Making an M1911 Trigger Shoe that Fits

Awhile ago, I built an M1911 .45 ACP from parts. I’ve used this gun successfully in a number of three-gun matches, and it’s now my concealed-carry gun. Yes, I would trust my life with this gun. Unfortunately, I’ve never been very pleased with how the trigger fit in the frame. It seemed like the trigger slot in the frame was cut too large, which allowed the trigger to wobble both vertically and horizontally.

The vertical movement would affect the trigger let-off like this: If I moved the trigger shoe up, the pull was nice and crisp; if I moved the trigger shoe down, the let-off had some creep. There’s almost nothing more detrimental to accuracy than an inconsistent trigger. I was discussing this problem with a friend of mine who suggested I make my own trigger shoe. Now why didn’t I think of that! Removing the Stirrup I took the factory trigger I installed in the gun and removed the stirrup from the trigger shoe.

The steel stirrup is staked in the aluminum shoe by two stamped indentations as you can see in the photo below. I took my rotary tool with a cutoff wheel and carefully removed aluminum from around the stirrup on the end away from the overtravel screw until I could remove it from the trigger shoe. Fabricating a New Trigger Shoe I purchased a 12-inch piece of 3/8- by 1-1/2-inch aluminum bar stock from Online Metals The 1-1/2inch width allowed me to cut two trigger shoes side by side.

I measured the trigger-shoe slot in the frame and using my CAD program I designed anew trigger shoe that was 0.937 high x 0.660 wide x 0.268 thick. I made the height and thickness a couple of thousandths larger than they needed to be so I could do the final fitting by hand. I laid out two shoes side by side with my CAD program so I could cut them both out at the same time. With this program, I can adjust the length and shape of the shoe to fit any shooter. I set up my hobby CNC mill with a 3/ 16-inch flat-end mill.

I first milled the surface of a 1-1/2-inch square section down to 0.268 inch. Then, using the same bit, I cut out the two trigger shoes. Note that even though I used a CNC mill to cut out the shoes, you could do the same with a hacksaw and files; it would just take a lot longer. Fitting the New Shoe First, I beveled the top and bottom edges to 45 degrees. This allowed the shoe to fit in the cut in the frame, even if the corners of the slot were not exactly square.

Then I laid a sheet of 320-grit wet-or-dry paper on a flat surface and began polishing the sides of the shoe until it would fit in the slot. To test the fit, I inserted the shoe lengthwise to see if it would fit in both the top and bottom of the slot as shown in the photos on the next page. I continued to polish until it would fit. The final thickness was 0.266 inch. Next, I used the same 320-grit pa-

Above left and I polished the sides and top and bottom until the shoe moved freely in the slot with no vertical or horizontal movement. Holes can be drilled in the side of the shoe to further lighten it if so desired. per to polish the top and bottom of the trigger shoe until it would move freely in the cutout in the frame. The final height was 0.935 inch. Radiusing the Front of the Shoe At this point, the trigger shoe fit in the frame perfectly. It moved freely with no top-to-bottom or side-to-side wobble.

However, the front was flat with a sharp edge, which I wanted to remove. I put a fine sanding drum in my rotary tool and removed the sharp front edges of the shoe on each side. This put a gentle radius on the front of the trigger. I finished polishing this surface with some 320-grit paper wrapped around a 3/8-inch wooden dowel chucked in my drill. I ran the drill at a medium speed and polished the front of the trigger shoe until all the scratches from the sanding drum were removed.

Drilling the Set-Screw Hole and Cutting the Stirrup Slot Next, I drilled the hole for the overtravel set screw, and cut the slot for the stirrup. First, I wrapped the trigger shoe with some masking tape to protect the surface, then squared and leveled it in a machinist’s vise on my CNC mill. I used a #36 drill bit and drilled a hole 0.208 inch up from the bottom of the trigger shoe. I tapped this hole with a #6-32 tap. This will be for the overtravel screw.

The slot for the stirrup should be 0.055 wide and 0.132 deep. I used a 0.055-inch micro-end mill and cut the slot in 0.005-inch passes so I would not break the bit. Setting the Stirrup in the Shoe When commercial manufacturers assemble the stirrup to the shoe, they use a jig. I used the pistol frame as a jig. First, I used acetone to clean the slot in the trigger shoe and that part of the stirrup that fits into the slot.

I put a drop of epoxy in the slot, and carefully inserted the shoe through the trigger guard into the frame. I inserted the stirrup through the rear of the frame until it sat in the slot in the new shoe. I was very careful not to spill any epoxy or I might not be able to remove the trigger. I was also careful to make sure the stirrup and the trigger shoe were installed correctly. After the epoxy cured, I removed the trigger from the rear of the frame and set the shoe in my vise.

I used a prick punch to make indentations in the aluminum on either side of the stirrup bar to stake the stirrup in place. The stirrup was now solidly in place and did not move. I removed the trigger, put a drop of blue Loc Tite in the overtravel screw threads and inserted a 6-32 x 1/2-inch set screw. I reassembled the frame and adjusted the set screw until the hammer would fall without having the half-cock notch touch the sear.

I once again disassembled the gun, lubricated the new trigger, and reassembled the entire gun. Conclusions/Recommendations Since the trigger shoe was hand-fitted to the frame, it now has no free play whatsoever. This results in a consistent trigger pull, which helps to maintain good accuracy. Using this method, I can now fabricate a trigger shoe to fit any frame and any shooter. ■