Gunsmithing

Do I need to buy 50 receivers, then go through the learning process of building a 1911 out of them, with as much mentoring as I can steal from knowledgeable folks and only expect to make a decent one by number 48 or 49, throwing the rest away?  There is no real secret knowledge and magic to making a 1911 though propagating that notion is in the best interests of a 1911 gunsmith and custom builder.

Lots of guys build from one receiver and right out of the gate make something better than he can buy from a factory.  As or more reliable, as or more accurate...

I bet I am one of the first type of guys though...

Also, I saw a Caspian catalog for a Damascus Steel 1911 slide (and other parts) at the NRA Convention.  Purty.  I'm gonna get it!  Work on it.  Then I'll have something that costs $900 to throwaway when I mung it trying to gunsmith on it...