Doughboy

Friends,

I talked to an engineer from CA this evening, who has come up with a "plastic" frame for the 1911 GM, which as PASSED a TORTURE TEST of over 10,000 RAPID FIRE shots with GI-spec ammo, using a machine that will fire 2 shots per second. - He also told me that the material, by weight, is over 10X as strong as steel & "has the appearance of 'blackened' aluminum alloy".
The NEW "plastic" is SELF-LUBRICATING, btw.

Mr. D___________ stated that their company will NOT market the frames until they have 5 or more frames that will easily PASS a 20,000 round TORTURE TEST.
I told him that I would volunteer to be a GUINEA PIG for the new frames, as I'm planning to build at least one (and probably a pair of) .38SUPER 1911-style handguns. - He said that he would "get back to me, soon".
(We will see.)

yours, sw

Diamondback

What are they looking at for unit cost? If they can ship as 80%'s I might have some ideas for a couple builds... assuming they can take the stresses of being drilled for both left- and right-hand ejectors and I can find a pair of old-school ambi slide-stops.

The idea is a fully ambidextrous bottom half, with interchangeable ejector/slide/barrel kits for left or right "handing," with both left and right using the standard milspec mag. You've probably seen the chopped drawings back when I first started percolating it so long ago back in my early days here...

Doughboy

Diamondback,

I DO NOT KNOW any more than I said. SORRY. = NOT surprisingly, he told me FEW details as they still are in the "experimentation stage".

SOUNDS PROMISING, though. - As I said, i want to be a guinea pig to try a 1st run production example or 2.

yours, sw

William R. Moore

I would devoutly hope that they've got a metal chassis. The idea of frame rails and recoil abutments of plastic doesn't leave me with warm fuzzy feelings.

Speaking of tupper type frames, have you considered the Strayer-Tripp type of thing where the "frame" bolts to the metal chassis that includes the rails and other points of stress? I think they've got a standard type frame available. Added edit: no they don't.

Have you considered a Caspian frame? Baer does quality, but boy, you pay for it.

csmkersh

Here's a company selling poly-frames for the 1911.

1911 reEVOLUTION | FCL

I don't know if they are still in business or not.

Diamondback

Top, they appear to be toast. Pity, theirs was the only ambi slide-stop I've seen en proposed in a long time...

Also, NEVER trust a company that won't provide a point of contact on their website.

[email protected][email protected]

The Polymer80 80% Glock frames have a metal insert that make up the rails and the rear rails are metal provided by the trigger system. I've seen people do a Poly80 frame with a Dremel in under 15 minutes.

William R. Moore

Yeah, but that's not what we're talking about.