eric nielsen Posted June 22, 2007 Share Posted June 22, 2007 Just put my Open Glock back together with parts i got in the mail today. Never got one of my own trigger jobs under 2lbs before but today the thing went together beautiful!! For whatever reason my Open G17 never played nice with the $185 Vanek trigger [22oz break] - probably due to the Caspian slide. I put it back in the G35 that Charlie had tuned in & it works perfect there. About a month ago I ruined a trigger bar by drilling the spring hole and then taking off too much of the safety trigger tab, forgeting that I had front&back trigger stops needing adjustment. Today I got from Lone Wolf yet another OEM trigger bar, Lone Wolf's 3.5 connector, their Marine spring cups, and a heavy trigger spring. I redrilled the trigger spring hole in back & polished the engagement surfaces with 800 Emory cloth and then a wheel with Flitz, all in less than one hour, quickest I've ever done that job. Put it all together in the Open gun & it breaks a hair over 1.75lbs, kicks out a wood pencil farther than any Glock trigger job i've had, resets the safety trigger no problem at all. The LWD connector is the HEAT, they really made a better mousetrap. These are the parts I used, cost about 100 bucks, with a LWD trigger stop you'd spend $15 less: -- OEM trigger bar, redrilled & polished -- OEM striker, polished, came with the gun -- Vanek 2-trigger-stop housing -- Vanek FP safety plunger, spring clipped 2 coils -- LWD 3.5lb connector - dropped in, no labor -- LWD Marine striker spring cups -- 4 lb striker spring -- 6 lb trigger spring Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Micah Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 Interesting. What did you use to drill the trigger bar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric nielsen Posted June 23, 2007 Author Share Posted June 23, 2007 (edited) Dremel brand carbide cutters. The first one [ball end] is too wide for the trigger bar but it makes a nice round divot in the surface. 2nd one [tapered end] cuts all the way thru. Drill is just a $25 Black&Decker 2-speed battery-powered deal i bought at Target. I made sure i put the new hole as close to the old one as possible. Then I cut off the end with the original hole. Edited June 23, 2007 by eric nielsen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandormen Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 Please indulge with my curiosity... what are the difference between the Vanek plunger, and my 'Lightning Strike' plunger? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric nielsen Posted June 23, 2007 Author Share Posted June 23, 2007 Vanek's is more rounded & more polished than the LS gold-colored one. I have both and i like the Vanek better. Not a huge difference, both are a lot better than stock, both help the take-up part of the trigger pull, especially if the push-up tab on the trigger bar is polished mirror-smooth. Honestly when I put this all together today I was stunned. I wasn't sure if it was lighter or heavier than the full-out Vanek job until I put the scale on it. Racking the slide and releasing the trigger forward are both WAYYYY smoother than any Glock trigger i've tried before. The LWD connector is the best $12.49 you can spend on a gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 Dremel brand carbide cutters. The first one [ball end] is too wide for the trigger bar but it makes a nice round divot in the surface. 2nd one [tapered end] cuts all the way thru. Drill is just a $25 Black&Decker 2-speed battery-powered deal i bought at Target. I made sure i put the new hole as close to the old one as possible. Then I cut off the end with the original hole. That is pretty similar to how I do mine. I make a divot with one cutter, then I can drill it. Sometimes I have to apply heat (torch) to allow cutting to start. Some guns (G's) just seem to come together nicely without too much extra work. Others can be a pain. I guess that is the nature of the design and the stamped parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe D Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 You really don't need to drill the trigger bar. There are easier ways to achieve the same results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airic Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 Just wondering if you would go a little further in explaining what the different parts/work accomplish in the trigger. I'm thinking the stronger trigger spring adds a crisp feeling to the usual squishy 3.5lb connector? What does drilling the trigger bar do? What do the marine cups add? When you polish the firing pin, you are polishing the tab that makes contact with the trigger bar correct? Just trying to figure out if some of the things I am doing is the same as what you are doing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aircooled6racer Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 Hello: JoeD is tempting all you guys to ask him how he does his trigger. His method works very well. I ended up with a 2 pound trigger without polishing yet. All I used are the 4lb Wolff spring,modified trigger bar(JoeD style) Lone Wolf 3.5 connector and 13 pound ISMI recoil spring. I think after some polishing and changing the plunger it should be well under 2 pounds. Hope this helps others