A bit more live-fire testing showed an occasional failure-to-feed problem. So it was back to the bench for some more work. The round (Black Bullets 200gr SWC) would hang up on the ramp or at the chamber.

This time around I got the barrel fit properly and did a better job with the hood fit. I had made enough progress before the debacle with the barrel that correcting it was all I needed before initial range testing.

The barrel disaster. At least Brownells had them on sale with free shipping.

I’ve fallen a little behind in documenting progress because I’m having so much fun seeing the pistol start to look like a pistol! With some help from a friend, I have the slide cocking serrations cut. And after a lot of filing I have the ejector fit to the slide.

Fitting the grip safety was ‘easier’ than I was afraid and cutting the bottom barrel lugs worked well by taking it very slowly, after a frightful ‘bump’ in the process.

Now that I have the frame, I can really get going on this build. It’s time to work the slide-to-frame fit. The Caspian slide came out as a good match for the JEM frame. The frame’s slide rail was just a bit oversized and allowed material for narrowing it to fit.