Reposted from Sigforum...
Slide show w/sound (2:03):
http://www.qconline.com/multimedia/display.php?id=277
Text-only article:
http://qconline.com/archives/qco/display.php?id=391948&query=les baer
Making guns is an art for local manufacturer
By Bob Groene
Posted Online: Jun 19, 2008 11:57AM
Most Quad-Citians, excepting ardent target handgun/rifle shooters and hunters, are probably unaware that our expanded community is home to five firearm manufacturers who all produce ultra-high-quality guns. Those five companies, in aggregate, employ about 500 people -- a significant factor in our local economy.
The smallest, if one counts by number of employees, is Les Baer Custom of LeClaire, Iowa. Les Baer Custom has 22 employees and operates out of a brand-new 18,000-square-foot facility that was just completed in May.
I was particularly curious about Les Baer Custom having heard the name many times in the hunting/shooting community. That curiosity was piqued after I visited the company's booth and met Les Baer Sr. at the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Technology (SHOT) Show in Las Vegas.
It became readily apparent that Les Baer Custom is highly respected in the world of guns -- as are the other four area gun manufacturers.
``I started making handguns in Pennsylvania back in the 1970s,’’ said Mr. Baer, a toolmaker turned pistolsmith. ``I came here in 1989 to start up the Springfield Armory custom-pistol shop, which I did for a couple of years before going on my own. We celebrated our silver anniversary last year, even though I’ve been making guns for much longer than that.’’
Making a high-end custom 1911 semi-automatic pistol is a very labor-intensive process. The highly skilled pistolsmiths/craftsmen at Les Baer are true professionals who know their craft and art very well and have the patience, experience and knack to work with pieces until the end result is beyond ``just right'' — it must be perfect, or it doesn’t leave the shop. In addition to machining of parts, assembly of each handgun takes more than 30 hours.
Trivia question: How many pieces are there in a Les Baer Custom Premier model 1911? Answer later.
To start the manufacturing process, parts are machined from solid forged steel. The steel is, as Mr. Baer said, ``the best money can buy.'' It's forged, which means it is repeatedly pounded by a heavy machine-hammer, producing superior steel to that which is cast.
Machining is done on computer-controlled and -operated machines that are programmed to intentionally leave most edges and holes just a bit too small or just a bit too big—that’s where the custom work comes in.
The expert pistolsmiths, using their hands, eyes and specialized tools, fit each piece together with exact tolerance — the never-compromised standard that will lead to a finished product capable of grouping five shots in a one-and-one-half inch area at 50 yards!
Mr. Baer is the alpha of the assembly/fitting process. With order sheets in hand, he selects all of the parts needed for the many variations of 1911s and sets them in custom wooden racks that hold several 1911s as they move through the manufacturing process.
Assembly starts with the slide being hand file-fitted so that it exactly fits the frame. This takes about 45 minutes per 1911, and sometimes involves a tool as simple as a Magic Marker. Pistolsmiths may use a mark from a marker to determine the closeness of tolerance between moving steel pieces.
When the slide fits the frame perfectly, the serial number is etched into the steel. Throughout the assembly process, the last of the three serial numbers are etched on each piece that is added, in order to ensure continued perfect fit of each piece to that 1911.
Next, the beavertail (the part of the upper handle that protrudes from the back of the handle) and the safety are fitted to the frame. This can take an hour and a half.
Checkering, smooth roughness that is precision-filed into the handle by hand, is the next step, and it can take over an hour per gun.
The main spring housing is fitted just before the top of the slide is cut for the front and back sights. Then the barrel and its bushing are fitted to the slide and frame. These operations may take nearly three hours.
At this point, the 1911 has taken shape, and it next goes through the pre-polishing process, in which the piece’s lines are blended by polishing wheels, then by hand. This is followed by final preparation -- final polish and bead blasting -- after which only gloved hands may touch the 1911 until bluing.
Bluing with 300-degree heated chemicals puts a tough final outside coating over the 1911—unless, of course, the piece is slated for chrome finish or stainless steel.
Finally, the trigger, hammer and sear are fit; the barrel is set; and the sites are affixed.
The 1911 is now ready for its litmus test.
Mr. Baer also is the omega of each 1911 produced. He takes every one to an adjacent indoor test range and fires up to 150 rounds through the piece to ensure perfect function, reliability and accuracy.
Only then may a Les Baer Custom leave the shop and be shipped to a customer, who may have waited months for one of the world’s premier 1911s.
Answer to previous trivia question: A Les Baer Custom Premier 1911 has a total of 53 parts.
``We have a great crew of pistolsmiths here,’’ Mr. Baer said. ``Some have been with me since we started. It can be tedious work, and you have to have a knack for it. It’s not production work — it’s true custom work, and we’re very proud of that.’’
Bob Groene's World Outdoors column appears in the Sports section of The Dispatch and The Rock Island Argus.
