Oldpistolsmith, it is great to hear from someone else that spent some time building 45's at Pachmayr's. I was there a year or so ahead if you and they called me by a nickname of Chuck. I had a great time and learned a lot about 45's and custom work from Tom and some of the other smiths there including Mr. Pachmayr.
The only parts I remember getting from another shop were the safeties. At the time I was there we were doing more work on Signature models than Combat Specials, but I think the Specials were just taking off at the time.
I remember the hammer work on the rails of the frame and trying to get those rails on the slide of a Series 70 to take a set when squeezing them in a vice. You are absolutely right about the fit of the slide to the frame. The only thing that matters is where every thing is when the bullet leaves the muzzle. It doesn't have to be tight, just repeatable. Most shooters at the time had to have a tight slide. We gave it to them.
We had two or three earthquakes and I headed back to Georgia. I have lots of great memories about that shop and we were building some of the most accurate 45's made. Wish I had one.
