Rock Island armory

rick1@bresnan.net · May 16, 2008

Hi All,
I have a Rock Island Armory 45 acp int he 1911 style and would like to practice on it. Has anyone engraved one and can you let me know how difficult the metal is to work with? thanks in advance, Rick

JJ Roberts · May 16, 2008

Rick..why don't you practice on practice plates first??? There is no room for mistakes when engraving...when all is said and done you can't recover from what you did. I think you are getting off on the wrong foot..you might want to seek someone in your area to get you on the right track, surely there is someone in Montana who can help you.

monk · May 16, 2008

jj is right on the money ! why practice on the real thing. this is engraveable, but why would you practice on it ? mistakes can usually be minimized, sometimes totally eliminated with creative design change. but a mistake can cost lots and lots of time to cover it up. practice needs be done on practice plates.

rick1@bresnan.net · May 17, 2008

I guess I came across wrong I have been practicing on plates and other things. The pistol belongs to me and I think my stuff is the practice material. I am not ready to tackle it quit yet but wanted input to see if it was terrible to work with or had any strange quirks. I do appreciate your input.
Thanks again Rick

ED DELORGE · May 17, 2008

Hello Rick, I have not found a military spec chrom molly 1911 that was not engraveable, I always liked the ones that were a bit on the hard side, but you will know when you start polishing it out. If your file slides over it and the only thing that will cut it is 80 grit emory cloth you will know it is pretty hard. But is most likely still engraveabel. The worst thing to engrave usually (but not always) is a stainless slide.
One other thing, if it is yours, go ahead and practice on it, after the recent hurricane and flood in New Orleans I saw so many thousands and thousands of guns destroyed by salt water I don't place as much value on material things as I used to. I had a customer stop by yesterday who was 70 years old and still practicing medicine!
Looking forward to seeing some pictures.

Ed

KSnyder · May 17, 2008

hey Rick, just my 2 cents worth also. Before I'd try that RIA pistol even though its yours I would get a cheaper pistol like a CZ-52 or a CZ-50 or 70. These are nice pistols at about 1/2 the price.
And like JJ said, at least do some practice plates first just to get your moejoe workin'.
Kent

Tim Wells · May 17, 2008

I have one of those Rock Islands and I may do something on it, not sure yet. What I'll do though before I start; and I suggest you do the same, is make a little cut somewhere inside the slide and or frame that won't show or rub against anything else in the gun. This will tell you how hard things are.

That RI is my carry gun and also my beater since it was 300 bucks and works better than a Colt Combat Commander I owned. Before I design anything to cut on it I have a couple others that I'm making from obtainable parts and they have no logo on the slide so that frees me up to make the layout any way I want. I want to do these first then that RI. I'll make a report when I do it to let others know how they engrave.

John B. · May 17, 2008

MontanaRick, Tim Wells advise is right on.
Before you cut any pistol it is a good idea to turn the slide upside down and make a few cuts in a hidden place on the inside.
Most of the time, other than the hammer and safety the slide is the hardest to cut. Most are fine.
The frames usually give you no problem except holding them in the vise without bending anything.
But that's another story. Best of luck when you get around to engraving this gun.
John B.

pilkguns · May 17, 2008

Ed D, don't try to engrave a Springfield Arms .45 or you will regret it. They are FAR harder than Colts or military issue 1911s..... somewhere on this forum I have a post about them. I would bet this this RIA is too, cause I think the slides are coming from the same Brazilain manufacfurer..
But Montana Rick, like Tim W and John B said, test engraving is the key. and......... this is just a personal observation but I would change your nickname, if you call yourself something negative, you will not perform you best, because mentally you have already told yourself that you skills are butchery in this case.
Why not call yourself the metal artist or metal artiste' or the metal engraver or the metal Picasso the Steel designer or the metal boy named Bill or Bob or anything but Sue.

FL-Flinter · May 17, 2008

Tim Wells said:
That RI is my carry gun and also my beater since it was 300 bucks and works better than a Colt Combat Commander I owned.

Tim, Have to agree with that statement. I had a Gold Cup that got sent back four times, evertime it returned it was worse than when it went in, fifth time it went back and stayed and it only took 8 more months to get part of my money back. I had three RI's over the years, very dependable but not quite as accurate as my Springfields - don't feed them baby loads, run 'em wide open throttle with 230gr bullets and neither one will let you down.

Can't help on the engraving other than to say that yes, the slides are fairly hard on both brands.

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