come when I get my hands on the book mentioned previously, but am curious if it is typical to attempt tuning with mostly the stock gun parts (STI in this case) or to start out with pretty much all new hard parts.

 

[churchmouse]

This is a fantastic forum when you need to find folks to help you spend money .
The answer may come when I get my hands on the book mentioned previously, but am curious if it is typical to attempt tuning with mostly the stock gun parts (STI in this case) or to start out with pretty much all new hard parts.

If gun has MIM parts you should get new/better grade parts. STI might already have good pieces. Partyboy would know.

Oh yeah, we will help you spend all your money...

 

[Rob377]

This is a fantastic forum when you need to find folks to help you spend money .
The answer may come when I get my hands on the book mentioned previously, but am curious if it is typical to attempt tuning with mostly the stock gun parts (STI in this case) or to start out with pretty much all new hard parts.

STI sears are decent. Reliable, safe 2.5# should be doable with the stock STI guts. It'll be easier with the Koenig/Huening hammer from EGW though.