I'm going to my first 1911 build from parts. I'm considering what frame to use.
This being my first build, I anticipate learning errors. I don't want to use the best-est, most expensive frame out there (Caspian, etc...). (My goal is to use this as a learning experience to make a functional 1911, not to make an Ed Brown quality pistol necessarily. I'm not interested in pretty).
I'd like to use a less expensive frame so I won't care as much if I screw something up (scratch, ding, file mark, bent rail or dust cover, etc...). However, I've read that inexpensive frames can be off-spec which makes working with them difficult - an added hurdle I don't need for a first build.
So what stripped frame would someone recommend that's less expensive but of reputable quality and fairly sure to be in-spec?
Double Star
Essex
Auto-Ordnance
FAC
other?
Thanks for any suggestions/wisdom. (Oh, recommended places to buy would be a plus also).
(yes, I know I could just buy a 1911 more cheaply, but doing a build is just something I want to do. I need a hobby. And I know SA frames are supposed to be good for building up, but I don't want to buy a complete pistol and upgrade. My preference is just to start from a stripped frame. Thanks).
This being my first build, I anticipate learning errors. I don't want to use the best-est, most expensive frame out there (Caspian, etc...). (My goal is to use this as a learning experience to make a functional 1911, not to make an Ed Brown quality pistol necessarily. I'm not interested in pretty).
I'd like to use a less expensive frame so I won't care as much if I screw something up (scratch, ding, file mark, bent rail or dust cover, etc...). However, I've read that inexpensive frames can be off-spec which makes working with them difficult - an added hurdle I don't need for a first build.
So what stripped frame would someone recommend that's less expensive but of reputable quality and fairly sure to be in-spec?
Double Star
Essex
Auto-Ordnance
FAC
other?
Thanks for any suggestions/wisdom. (Oh, recommended places to buy would be a plus also).
(yes, I know I could just buy a 1911 more cheaply, but doing a build is just something I want to do. I need a hobby. And I know SA frames are supposed to be good for building up, but I don't want to buy a complete pistol and upgrade. My preference is just to start from a stripped frame. Thanks).