Paul-the new guy Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 I have a Trojan that is a little heavy since I added the steel main spring housing. I need to remove roughly the weight of a single edged razor blade (0.136 ounces) Drilling a hole in the guide rod is probably a little above my capabilities but grinding on the inside of the mainspring housing or something is not. Any ideas??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strick Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 One of these would do it. Al guide rod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul-the new guy Posted February 28, 2012 Author Share Posted February 28, 2012 Yes it would. I am going to order one but I shoot this gun like vogel shoots a glock and I am worried taking 2oz off the front might affect me more than a little grinding or drilling somewhere else Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul-the new guy Posted February 28, 2012 Author Share Posted February 28, 2012 Could I just leave off one side of the ambi safety? I would not fall out, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lumpygravy Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 I've drilled out the inside of a steel MSH before using a drill press. Determine the size and number of holes you want, chuck the MSH in a vise, the appropriate bit in the press and knock'em out. I think I did three .25" holes spaced .25 apart on a S&W MSH/magwell. I have no idea of the total resulting weight loss, but if you're talking .20 of an ounce to make weight that might do it. I'm assuming you have a drill press. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 (edited) Is there a place you could take about .5 cubic cm off the slide? That isn't much material. I would think there is someplace in the slide that could lose that much without problems. A series of shallow holes maybe? You could also ventilate the grip pretty easily with a drill to remove that much. Mild steel weighs about 4.54 oz/in3, so that works out to about .030 in3 for 0.136 oz, or about .5 cc which is easier to visualize. edit - LumpyG beat me man on man in the typing race! Same idea, different angle. Edited February 28, 2012 by Bamboo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tactica Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 I've been doing some of the same number crunching, things I've come up with are: Swap hammer with skeletonized hammer Order DP aluminum MSH instead of the steel one Briley aluminum guide rod from power factor shooting (but will reduce nose weight) Put a blank in on the ambi safety side that you don't use Change grips or lighten them on the back side with a bit of grinding DP Ice magwell could be lighter than your magwell due to ice insert (but it comes with a steel MSH by default) Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul-the new guy Posted February 28, 2012 Author Share Posted February 28, 2012 I've been doing some of the same number crunching, things I've come up with are: Swap hammer with skeletonized hammer Order DP aluminum MSH instead of the steel one Briley aluminum guide rod from power factor shooting (but will reduce nose weight) Put a blank in on the ambi safety side that you don't use Change grips or lighten them on the back side with a bit of grinding DP Ice magwell could be lighter than your magwell due to ice insert (but it comes with a steel MSH by default) Cheers, I have already changed out the Ignition group with Extreme lite speed stuff Aluma grips and tech-well magwell....very lite combo I am working on getting the aluminum guide rod I love the look of the ambi safety but I am thinking that would be all I need. I am so close to the weight that it wont take much When I changed out the plastic MSH and went to the Ed Brown with the chain link checkering that is when I went over weight. But dang it looks good... I think maybe drilling a few holes on the inside of the MSH will do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bofe954 Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Can you open up the frame under the grips any? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul-the new guy Posted February 28, 2012 Author Share Posted February 28, 2012 Can you open up the frame under the grips any? Yes, I think I can. I took the grips off when I went home for lunch and it looks like there is some room for metal removal on the frame under the grips. I don't know if I should drill holes or just grind some stuff away. I swear 2) 3/8 holes would probably do it. It seriously is just over how much a single edged razor blade weighs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Here is yet another angle - Alumagrips are actually fairly heavy compared to wood grips. I have a set for a caspian hi-ap and they weigh 1.30 oz compared to 0.57 oz for the same grip in wood. Maybe do some counterboring/milling/grind a depression on the back of the alumagrips or just replace them with wood. I'd probably do that before the frame. So many choices for so little weight! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul-the new guy Posted February 28, 2012 Author Share Posted February 28, 2012 There is some room on the grips for sure but I figured the amount of aluminum that I would need to remove would be far greater than the amount of steel... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Approximately 3:1 weight by volume - about 1.5 cc's of aluminum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul-the new guy Posted February 29, 2012 Author Share Posted February 29, 2012 You are the man! