Bucks County 1911 Gunsmith

[Z-Max]

Hey I'm new here I'm wondering if anyone knows a decent gunsmith in the Bucks county or surrounding area that knows their way around the 1911 platform. Will most likely be getting a new barrel/bushing in my Kimber that'll need fitting and I'll also have them throw in a Series 70 firing pin stop.

[Svickstc]

Sean at CDI very knowledgable of the platform

[savagemod11]

Handgunner in topton, is a great gunsmith, but they have a big back log on work last I checked, so might be worth a call. EDIT: your over an hour away so other suggestion may be better.

[Pizza Bob]

Your Kimber is already equipped with a Swarz system firing pin stop. This works off the grip safety. The Colt system is Series 80 - Series 70's did not have a firing pin stop. The Series 80 FPS works off the trigger. Today's solution, rather than add linkage or stops of any kind, is to use a titanium firing pin with a heavy spring. Why change? The Swarz system really does not add to the weight of the trigger pull (the Series 80 system does).

You may want to check out John Robinson. He has been around the Bucks County area for years. Had his own shop for a while and has partnered with various gun shops in the area. I believe that he is currently at Clayton's.

Adios,

Pizza Bob

[AlphaChase]

Hey I'm new here I'm wondering if anyone knows a decent gunsmith in the Bucks county or surrounding area that knows their way around the 1911 platform. Will most likely be getting a new barrel/bushing in my Kimber that'll need fitting and I'll also have them throw in a Series 70 firing pin stop.

I highly recommend gunsmith John Robinson. He used to be the top gunsmith at Classic pistol but has recently moved up in careers to Claytons in Willowgrove. He does fantastic 1911 work, very clean and detailed. When I recently called there I was informed John currently has about a 2 month wait, if that gives you any indication of demand for his work. I know I wouldn't have anyone else work on my 1911s, as I don't mind the minimal wait for the quality of work he produces.

[glockmaster]

Another vote for Sean at CDI. He is a 1911 guru. He's in chalfont and a member on this forum.

[Z-Max]

Your Kimber is already equipped with a Swarz system firing pin stop. This works off the grip safety. The Colt system is Series 80 - Series 70's did not have a firing pin stop. The Series 80 FPS works off the trigger. Today's solution, rather than add linkage or stops of any kind, is to use a titanium firing pin with a heavy spring. Why change? The Swarz system really does not add to the weight of the trigger pull (the Series 80 system does).

You may want to check out John Robinson. He has been around the Bucks County area for years. Had his own shop for a while and has partnered with various gun shops in the area. I believe that he is currently at Clayton's.

Adios,

Pizza Bob

This is what I'm talking about with the Kimber...the series 80 style FPS leaves a recess the pushrod can get stuck in and jam the works. This is a preventative sort of thing. Series 70 left series 80 right.



Either way I'm sending the Kimber to Kimber for unrelated work but have called Sean at CDI and will be dropping off my 645 for a little of this and that. He's not too far from me actually.

[Pizza Bob]

Your picture shows two slides with FPS's - neither of those is a series 70. There is no plunger in a series 70 Colt.

[Z-Max]

I might be describing it wrong or referencing wrong information but this is the guide/procedure I'm referring to. The goal is to prevent the Swartz safety pushrod from jamming in the recess created by the FPS pictured on the right (what the author of the below article refers to as a series 80 style, in contrast to what he calles a series 70 style, pictured on left).

Tuning Kimber Swartz Safety