out. Thanks, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aircooled6racer Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 (edited) Hello: Sorry double post. Thanks, Eric Edited June 23, 2007 by Aircooled6racer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 The trigger spring takes some poundage off...as it is already pulling backwards on the trigger. Going with an extra power trigger spring makes the pull lighter. (use Glockmeister's spring, IMO) Repositioning the hole in the trigger bar that the spring attaches to results in changing the advantage the trigger spring has...lowering the pull weight. You can also/instead heat up the trigger bar and bend the tab that the spring attaches to. Bending it forward also changes the advantage that the spring has on the trigger bar. And, as a side benefit, you can limit forward travel of the trigger as well (the newly shaped angle can cause the bar to hit on the front of the housing). I've never changed tried the marine cup. The idea seems to be that they would have less surface area, so less drag. Hmmmm... You certain want to polish the tab on the striker that makes contact with the trigger bar. Careful here, keep it true. You can also polish any other drag points on the striker if that suits your needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airic Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 so where are you repositioning the hole on the trigger bar to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radical Precision Designs Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 Just put my Open Glock back together with parts i got in the mail today. Never got one of my own trigger jobs under 2lbs before but today the thing went together beautiful!!For whatever reason my Open G17 never played nice with the $185 Vanek trigger [22oz break] - probably due to the Caspian slide. I put it back in the G35 that Charlie had tuned in & it works perfect there. About a month ago I ruined a trigger bar by drilling the spring hole and then taking off too much of the safety trigger tab, forgeting that I had front&back trigger stops needing adjustment. Today I got from Lone Wolf yet another OEM trigger bar, Lone Wolf's 3.5 connector, their Marine spring cups, and a heavy trigger spring. I redrilled the trigger spring hole in back & polished the engagement surfaces with 800 Emory cloth and then a wheel with Flitz, all in less than one hour, quickest I've ever done that job. Put it all together in the Open gun & it breaks a hair over 1.75lbs, kicks out a wood pencil farther than any Glock trigger job i've had, resets the safety trigger no problem at all. The LWD connector is the HEAT, they really made a better mousetrap. These are the parts I used, cost about 100 bucks, with a LWD trigger stop you'd spend $15 less: -- OEM trigger bar, redrilled & polished -- OEM striker, polished, came with the gun -- Vanek 2-trigger-stop housing -- Vanek FP safety plunger, spring clipped 2 coils -- LWD 3.5lb connector - dropped in, no labor -- LWD Marine striker spring cups -- 4 lb striker spring -- 6 lb trigger spring Hey, Eric- Give me a call or PM. I finally built that .38 SuperComp Open Glock for Joe M. (Yes, with a six inch barrel and my "removable" Hyper-Jet Comp.) I'm even doing some R&D for Scherer for a 170 mag in .38 SuperComp !!! I'm also doing a four point adjustable trigger housing that makes the cruciform rock solid... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric nielsen Posted June 24, 2007 Author Share Posted June 24, 2007 If you drill the trigger bar, the new hole goes JUST above the old hole. You don't have to make the new hole as big, just big enough for the spring to clip on. The marine cups allow more air to pass all around the striker & prevent any vacuum effect that can slow the striker & lead to misfires. I'm always checking that the striker moves freely by dryfiring the gun & then shaking it front-to-back. I wanna hear a "tink" sound in both directions, tells me the spring cups aren't rubbing or binding twisting themselves. This has always been a big deal with my Open glock because the stainless steel Caspian slide is not really made right. From asking around I gather I got one of the better Caspian glock slides they made, which is not saying much. Anyway with the marine cups I've got the loudest "tink" sound on a glock and the striker, with reduced-pwr spring, is sending a pencil flying out of the bore very nicely [for a glock]. You could probably copy the marine cups & make your own with a dremel, but i'm happy with how they're holding the spring and the striker so i'll just spend the extra few bucks at LWD. Probably do a trigger job for my best buddy's son, who is shooting a production glock with a gritty 6lb pull. Now that i've done my gun right it's bothering me that the kid is making due with that junk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgcchkn Posted June 24, 2007 Share Posted June 24, 2007 This thread would probably require a lot less explanation if there were pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric nielsen Posted June 24, 2007 Author Share Posted June 24, 2007 Sorry, camera's all full of pictures of my new dog: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glockster35 Posted June 24, 2007 Share Posted June 24, 2007 Very interesting thread. I recently updated my G35 trigger, with the LWD 3.5 connector and Glockmeister trigger spring. I like what I have