MidState Armory Services

MidState Armory Services A Georgia-based gunsmithing service

It’s always fun when you create something nice to look at and shoot. This was a passion project of our owner’s. Takin...
02/10/2023

It’s always fun when you create something nice to look at and shoot. This was a passion project of our owner’s. Taking a couple of used, low cost Rock Island USGI .45 1911’s and turning them into works of art.

On these, the parkerization was stripped off and the frames and slides polished and then blued. All external parts, including mags, were then polished and nickel plated in our shop. Finally, trigger jobs were done to smooth out the action.

Got the plating/polishing/bluing room almost done! We will be offering nickel plating soon!
01/16/2023

Got the plating/polishing/bluing room almost done! We will be offering nickel plating soon!

Post #6 Matched set of 1911 rebuild/refinish:So….. even after the naysayers told me how they didn’t like my plan of doi...
01/09/2023

Post #6 Matched set of 1911 rebuild/refinish:

So….. even after the naysayers told me how they didn’t like my plan of doing a tad of nickel plating accents on my RIAs, I’m going forward on it. Currently building the copper strike tank. In researching nickel plating, there are many people that talk about using a copper fill to do final “fill in” work. Plate it with a touch of copper, polish, then nickel. Makes a lot of sense to me. And I need some before and after (and along the way) photos for my website. I added tabs so I can rotate my electrode hook ups.

Somebody sees how deep I go into my work, it only helps me.

For those that mentioned dimensionality as an issue, as I am sanding the parking off, this process Re-establishes the tolerances. I’ll be miking the whole way, so don’t worry.

Waiting on my power supplies, nickel strips, buffer, bubblers, and other secret squirrel gadgets. Waiting on my nickel metal before starting that tank.

I currently have 3 - 5 gallon buckets. Need to pick up one more. 1st one will be the pickling bath, 2nd one copper strike, 3rd one will be nickel bath. 4th one will be distilled water bath. All calcs will be based off a 3 gal bath.

1911 Project Post #3So spent the last two days de-parking them. Some people suggest using a rust removal product. I...
12/30/2022

1911 Project Post #3

So spent the last two days de-parking them. Some people suggest using a rust removal product. I have never tried it and from what I hear, I’d still have to do some sanding to get rid of pitting and tooling marks. So I just lightly sand. I start with 400 grit, then move to 800 grit. Then I polish it out using Aluminum polish (I like Mothers Own).

So now, these are ready for rust bluing. I am going to replace one slide, because the sight cuts are totally different and that's bugging me.

1911 Project Post #2:Oh those PITA grip bushings, either stuck to the screw or stuck in the frame. Mine were stuck in...
12/30/2022

1911 Project Post #2:

Oh those PITA grip bushings, either stuck to the screw or stuck in the frame. Mine were stuck in the frame. But got them out with no damage to the frame. My trick: Deepen the slot on the bushing with a Dremel cut-off wheel into the shoulder of the bushing (without hitting the frame). Boil the stripped down lower in water. Take it outside and hit just the bushing with brake cleaner spray to cool it off. They came out like a champ. Gotta replace the bushings now, but I’m good with that. No thread stripping, and now I can continue the process.

1911 Project #1The very first thing that needed to be done was a complete teardown of both pistols. Down to the last sp...
12/30/2022

1911 Project #1

The very first thing that needed to be done was a complete teardown of both pistols. Down to the last spring. I opted to not remove either the plunger detent tube or the ejector But every other part was stripped out and the sights removed.

In this image the sights are still on.....and let me say this: Rock Island practically welds the sights on.

So we have embarked on a new project. Creating a matched set of 1911's out of a pair of Rock Island Armory .45 ACP USGI...
12/30/2022

So we have embarked on a new project. Creating a matched set of 1911's out of a pair of Rock Island Armory .45 ACP USGI's. These are my personal pistols that I paid 300.00 each at pawnshops. I have always wanted to do this, and the last 1911 I worked on came out pretty nice. These will be refinished with a deep polished bluing and the internals stoned and polished to achieve a 2.5-3 lb trigger pull. There are some subtle differences that will be addressed in this process: slide, tang, and sights.

I'll be adding posts as I hit milestones in the process and explain what I did and how I did it. Feel free to follow, and if you have any questions about the process post them under the post/step in question.

Doc B.

And so….. the journey begins to create a stunning matching set of 1911’s. Blued, tuned and with matching cocobolo grip ...
12/22/2022

And so….. the journey begins to create a stunning matching set of 1911’s. Blued, tuned and with matching cocobolo grip panels. I estimate 1-3 months on these if I take my time.

Why blued? Everyone has the parkerized 1911’s and on vintage ones I wouldn’t touch the finish. But these are Rock Islands, not high on the value scale for 1911’s. A high quality finish will only increase the value of these.

Todays project: Fully go through the action, clean, and then polish this nickel plated C**t .357 Trooper III to prep a...
12/08/2022

Todays project: Fully go through the action, clean, and then polish this nickel plated C**t .357 Trooper III to prep as a presentation/gift. Currently, she is soaking in denatured alcohol, my solvent of choice.

It’s been a little bit since we’ve posted but here’s what happening: Been doing small repairs here and there. But ou...
11/22/2022

It’s been a little bit since we’ve posted but here’s what happening: Been doing small repairs here and there. But our latest acquisition is this little beauty: An Ethan Allen (not the furniture guy) circa 1836 .32 cal Pocket Percussion pistol. Needs a full restoration. Looking forward to digging in to this piece of history. These little pistols were the mainstay of gamblers and ladies of the night for protection in the wild Wild West.

We are always on the prowl for antique and vintage fi****ms to restore, whether for clients or internally. Last week, c...
09/27/2022

We are always on the prowl for antique and vintage fi****ms to restore, whether for clients or internally. Last week, came across a rare find in a pawn shop. A Pre-WWII 1941 C**t Official Police .38 in a factory nickel finish. It was in rough shape with some rusting/plating damage and what is suspected as water submersion damage.

With exception of replacing grips, this pistol is now in a completely functional and serviceable condition. A recent auction sold this exact model for $1955 last year. As it was our owner that purchased it, we suspect he will keep it for his collection, because it will only go up in value.

Address

Rutledge, GA
30663

Telephone

+17063080083

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