David Sams rebuilt my Hi Standard, and it looks and functions great. I may send it back to have the barrel re-lined. He does custom work for Hi Standard.
He is a former AMU armorer, and came highly recommended from a former AMU guy I "know' from another forum.
I spoke to Dave about a 1911, and as most 1911 smiths are, he has his opinions. He would prefer to build a gun from the ground up, and he has about a one year wait.
You'd have to talk to him about tuning up a gun, or building one. Check out his web site. I'm seriously considering having him build me a bullseye gun, & I don't even compete. He's definitely getting my BuckMarks for work.
Having said all that, are you sure a custom gun should be your first foray into 1911's? If this is your first?
You might be better off starting with a high quality production gun, like a Colt or Springfield Armory, shoot it for awhile, play around with it, then you'll know what you want in a 1911 then spend the big money.
Bob