now, but changing the location of the trigger spring hole does seem interesting. Keep sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airic Posted June 24, 2007 Share Posted June 24, 2007 This thread would probably require a lot less explanation if there were pictures. My thoughts exactly. Sorry, camera's all full of pictures of my new dog: Download to computer, take pics of trigger, post on here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric nielsen Posted June 26, 2007 Author Share Posted June 26, 2007 (edited) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 1 thru 4 - views of the G17 Open today. If you haven’t read other threads, it’s a standard frame with my grips glued on, T.H.E. magwell, Caspian stainless slide, KKM “Major 9” barrel designed by John Nagel, Ti comp by Brian Hawley, CGR tungsten guide rod fits into the comp, 15lb ISMI recoil spring. 7moa Docter sight bulletproofed and brightened and installed deep into the slide by Beven Grams. The whole thing cost me about 1600 to put together. By way of comparison, my used Springfield/STI/Aimpoint, which I shoot a little better, cost 1250 postpaid. 5 - trigger all the way back 6 - trigger all the way forward after racking slide 7 - trigger not quite forward after releasing from a shot - easily fixed with a file swipe on the top of the safety trigger or a swipe at the slot in the frame where the trigger goes thru 8 - where you should polish & lube, works the drop-safety 9 - Charlie Vanek’s drop-safety plunger, much less resistance on a full trigger press 10 - striker assy with Lone Wolf’s marine cups 11 - my newest trigger bar up against the Lone Wolf 3.5 connector 12 - trigger bar up against Vanek’s rear trigger-stop; best view of my recontoured safety trigger – this time I took the dremel back thru the main trigger so its all more flat J 13 - OEM 3.5 connector set next to installed LWD connector & lots of secret lube 14 - newest t-bar on right, old one on the left – new one breaks really nice 15 - try to contain your excitement… As mentioned, the redrilled t-bar along with heavy spring can lead to safety-trigger issues; so can a forward trigger stop. Also figured out that a rear trigger stop can SERIOUSLY mess up the ability of your trigger to push up the drop-safety plunger. This leads to your striker brushing into the plunger, robbing it of momentum and contributing to misfires. When in doubt, back it out. With this newest job I could hear the back&forth “tink” sound of the striker only with my finger on the trigger. I backed out the trigger stop ½ turn and now it clanks away without me touching the trigger. Edited June 26, 2007 by Pharaoh Bender Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Micah Posted June 26, 2007 Share Posted June 26, 2007 That has got to be one of the best non-SJC Open Glocks that I have ever seen. Thank you very much for posting those pics and the accompanying information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the duck of death Posted June 26, 2007 Share Posted June 26, 2007 Who milled the slide for the Dr sight? I'm going to have mine done this winter. What was the cost, if you don't mind? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airic Posted June 26, 2007 Share Posted June 26, 2007 Is that a weight on the light rail? How's that working out for you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric nielsen Posted June 27, 2007 Author Share Posted June 27, 2007 Beven Grams milled the slide, with the sight off it looks like this: It returns exactly to the same point of aim every time you take it off the gun. Its not cheap, couple hundred for the labor which likely comes to WAY less than a car mechanic charges per hour. Another guy who didn't charge me enough $$ is Brian Hawley. His comps are the best, quite a few BE ppl have used his Ti comps in the past, including John Nagel. The weight started out as a blued-steel glock-weight, maybe from Jentra? John Nagel called & said he made his own DC shroud out of aluminum, made it to work with CR Speed & Ghost holsters. You might ask him if he'll make it out of steel. I've asked him if he'll make his C-More mount and magwell out of steel because i want more weight in the gun. Mine is 36oz like you see it with empty mag. I drilled the sideports at my old job. The shroud & sideports both help manage recoil. I like this set-up the best, I think on a CCF raceframe it would KILL in open division. As is, it's maybe the best steel gun ever. Doesn't have any feeding issues [its a glock] and no ejection issues either - didn't need to touch the ejection port OR the ejector - there's no scope for the brass to hit. John has got his SJC guns accurate as heck which is not normal for a frame-mount sight on glocks. But I doubt you can beat this one for accuracy - i've shot many many 25-yd groups that went less than 1/2 inch. Like, spooky accurate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glockster35 Posted June 27, 2007 Share Posted June 27, 2007 Eric, That is an awesome looking pistol you have there! I am sure it shoots just as nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbosik Posted June 27, 2007 Share Posted June 27, 2007 back to the, how to without drilling from JoeD...please tell us the secret...we wont tell anyone else..we promise....lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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