Wilson Combat To cut or not to cut...

I’ve been debating in my head about what base gun to use for a build. One option is a Wilson.

Among other things, I want to have a Stan Chen gen 1 magwell installed, along with a Dawson light rail. These modifications are outside of what the Wilson shop is willing to do.

I can send the gun and parts off to an independent smith who would be more than happy and capable of doing the work. My main concern is that having another smith cut up the Wilson will void any warranty and Wilson will probably be unwilling to do any further work or service in the future. I’m capable of doing most fitting, troubleshooting, maintenance so the only thing I would not be able to handle on my own would be catastrophic like a crack in the frame or slide.

Thought or opinions? Am I overthinking this? Should I just go ahead and have an independent do the work that I want?

I have another gun in the inventory that could serve the same purpose but that one has a little more sentimental value and I would rather keep it for different build.

 

Thanks for all the responses so far. My original question had nothing to do with whether or not I should buy a new gun. I can maintain and fix most common issues so I was more concerned with whether or not I was being to precious or neurotic in wanting to keep the Wilson warranty in-tact.

The Wilson is already in the inventory and its use is somewhat redundant to if it doesn't end up getting chopped, it will likely sit around doing nothing. I'm more of a shooter than a collector and I personally don't like having multiple guns that do the same thing.

Back story is that I've been collecting small parts here and there for a long time with the intent to use them in different builds. Eventually they got set aside and never used. I've finally kind of got fed up with letting them sit so the point of this build is to make a hard use 1911 with all these parts that I've been collecting but have never put together.

I considered getting a custom build from scratch but I also want to do some of the filing work myself. Since cutting these things up is a hobby that I enjoy, so getting to work on the peace is more important to me than the cost factor.

I also contacted Wilson and they flat out refuse to work with with the Chen mag well. The instant a file outside of WC touches the firearm, the warranty is void. So its either bite the bullet and go all the way with the conversion, or don't do it at all.

I didn't think about contacting NHC but I'll reach out tomorrow and see what they have to say. They have been very accommodating to me in the past when it comes to selling me weird parts and somewhat one-off stuff. There is also definitely some humor in having NCH chop up a WC to meet a customer's vision.

Concur will all above who said it would be something you don't see every day. Also part of the reason this idea appeals to me.

 

Decided to bite the bullet and go with an independent smith to get the final result that I want. Just waiting on some Yost gold line front sight blanks to get finished up, and this project can get shipped off.

I plan on doing some filing and more precise blending of parts before shipping everything out. Here is a list of the work, if anybody is interested. Nothing to drastic. Mostly focused on functionality and the use of specific parts:

* Cut/weld/install Stan Chen Gen 1 magwell
* Cut grip panels to fit magwell
* 30 LPI checkering Chen mainspring housing
* Undercut Trigger Guard
* Install rear sight (more on this sight later)
* Install, blend, pin Yost front sight
* Install Dawson light rail
* Stake light rail screws
* Flush cut barrel, countersink/reverse crown barrel
* Chamfer Slide
* Horizontal Serrations on rear on slide, two extractors, ejector. 40 LPI
* Re-finish (Parkerize)

I got lucky in some conversations with a manufacturer and they are getting me some early production runs of a yet-to-be-announced sight. The rear sight is something I'm personally excited about since it solves some issues that I would have had to compromise on. More to follow on the sight in a separate thread or in a "build complete" posting.

 

so I got the OK to talk about the Heinie sights I'm going to use for this build. I think they plan on releasing them or talking about them more publicly in a week or two.

Long story short, I was lamenting the fact that I have some slides with Novack rear dovetails and I wanted the look of the Heinie Classic sights, without having to weld and re-cut metal.... I think I have an irrational fear about welding and re-cutting sight channels. Anyhoo, I happened to ask the right person the right question at the right time and I ended up with a few of these sights.

Its basically a sight that has the same appearance of the classic style, fit for a Novack dovetail, and requires very little extra machining to install. I'm pretty excited to see how it turns out. The other set has been selected to go on different Wilson modification project.

Pics from Heine:

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