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The
Traveling Gunsmith
By Cameron Hopkins
Major
shooting matches like the Steel Challenge and the
American Handgunner World Shoot-Off Championships
have a new bonus for shooters interested in
learning about do-it-yourself gunsmithing. Master
gunsmith Bill Laughridge of the Cylinder &
Slide Shop has begun a special tour of traveling
classes in conjunction with several of the top
matches.
By
extending your trip to a match by one day, you
can take one of Bill’s eight hour seminars which
are limited to no more than 10 students for close,
one-on-one attention from the instructor. The
class we audited was on trigger jobs for the 1911
pistol. We also covered the proper fitting of an
ambidextrous thumb safety, which is actually part
of a trigger job. Subjects may expand in the
future as student demand warrants it to cover
subjects like barrel fitting, beavertail fitting
and slide-to-frame fitting.
Bill
proved to be every bit as good an instructor as he
is a world-class pistolsmith. His lectures were
concise and well organized with detailed diagrams
and illustrations to show the intricate
relationship of the trigger parts in a 1911
pistol.
A
constantly reoccurring theme in Bill’s class was
safety. “I can’t stress safety enough,” the
mustachioed Nebraskan cautioned as he held up a
Colt 1991 pistol, “Remember, Murphy lives in
that sucker!”
Included
in the tuition for the class were the basic tools
of performing a trigger job, all of which are
available from Brownells. The class was issued
with a fine ceramic stone (square), a fine India
stone (square), a narrow pillar file (fine cut), a
square needle file (fine cut) and a can of oil for
lubricating the stones. In addition, Bill asked
the students to bring a magnifying glass, a small
bench vise, a punch and a ballpeen hammer.
The
class focused on how to perform a “manual”
trigger job without the aid of fixtures or jigs.
The only other tools we used were a Brownells
trigger pull gauge to check our progress and an
.018” feeler gauge to verify our cutting of the
hammer hooks. He explained that anyone can buy a
jig and do a trigger job, but he said it is more
important to understand the principles of the
trigger mechanism to achieve a safe and reliable
trigger job.
Bill told
the class that he can teach a student how to get a
safe three pound trigger, maybe even two if the
student has some mechanical aptitude, but he
warned against trying to get a sub-two pound
trigger. If we feel the need for a super-light
trigger, pay a professional, he said, because it
takes a great deal more experience than can be
imparted in an eight hour class to get a safe
sub-two pound trigger.
“When
you’re running a sub-two pound trigger pull,
you’re running an Indy car. It goes real fast,
but it doesn’t last very long,” the instructor
said.
Another
theme that Bill constantly hammered was the need
to use quality parts. “Once again, use reputable
parts. Don’t use unknown parts,” Bill told the
class. He said you’re safe with any of the
“name brands,” but specifically referenced
McCormick, Wilson, Ed Brown and Videki for
triggers, hammers, sears and thumb safeties.
The class
covered everything that possibly influences the
trigger pull, including a special discussion of
how to fit an extractor. “This doesn’t have
anything to do with triggers,” Bill admitted,
“But it’s vital to reliable functioning and
something that’s frequently misunderstood.
Besides, I want you to get your money’s worth in
this class!”
We covered
how to adjust the sear spring, how to diagnose and
cure “trigger bounce,” how to file and stone
the hammer hooks, how to cut the proper radius and
back-radius on the sear nose, how to check the
disconnector fit, how to fit a trigger and adjust
the over-travel stop, how to fit an ambi thumb
safety and, of course, how to perform a number of
different safety checks on the weapon.
Along the
way Bill revealed a number of little “trade
secrets” and special insights he’s learned in
20 years of pistolsmithing the 1911. I learned
more about the 1911 pistol in those 10 hours than
I’d ever get from reading a book (the class ran
longer than eight hours, but no one complained).
There is simply no substitute for hands-on
learning and personalized instruction.
One
student in the class, Dave Behlan, split his
tuition 50-50 with a friend on the condition that
Dave would later do a trigger job for his friend
after the class. That’s one way to get a
scholarship! Another student, Blake Bennett, had
been planning to work on a stock Government Model
but when his fully customized McCormick racegun
began to develop hammer follow, he did a trigger
job in class on the racegun he would go on to
shoot in the Steel Challenge the next day!
The two
other students, Bill Larock and Ed Bruno, were
serious hobbyists who simply wanted to learn more
about the Government Model from a nationally known
pistolsmith.
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