Slide show w/sound (2:03):
http://www.qconline.com/multimedia/display.php?id=277
Text-only article:
http://qconline.com/archives/qco/display.php?id=391948&query=les baer
Making guns is an art for local manufacturer
By Bob Groene
Posted Online: Jun 19, 2008 11:57AM
Most Quad-Citians, excepting ardent target handgun/rifle shooters and hunters, are probably unaware that our expanded community is home to five firearm manufacturers who all produce ultra-high-quality guns. Those five companies, in aggregate, employ about 500 people -- a significant factor in our local economy.
The smallest, if one counts by number of employees, is Les Baer Custom of LeClaire, Iowa. Les Baer Custom has 22 employees and operates out of a brand-new 18,000-square-foot facility that was just completed in May.
I was particularly curious about Les Baer Custom having heard the name many times in the hunting/shooting community. That curiosity was piqued after I visited the company's booth and met Les Baer Sr. at the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Technology (SHOT) Show in Las Vegas.
It became readily apparent that Les Baer Custom is highly respected in the world of guns -- as are the other four area gun manufacturers.
``I started making handguns in Pennsylvania back in the 1970s,’’ said Mr. Baer, a toolmaker turned pistolsmith. ``I came here in 1989 to start up the Springfield Armory custom-pistol shop, which I did for a couple of years before going on my own. We celebrated our silver anniversary last year, even though I’ve been making guns for much longer than that.’’
Making a high-end custom 1911 semi-automatic pistol is a very labor-intensive process. The highly skilled pistolsmiths/craftsmen at Les Baer are true professionals who know their craft and art very well and have the patience, experience and knack to work with pieces until the end result is beyond ``just right'' — it must be perfect, or it doesn’t leave the shop. In addition to machining of parts, assembly of each handgun takes more than 30 hours.
Trivia question: How many pieces are there in a Les Baer Custom Premier model 1911? Answer later.
To start the manufacturing process, parts are machined from solid forged steel. The steel is, as Mr. Baer said, ``the best money can buy.'' It's forged, which means it is repeatedly pounded by a heavy machine-hammer, producing superior steel to that which is cast.
Machining is done on computer-controlled and -operated machines that are programmed to intentionally leave most edges and holes just a bit too small or just a bit too big—that’s where the custom work comes in.
The expert pistolsmiths, using their hands, eyes and specialized tools, fit each piece together with exact tolerance — the never-compromised standard that will lead to a finished product capable of grouping five shots in a one-and-one-half inch area at 50 yards!
Mr. Baer is the alpha of the assembly/fitting process. With order sheets in hand, he selects all of the parts needed for the many variations of 1911s and sets them in custom wooden racks that hold several 1911s as they move through the manufacturing process.
Assembly starts with the slide being hand file-fitted so that it exactly fits the frame. This takes about 45 minutes per 1911, and sometimes involves a tool as simple as a Magic Marker. Pistolsmiths may use a mark from a marker to determine the closeness of tolerance between moving steel pieces.
When the slide fits the frame perfectly, the serial number is etched into the steel. Throughout the assembly process, the last of the three serial numbers are etched on each piece that is added, in order to ensure continued perfect fit of each piece to that 1911.
Next, the beavertail (the part of the upper handle that protrudes from the back of the handle) and the safety are fitted to the frame. This can take an hour and a half.
Checkering, smooth roughness that is precision-filed into the handle by hand, is the next step, and it can take over an hour per gun.
The main spring housing is fitted just before the top of the slide is cut for the front and back sights. Then the barrel and its bushing are fitted to the slide and frame. These operations may take nearly three hours.
At this point, the 1911 has taken shape, and it next goes through the pre-polishing process, in which the piece’s lines are blended by polishing wheels, then by hand. This is followed by final preparation -- final polish and bead blasting -- after which only gloved hands may touch the 1911 until bluing.
Bluing with 300-degree heated chemicals puts a tough final outside coating over the 1911—unless, of course, the piece is slated for chrome finish or stainless steel.
Finally, the trigger, hammer and sear are fit; the barrel is set; and the sites are affixed.
The 1911 is now ready for its litmus test.
Mr. Baer also is the omega of each 1911 produced. He takes every one to an adjacent indoor test range and fires up to 150 rounds through the piece to ensure perfect function, reliability and accuracy.
Only then may a Les Baer Custom leave the shop and be shipped to a customer, who may have waited months for one of the world’s premier 1911s.
Answer to previous trivia question: A Les Baer Custom Premier 1911 has a total of 53 parts.
``We have a great crew of pistolsmiths here,’’ Mr. Baer said. ``Some have been with me since we started. It can be tedious work, and you have to have a knack for it. It’s not production work — it’s true custom work, and we’re very proud of that.’’
Bob Groene's World Outdoors column appears in the Sports section of The Dispatch and The Rock Island Argus.
