I know the first question you are going to ask, who is it? I will eventually get to that. But I suspect that this gunsmith may be a forum member as well. So I will do my best to factually and honestly document what took place. Then each person can decide if they believe the work that was done was professional and safe.
I own a RIA Tactical 1911 in 9mm. The pistol came from the factory with an ambi safety. I found over time that I hated the ambi safety. When engaged, there were no issues. However, when I tried to disengage the safety, the ambi side of that safety would dig into the first joint of my index finger on my right hand (my trigger finger). I found it very difficult to get a good high grip because of the ambi side of the safety. I also found it a little painful since each shot would dig the end of that safety into my joint. So I wanted to replace the ambi safety with a standard one sided safety.
You can search my posts and threads. I even asked if the ambi safety could be altered to accommodate this since I am not a 1911 guy (this is the only 1911 I own). After some input from those who know, it was explained that the only safe way was to purchase a new single side safety and have it installed.
https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/handguns/407390-remove-ambi-portion-1911-safety.html
I like the concept of running a 1911 with my right thumb on top of the safety while shooting. Apparently I have larger sized hands (according to others) and for me, this feels far, far more comfortable. So I purchased an Ed Brown wide safety from Midway USA. I have the link below.
Ed Brown Wide Extended Thumb Safety 1911
You will see in the thread link above that Neil Keller was recommended. I sent an e-mail to Neil, but never received a response. Neil had done some work on something else for my father a few years ago and I recall him talking about retirement. So I assumed he was no longer in business. That is somewhat true, but not fully. I will explain this more later as Neil comes to my rescue. Because I could not reach Neil by e-mail, I started to look for another gunsmith. That was certainly an error that would cost me.
So I ended up choosing a gunsmith that is local to me. He lives on a highway and he is easy to find with the sign in front of his house. I contacted him by e-mail and he confirmed for me that he should be able to install that safety.
I dropped off the pistol with the purchased safety. I was given a time frame and left things at that.
I later received a phone call (in less time than estimated, so that was good) that my pistol was done and I could pick it up.
When I arrived to pick up my pistol, the gunsmith explained that he could not get the Ed Brown part to fit my RIA gun. So he made a modification to get some of what I desired. He assured me that it was safe and durable, that he would not release a gun to a customer if it was unsafe. He also said that since he could not install the safety that I provided, he would not charge me. He had me inspect the pistol and asked if I was satisfied with the work. Honestly, I was disappointed that the Ed Brown safety would not work. It seemed so nice. But I have heard in the past how RIA guns are more likely to be out of spec than other manufactures. So I assumed this was the cause of the issue. I did notice that the pin part of the safety was inset a fair amount, but the gunsmith again assured me that this was only cosmetic and was safe. So I consented to the work. The gunsmith then asked if I wanted the Ed Brown safety back. He said he had worked on it a little and did not think I could return it. At the time, I did not see a need to keep a safety that did not work, so I let the gunsmith keep the part. I will admit, when I dropped off and picked up the pistol, it was during my lunch break from work. So I was more concerned about getting back to work on time than a through inspection of the pistol.
A couple of days later, once I had time, I was inspecting the pistol more closely when I noticed that the safety pin that was inset farther than I have seen before, looked like it has been hack sawed off. Although it had been blued, you could see all the rough cutting edges. The more I looked at the pistol, the more I was concerned that maybe this work was not as safe as the gunsmith assured me it was.
I also started to think about the Ed Brown safety that I left with that gunsmith. The thought came to mind that maybe I should take the pistol somewhere else and have another gunsmith give me a 2nd opinion. So I arranged and did pick up the part from the original gunsmith.
While picking up the part, I did not voice my concerns. I was starting to suspect Bubba style work and if that is the case, I did not want the original gunsmith to Bubba my gun up even more trying to "make it right". However, I was amazed by what he did to the Ed Brown safety once I picked it up. It looked like he set a tribe of angry metal beavers loose on the thing. At this point, I am growing more and more concerned about the safety of this pistol.
This is where Neil Keller comes to the rescue.
Kustom Ballistics
From what I hear, he was a "master gunsmith" (if there is such a thing, my description, not his) and he built 1911's from scratch in his shop and is an authority on 1911's. Although I could not reach him by e-mail, I called and did reach him by phone. I did confirm that he is retired, but he does take the small odd job now and then. After explaining my concerns, he was happy to help me. He did say that the website is not even supposed to be up anymore, but whoever used to help him in the past left the area and he can't seem to get the old website off the net.
