How Colt 1911's Are Made

[RDak]

Hopefully not a dupe.

How 1911 Handguns Are Made - YouTube

[davevall]

Great Video! Thanks

[load748]

good vid !!! colt 45 still remains with much hand fitting and finishing.

[broknaxl]

very good video! But it left me wanting to see more!! I'd like to see the bluing process and the actual putting together of a completed gun. Pretty cool !!

[JudgeColt]

After seeing the video, I now realize why it may be next to impossible to increase production of Colts. There is just too much handwork involved. I suspect Kimber may have machines that drill all of the holes at once, for instance, and do not require several reaming steps for EACH hole. Starting with investment cast parts will also greatly reduce the number of operations required, but, of course, forged parts are better IF the finishing is well done.

The section on polishing showed a finished, polished stainless pistol. As usual, the "soft" appearance the pistol exhibited that is now the norm makes me long for the days when the mirror finish was achieved without such "softening." Those days are gone forever, but every time I see a early automatic with the high polish, I am in awe of the skill involved.

[Oyeboten]

Ineresting Video...wish they would have spent more Camera time showing actual Forging, Machining-Milling and Broaching processes.


I would sure love to see footage ( if any exists ) of the procedures used in making the .45 Auto when it was still a new offering.



Too, on further reflection - the fellow kept mentioning 'Hand Work', but I never saw any, other than basic de-Burring using Files.

While going on about how the 'CNC' machines allow faster production, the video kept showing quite slow operatives who were having to deal with divergent and conflicted tasks for each item passing through their Hands, instead of the procedures being stream-lined, such as having Apprentices do the 'de-Burring' between Machining Stations.

I really hate to say it, but I do not believe the present day Firearms Companies even understand how things had been done, or, how things should be done...though they wish to evoke elements of a mystique earned from a past they do not bother emulating in practice.

I doubt that Colt's production speed of manufacturing the .45 Automatic Pistol now, is even as fast or effecient as it had been in say, late 1912.

Overall, the Video appears to show many poorly orchestrated tasks being done slowly because they are poorly orchestrated.


My friendly Hundred Dollar bet?

Competent Artisans/Machinists, sensible and practical task-orchestrations, appropriate use of apprentices, and 'Piece Work' which pays enough to bother going to Work with a spring-in-your-step for, ( or which can be done at Home even ) would allow Colt to increase production three fold, maybe more, and, to produce higher quality items, and for less overhead, if they knew how to think practically instead of 'corporately'.

[charles isaac]

I really hate to say it, but I do not believe the present day Firearms Companies even understand how things had been done, or, how things should be done...though they wish to evoke elements of a mystique earned from a past they do not bother emulating in practice.

That was very well said!

[Primer88]

That is a very awesome video!

[RDak]

Oyeboten: IIRC, I think the moderator said they hand fit the slide but they didn't show it in the video.

I'd have to go back and look at the video again but I do think he said that?

[blackdog001]

Most interesting. The narrator at 4:43 talks about "machines from the 1930's" and at 8:05 "going to CNC to get more production volume."

I first financed a CNC machine in 1984. This is 2011/12 and Colt is talking about going to CNC machines. The video is a great example of everything that's wrong with Colt and also what's right. Unfortunately, they never seem to get the blend correct. Any large-scale manufacturer still using machines from the 1930's (or 1940's for that matter) is doing it because they've not invested back in their plant and equipment. Modern CNC machines are going to be more accurate than the human hand. You do the quality control by statistical sampling, not by putting it on a jig and using a go/no-go gauge. Based on what I see in that video, they've never taken whatever profits they have and re-invested them in the business. Gun manufacturing is pretty low margin and you need to sell a bunch of them in order to generate enough profit to a: reinvest in the business and b: return something to your shareholders.

I look at some of those presses and milling machines and it looks like something from the "dark ages". No reason for all that hand work, much as the narrator likes to talk it up.

I just did an inspection on a firm that manufacturers x-ray machines for breast cancer testing. Very precise end product. Right? Heck, 60% of the the production line was machine based and they only turn out 7 per week.

Seeing that video just confirms that management has done a weak job of actually running the business. Maybe the move to Flordia and a new plant will change things, because manufacturing a high volume item like a 1911 they way they do it now, can't last forever, unless you do it with no concern for profits and even then, eventually you'll be out of business. I see now why they do a run of a certain model, then shut that line down/change to another model.

BlackDog