ltwguns.com

I posted these on some of the other forums but figured I would put it here too as I know a lot of people abandoned the "old site".

Here are a few pics of a gun I built for my dad for Father’s Day. I wanted it to be a bit modern & a bit retro. My dad served in Vietnam, although he carried a S&W .38 and not a 1911 but who wants to build a .38 revolver when the 1911 is so much more fun? So I wanted to use some older components, like the Colt slide, retro sight and the idea of a two tone which seemed to be a common theme for custom 1911s in my dad’s era, and newer ideas like the Cerakote finish and the AET barrel. I will spare you the long sentiments but just give you a brief background on this build. As is likely true for many, my father is very special to me. I actually started this a little over two years ago because after my wife had passed my father really stepped in and helped me through that impossible time, and made sure I and my kids had what we needed. So I wanted to build him a gun to say thanks. However right around when I started I started to have nerve issues and quickly found out I had spinal cancer. So with nerve issues and radiation treatments my handwork was not what it was or what I wanted. Needless to say my father was there through the whole cancer treatment process, really looked after my kids when I was in the hospital for treatments. Don’t get me wrong, all of my family & friends helped tremendously but my dad went above & beyond what one person could ever be expected to do. I wish I could have gotten better pictures but I literally snapped a few on the way out the door on Father’s Day to give it to him. I will try to grab a few better ones when we hit the range. I lost track of how much time I have in it, but I had a fair amount of physical struggles due to my cancer & the treatments but it all came back pretty quick. So without further ado, here it is.







Here is a five shot group. It was only thirty feet but that was all the distance available at that time.



Build list:
Colt slide
Caspian CS Frame
Schuemann AET Bushing Barrel
EGW Angle Bore Bushing
EGW Firing Pin
Ed Brown Completion Kit
EGW OS Firing Pin Stop
Heinie Front Sight
Yost-Bonitz Retro Sight
EGW HD Oversize Ejector
EGW HD Extractor
Yost-Bonitz Ignition Kit
Greider Slide Stop
EGW Magazine Catch
Ahrends Mayan Bloodwood Grips
CMC Grip Safety
Hand Checkered Mainspring Housing
Finished in Graphite Black & Stainless Cerakote

Very nice....

Pretty gun. I bet your Dad loves it.

Mighty fine Josh, mighty fine. So much the better for all the sentiment in it.

It's a lucky, lucky man who can say he has, or had, a good father. They stick with you in those hard times as yours did. That cascades down through the generations and makes the world better. It's one of the main binders of civilization in fact.

Great job and great story. I hope your medical issues are soon in the past.

Hey Josh...

I haven't been to LTW for a while and just came across your post. You had mentioned to me about this special build in the past, but I didn't realize that you had finished it :):). It looks great ...you have come a long way "Grasshopper"...lol.
Be well,

Barry