I took my pistol to him and after some amazement at the level of Bubbafication, he said he can fix it. I showed him the Ed Brown safety and he commented on the level of incompetence displayed by the work done on that old safety.
Anyway, I dropped off the pistol and he called me a few hours later to let me know he was done.
I picked up my pistol the next day and Neil commented that the original gunsmith had damaged the Ed Brown safety so much that he had to peen the safety to get it to work. He said if I had any issues, it would require another safety as the first one I purchased would be unsalvageable at that point. But he would be happy to help me get another one installed if that was needed. He did comment that my pistol was not out of spec and he could not figure out why the original gunsmith had let the angry metal beavers loose on that part.
What concerned both Neil and myself is what he handed me before I left. It seems the original gunsmith did not install a one sided safety as requested. He took an ambi safety (not sure if factory part from my gun or another used part) and hack sawed off the ambi portion of the safety and just installed the short little shaft. Photos of parts are below.
View attachment 46351
View attachment 46352
View attachment 46353
At that point I was happy that Neil found and fixed the problem. The safety seemed to be working and having that wide Ed Brown safety on the gun totally changed the ergos for me. It went from a very uncomfortable gun to shoot to a very comfortable gun to shoot. When I was at the range, I was getting much better groups. And with the much higher grip this new setup allows, the muzzle flip was far less for me.
However, after about 200 rounds or so, the thumb safety no longer seems to be working. Even with all of Neils great efforts, it seems that the original gunsmith damaged that safety so much, it failed.
I am not upset with Neil in the slightest. I appreciate that he tried to save the old safety to prevent unnecessary costs. I am purchasing another safety that is exactly the same, and I will have Neil install it. As best as I can tell, this man knows the 1911 like the back of his hand.
What I am upset is at the level of apparent incompetence the original gunsmith showed and how his assurances of safety were simply untrue. According to Neil, the cut off ambi safety that was installed could have easily failed when the other part of the shaft fell out. This would have allowed both the thumb as well as the grip safety to fail. That is bad, bad mojo. And someone could have been hurt if not for diligently following the 4 golden rules (feel a little better Kirk Freeman???).
Let alone the fact that now I have to spend another $38 to get another safety because the first gunsmith seemed incapable of admitting his inability to properly install the part.
Who is the original gunsmith that I speak of above???
Mike Sweney
BMG Repair
www.bmgrepair.com
Soooooooo.....what say you. Does this look like good or bad work from the original gunsmith? Would you take your items to him to be worked on?
I own a RIA Tactical 1911 in 9mm. The pistol came from the factory with an ambi safety. I found over time that I hated the ambi safety. When engaged, there were no issues. However, when I tried to disengage the safety, the ambi side of that safety would dig into the first joint of my index finger on my right hand (my trigger finger). I found it very difficult to get a good high grip because of the ambi side of the safety. I also found it a little painful since each shot would dig the end of that safety into my joint. So I wanted to replace the ambi safety with a standard one sided safety.
You can search my posts and threads. I even asked if the ambi safety could be altered to accommodate this since I am not a 1911 guy (this is the only 1911 I own). After some input from those who know, it was explained that the only safe way was to purchase a new single side safety and have it installed.
https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/handguns/407390-remove-ambi-portion-1911-safety.html
I like the concept of running a 1911 with my right thumb on top of the safety while shooting. Apparently I have larger sized hands (according to others) and for me, this feels far, far more comfortable. So I purchased an Ed Brown wide safety from Midway USA. I have the link below.
Ed Brown Wide Extended Thumb Safety 1911
You will see in the thread link above that Neil Keller was recommended. I sent an e-mail to Neil, but never received a response. Neil had done some work on something else for my father a few years ago and I recall him talking about retirement. So I assumed he was no longer in business. That is somewhat true, but not fully. I will explain this more later as Neil comes to my rescue. Because I could not reach Neil by e-mail, I started to look for another gunsmith. That was certainly an error that would cost me.
So I ended up choosing a gunsmith that is local to me. He lives on a highway and he is easy to find with the sign in front of his house. I contacted him by e-mail and he confirmed for me that he should be able to install that safety.
I dropped off the pistol with the purchased safety. I was given a time frame and left things at that.
I later received a phone call (in less time than estimated, so that was good) that my pistol was done and I could pick it up.
