Shape of the Glock

[ElrodCod]

When you're the original plastic gun that runs 100% on anything you feed it, you don't have to make you gun look schnazzy to compete. When you're coming into the market 15 years later and trying to compete with the guys who have been selling said pistols to tons of agencies and individuals for over a decade, adding some cosmetic flare to your product couldn't hurt.

Starting with a bar of steel and machining off only what is absolutely necessary gets you functionality at less cost, and mebbe that's what mattered to Herr Glock when he bid for the Austrian Army's sidearm contract.

(With the minor added clarification that Glock slides aren't machined to shape, they're formed by bending a piece of sheet steel over a mandrel.)

You're thinking of the made in Germany SIG slides. No way the Glock slides are sheet steel.

[Kevin G.]

When you're the original plastic gun that runs 100% on anything you feed it, you don't have to make you gun look schnazzy to compete. When you're coming into the market 15 years later and trying to compete with the guys who have been selling said pistols to tons of agencies and individuals for over a decade, adding some cosmetic flare to your product couldn't hurt.

Starting with a bar of steel and machining off only what is absolutely necessary gets you functionality at less cost, and mebbe that's what mattered to Herr Glock when he bid for the Austrian Army's sidearm contract.

(With the minor added clarification that Glock slides aren't machined to shape, they're formed by bending a piece of sheet steel over a mandrel.)

You're thinking of the made in Germany SIG slides. No way the Glock slides are sheet steel.

I'm sure that Mr Thomas knows his subject matter.

Edited to say what I actually meant.

Edited December 22, 2010 by Kevin G.

[ElrodCod]

When you're the original plastic gun that runs 100% on anything you feed it, you don't have to make you gun look schnazzy to compete. When you're coming into the market 15 years later and trying to compete with the guys who have been selling said pistols to tons of agencies and individuals for over a decade, adding some cosmetic flare to your product couldn't hurt.

Starting with a bar of steel and machining off only what is absolutely necessary gets you functionality at less cost, and mebbe that's what mattered to Herr Glock when he bid for the Austrian Army's sidearm contract.

(With the minor added clarification that Glock slides aren't machined to shape, they're formed by bending a piece of sheet steel over a mandrel.)

You're thinking of the made in Germany SIG slides. No way the Glock slides are sheet steel.

I'm sure that Mr Thomas knows his subject matter.

Edited to say what I actually meant.

I'm not so sure. Perhaps you should allow Mr. Thomas the privilege of speaking for himself by providing the source of his information. I've found the following:

From http://www.remtek.com/arms/glock/model/9/19/index.htm

"Rectangular in shape, the slide is milled from bar stock using CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machinery."

Patrick Sweeney also says that they're milled from barstock in his Glock book. Chuck Hawks says on his website (http://www.chuckhawks.com/glock17_22_31.htm). "All Glock pistols have polymer receivers with molded-in steel slide rails. The slide is machined (not stamped) from solid steel, and most of the internal parts are also steel."

Edited December 22, 2010 by ElrodCod

[ElrodCod]

...Glock slides aren't machined to shape, they're formed by bending a piece of sheet steel over a mandrel...

Did not know that - very cool. Thank you, Good Sir, for such a juicy tidbit!

Actually, I'm in the minority I guess in that I find that sort of stripped-down, spartan, businesslike look very visually appealing. But I know that some people don't.

Nah. Like you, Duane, I like my Glocks pretty much as they come OOTB ('cept for sights, grip tape, and the occasional concession to my weakness for tinkering inside).

It's neither cool nor juicy because he's wrong. Anyone that field strips a Glock and bothers to take a close look at the underside of the slide will clearly see that it's a machined piece and not a stamped piece of sheet steel.

[R-Bros_JLR]

Maybe this should be sent into Mythbusters to get it all sorted out.

[Duane Thomas]

You're thinking of the made in Germany SIG slides.

Apparently that's exactly what happened. Thanks for straightening me out on that. Now I feel like a better human being.

[kevin c]

Shucks, here I was looking at the slide internals trying to figure how they did that in a stamping press . Now I gotta buy a SIG to do it .

We still love ya, Duane (where's that icon for a man-hug when you need it...?)

[jimmykan]

Shucks, here I was looking at the slide internals trying to figure how they did that in a stamping press . Now I gotta buy a SIG to do it .

I have a made-in-Germany P226 9mm, frame with no rail, roll-pinned breech block, etc. and I could not tell that the slide was a stamped part.

They say the front flange is welded on, and I must say that was a damn-good job then, because I could not see the weld bead, inside or out.

Even if the slide started as flat sheet stock, and the gross shape was formed by a stamping press, they must have machined the slide rails, ejection port, sight dovetails, slide serrations, barrel and recoil rod holes in multiple-fixture operations.

3, 4, and 5-axis CNC machining centers weren't readily available back then, right?

[Duane Thomas]

We still love ya, Duane (where's that icon for a man-hug when you need it...?)

It's the thought that counts.