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This “Colt Quartet” started in the fall of 2019 with a client wanting a Colt of each length –
Officers, Commander, Government and Long Slide. Well Colt never produced a “Long Slide” but that did not stop the project from happening. I found four Colt frames; some brand new to start with. The slides needed to be bare since the client wanted specific vintage roll marks and full classic engraving. Caspian provided the slides. I fitted each slide to the frame and finished lapped them. Kart barrels were fit to all but the officers. Here I went with a rewelded Colt to fit a bushing-less slide. All the slides were ball cut and rear sight dovetails cut. The front sights would be staked to give a cleaner look. The frames were checkered at 30lpi. Since this was more show than got, the hammer, thumb safety and slide stop were all vintage pieces, the triggers were steel to allow nitre blue later on. After the guns were built and test fired, they next went to the late Terry Wolford for full polishing- flats and rounds.
After a few months with Terry, they came back the slides were prepped for new rollmarks at Turnbull Restoration in NY. The client picked each roll mark. Turnbull has pretty extensive collection of rolls. Once back from Turnbull it was now off to master Engraver Brian Powley in Ohio for classic scrollwork. The only instructions to Brian were to keep them “classic” and somewhat similar. The rollmarks did allow for some variations in the engraving. Brian worked on these on and off for about a year.
Once back from Powley the next step was finish. From the start the client wanted “charcoal blue”, Turnbull was the obvious choice. Some parts like screws, pins and triggers would get nitre blue in my shop. Joon Kim worked with me to get the right finish for all the bits.
Once back from bluing came the delicate process of assembly. The barrels were hard chromed by Terry Wolford. Sadly, the last project we would do together after 15 years. Terry was the best at his craft. Originally the rear sight was going to be a Harrison Design retro rear sight, but it just did not look right for this project. I went with a Turnbull Restoration rear sight which I opened up the notch on, just in case the client wanted to shoot them. The front sight I fabricated from an EGW blank and in inlaid with 24 K gold. For the grips there was only one choice- Ivory. Scott Kolar at SK grips was in from the beginning of the project- selecting some very clear mammoth blanks.
Overall, it’s one of the nicest projects I have been lucky enough to do. I had some great craftsmen on board with me like Brian Powley, Terry Wolford, Turnbull Restoration, Scott Kolar and my crew, Nick, Rob and Lou as well as Kathleen. Thanks to Ted Yost for helping find a few vintage parts.
Officers, Commander, Government and Long Slide. Well Colt never produced a “Long Slide” but that did not stop the project from happening. I found four Colt frames; some brand new to start with. The slides needed to be bare since the client wanted specific vintage roll marks and full classic engraving. Caspian provided the slides. I fitted each slide to the frame and finished lapped them. Kart barrels were fit to all but the officers. Here I went with a rewelded Colt to fit a bushing-less slide. All the slides were ball cut and rear sight dovetails cut. The front sights would be staked to give a cleaner look. The frames were checkered at 30lpi. Since this was more show than got, the hammer, thumb safety and slide stop were all vintage pieces, the triggers were steel to allow nitre blue later on. After the guns were built and test fired, they next went to the late Terry Wolford for full polishing- flats and rounds.
After a few months with Terry, they came back the slides were prepped for new rollmarks at Turnbull Restoration in NY. The client picked each roll mark. Turnbull has pretty extensive collection of rolls. Once back from Turnbull it was now off to master Engraver Brian Powley in Ohio for classic scrollwork. The only instructions to Brian were to keep them “classic” and somewhat similar. The rollmarks did allow for some variations in the engraving. Brian worked on these on and off for about a year.
Once back from Powley the next step was finish. From the start the client wanted “charcoal blue”, Turnbull was the obvious choice. Some parts like screws, pins and triggers would get nitre blue in my shop. Joon Kim worked with me to get the right finish for all the bits.
Once back from bluing came the delicate process of assembly. The barrels were hard chromed by Terry Wolford. Sadly, the last project we would do together after 15 years. Terry was the best at his craft. Originally the rear sight was going to be a Harrison Design retro rear sight, but it just did not look right for this project. I went with a Turnbull Restoration rear sight which I opened up the notch on, just in case the client wanted to shoot them. The front sight I fabricated from an EGW blank and in inlaid with 24 K gold. For the grips there was only one choice- Ivory. Scott Kolar at SK grips was in from the beginning of the project- selecting some very clear mammoth blanks.
Overall, it’s one of the nicest projects I have been lucky enough to do. I had some great craftsmen on board with me like Brian Powley, Terry Wolford, Turnbull Restoration, Scott Kolar and my crew, Nick, Rob and Lou as well as Kathleen. Thanks to Ted Yost for helping find a few vintage parts.