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lumpygravy Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 I have already changed out the Ignition group with Extreme lite speed stuff Aluma grips and tech-well magwell....very lite combo I am working on getting the aluminum guide rod I love the look of the ambi safety but I am thinking that would be all I need. I am so close to the weight that it wont take much When I changed out the plastic MSH and went to the Ed Brown with the chain link checkering that is when I went over weight. But dang it looks good... I think maybe drilling a few holes on the inside of the MSH will do it. Exercises like this remind me of when I used to be a gram counter with my bikes where the holy grail was the lightest bike. I got my road bike down to 16 lbs, which is heavy by todays standards but it was the shiznit back in the day. I had a spreadsheet that listed every component and it's weight and the weight of any possible replacement components. I'm willing to bet that someone on this board has taken the time to weigh every component in their gun so that if they swapped parts, they could calculate the weight differential and thus, the total resulting weight of the gun. Only chronically anal retentive types even think about doing stuff like this. Yes, that's a fair description of my personality type. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hkguy Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 if you have a FL steel guide rod and swap it with an FL aluminum one you will gain about .9 oz back. you could mill out the underside of your grips a bit too. what mags are you using? dawson 10rd mags with al base pad are about .3-.4 oz heavier than my metalform 10rd mags with plastic base pads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul-the new guy Posted February 29, 2012 Author Share Posted February 29, 2012 (edited) .9 is about .75 more than I need. I think I will order the guide rod in the morning that way maybe it will be here for the local weekend match. I have the frame all marked out where I would mill it off and it should make weight easily if I do that. I want to chrome this gun anyway... Thanks for all the good ideas. Oh, and the lightest mags I have are Tripp Research. I dont havee any metal form just wilson combat and they weigh more than Tripp Edited February 29, 2012 by Paul-the new guy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19852 Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 G.I. guide rod and recoil spring plug? I use a Colt composite arched MSH on my Ranger II to save a little weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Watson Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Is there a place you could take about .5 cubic cm off the slide? Oh, we don't allow that. There is a maximum weight for the whole gun, but you can't take the excess off the slide because it might make the gun shoot faster. Phooey. Where is the Tiger Team? When they got picky about weight limits, I put an aluminum FLGR and plastic backed rubber grips from Fusion on my Colt; along with an aluminum S&A mag well funnel. But I dropped the gun in the shop and broke that. I think I am still ok with the old steel one but had better check before the next sanctioned shoot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul-the new guy Posted March 1, 2012 Author Share Posted March 1, 2012 Is there a place you could take about .5 cubic cm off the slide? Oh, we don't allow that. There is a maximum weight for the whole gun, but you can't take the excess off the slide because it might make the gun shoot faster. Phooey. Where is the Tiger Team? When they got picky about weight limits, I put an aluminum FLGR and plastic backed rubber grips from Fusion on my Colt; along with an aluminum S&A mag well funnel. But I dropped the gun in the shop and broke that. I think I am still ok with the old steel one but had better check before the next sanctioned shoot. My aluminum FLGR is on the way as a backup but my plan is to drill lightening holes in the frame. Can anyone think of any reason not to drill where the circle is drawn on the frame in this picture: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeker Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 I like your idea about changing the Ambi Safety to a single side safety. That should reduce the weight to meet the IDPA requirements. I personally would avoid cutting the frame unless you do not have any other alternatives. I also would check into what Bamboo mentioned about the grips. some grips are a lot heavier/lighter then others. I just weighed various grips on my RCBS Charge Master Powder Scale Rubber Kimber 17.12 grams each Wood Houge 21.31 grams each Wood Colt 19.17 grams each Wood Kimber 18.13 grams each Single Sided Razor blade 3.33 grams Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DWFAN Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 26.25 grams for 1 Techwell Al grip. (its already hollowed out from the factory also) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul-the new guy Posted March 5, 2012 Author Share Posted March 5, 2012 I got the Briley aluminum guide rod. I have not drilled the frame yet I am going to try this first. The aluminum guide rod reduced the weight of the gun and mag combo (not the same Wilson combat magazine) by almost a full ounce. 0.864 of an ounce to be exact. The gun (dirty) and a Tripp mag now tip the scales at 42.272 oz this is well under the 43 oz limit for ESP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmorris Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Drill out the guide rod to the depth that removes enough weight. Someone you know must have a lathe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now