Custom 1911 Project: Part 6- flat top and chain link top of slide

Custom 1911 Project: Part 6- flat top and chain link top of slide, presented by Rifleshooter.com and Brownells

This is the sixth installment of our Custom 1911 project- in this post we are going flat top and chain link the slide.

Our custom Remington R1 is outfitted with the following Wilson Combat parts:

Machining a flat rib and chain link pattern across the top of the round 1911 slide adds a distinctive custom touch.

Before we proceed, please read the following disclaimer:

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Any modifications made to a firearm should be made by a licensed gunsmith. Failure to do so may void warranties and result in an unsafe firearm and may cause injury or death.

Modifications to a firearm may result in personal injury or death, cause the firearm to not function properly, or malfunction, and cause the firearm to become unsafe.

You might think you could simply place your 1911 slide in the mill on a set of parallels and machine the top- you’d be in for a surprise. All 1911 slides are tapered, they are taller in the rear than the front with the bottom not parallel to the top. This means you need to get creative with the set up. I placed a set of 1-2-3 blocks (2-4-6 blocks would have worked better but I don’t have a pair) on a set of parallels inside the milling machine vise. Small clamps were threaded into the 1-2-3 blocks and the slide was clamped (with card stock to prevent marring). A dial indicator was used to ensure the top of the slide was parallel to the mill’s x-axis.

A side view of the set up. The 1-2-3 blocks need to sit firmly on the parallels so the slide does roll forward. The clamping blocks need to remain on the blocks, if they are placed on the vise the entire setup will cam out of the vise as they are tightened- don’t ask me how I know.

A third view of the set up.

I decided to stop the flat top treatment short of the front sight, similar to what Wilson Combat does on their custom guns. To machine this cut I take light passes with a 3/8″ solid carbide four flute end mill.

I like to take a few passes for a nice smooth cut. It is a shallow cut, no sense in rushing things and getting inferior results.

The top of the slide will have the same chain link pattern as the front strap, main spring housing and trigger guard- a custom touch that will tie the gun together. The 1/16″ radius cutter is placed in the mill. I use the electronic depth gauge to ensure the cutter will machine down the center of the slide. The human eye can pic up discrepancies as small as a few thousandths of an inch, any mistake would look awful! The freshly machined flat top is coated in Dykem to increase visibility of the cuts.

I run the cutter at a relatively low speed (550 RPM) and make a series of cuts .010″ deep at a .200″ interval.

The top and bottom rows are .076″ above and below the center row with the same .200″ spacing. Note how I laid out the cuts so the pattern “points” forward.