When I arrived to pick up my pistol, the gunsmith explained that he could not get the Ed Brown part to fit my RIA gun. So he made a modification to get some of what I desired. He assured me that it was safe and durable, that he would not release a gun to a customer if it was unsafe. He also said that since he could not install the safety that I provided, he would not charge me. He had me inspect the pistol and asked if I was satisfied with the work. Honestly, I was disappointed that the Ed Brown safety would not work. It seemed so nice. But I have heard in the past how RIA guns are more likely to be out of spec than other manufactures. So I assumed this was the cause of the issue. I did notice that the pin part of the safety was inset a fair amount, but the gunsmith again assured me that this was only cosmetic and was safe. So I consented to the work. The gunsmith then asked if I wanted the Ed Brown safety back. He said he had worked on it a little and did not think I could return it. At the time, I did not see a need to keep a safety that did not work, so I let the gunsmith keep the part. I will admit, when I dropped off and picked up the pistol, it was during my lunch break from work. So I was more concerned about getting back to work on time than a through inspection of the pistol.
A couple of days later, once I had time, I was inspecting the pistol more closely when I noticed that the safety pin that was inset farther than I have seen before, looked like it has been hack sawed off. Although it had been blued, you could see all the rough cutting edges. The more I looked at the pistol, the more I was concerned that maybe this work was not as safe as the gunsmith assured me it was.
I also started to think about the Ed Brown safety that I left with that gunsmith. The thought came to mind that maybe I should take the pistol somewhere else and have another gunsmith give me a 2nd opinion. So I arranged and did pick up the part from the original gunsmith.
While picking up the part, I did not voice my concerns. I was starting to suspect Bubba style work and if that is the case, I did not want the original gunsmith to Bubba my gun up even more trying to "make it right". However, I was amazed by what he did to the Ed Brown safety once I picked it up. It looked like he set a tribe of angry metal beavers loose on the thing. At this point, I am growing more and more concerned about the safety of this pistol.
This is where Neil Keller comes to the rescue.
Kustom Ballistics
From what I hear, he was a "master gunsmith" (if there is such a thing, my description, not his) and he built 1911's from scratch in his shop and is an authority on 1911's. Although I could not reach him by e-mail, I called and did reach him by phone. I did confirm that he is retired, but he does take the small odd job now and then. After explaining my concerns, he was happy to help me. He did say that the website is not even supposed to be up anymore, but whoever used to help him in the past left the area and he can't seem to get the old website off the net.
I took my pistol to him and after some amazement at the level of Bubbafication, he said he can fix it. I showed him the Ed Brown safety and he commented on the level of incompetence displayed by the work done on that old safety.
Anyway, I dropped off the pistol and he called me a few hours later to let me know he was done.
I picked up my pistol the next day and Neil commented that the original gunsmith had damaged the Ed Brown safety so much that he had to peen the safety to get it to work. He said if I had any issues, it would require another safety as the first one I purchased would be unsalvageable at that point. But he would be happy to help me get another one installed if that was needed. He did comment that my pistol was not out of spec and he could not figure out why the original gunsmith had let the angry metal beavers loose on that part.
What concerned both Neil and myself is what he handed me before I left. It seems the original gunsmith did not install a one sided safety as requested. He took an ambi safety (not sure if factory part from my gun or another used part) and hack sawed off the ambi portion of the safety and just installed the short little shaft. Photos of parts are below.
View attachment 46351
View attachment 46352
View attachment 46353
At that point I was happy that Neil found and fixed the problem. The safety seemed to be working and having that wide Ed Brown safety on the gun totally changed the ergos for me. It went from a very uncomfortable gun to shoot to a very comfortable gun to shoot. When I was at the range, I was getting much better groups. And with the much higher grip this new setup allows, the muzzle flip was far less for me.
However, after about 200 rounds or so, the thumb safety no longer seems to be working. Even with all of Neils great efforts, it seems that the original gunsmith damaged that safety so much, it failed.
I am not upset with Neil in the slightest. I appreciate that he tried to save the old safety to prevent unnecessary costs. I am purchasing another safety that is exactly the same, and I will have Neil install it. As best as I can tell, this man knows the 1911 like the back of his hand.
What I am upset is at the level of apparent incompetence the original gunsmith showed and how his assurances of safety were simply untrue. According to Neil, the cut off ambi safety that was installed could have easily failed when the other part of the shaft fell out. This would have allowed both the thumb as well as the grip safety to fail. That is bad, bad mojo. And someone could have been hurt if not for diligently following the 4 golden rules (feel a little better Kirk Freeman???).
Let alone the fact that now I have to spend another $38 to get another safety because the first gunsmith seemed incapable of admitting his inability to properly install the part.
Who is the original gunsmith that I speak of above???
Mike Sweney
BMG Repair
www.bmgrepair.com
Soooooooo.....what say you. Does this look like good or bad work from the original gunsmith? Would you take your items to him to be worked on?
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