want2race Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 (edited) It's not quite finished, but it shoots. Ran some rounds through it on Saturday, accuracy tests this evening. I am going to scallop cut the front of the slide, blast and manganese park soon. Waiting for some actual machine shop time. Wide body Commander with near Officers length grip. I wanted to do as much as possible with "basic" tools that are available at Lowe's or Brownells. Well, basically because my machine shop access dried up for now and I was impatient. Shortened the grip (and main spring housing), slide, barrel and frame. The slide took 3 hacksaw blades...LOL! For the barrel I used an aluminum rod through the barrel to be able to chuck it into the drill press. Then used the hacksaw as a sort of poor mans lathe. I also used this set up for the O-ring groove but used screw head files to make the groove. I cut the frame back to a short dust cover length. Since the original barrel was fitted to a 5 inch slide, it was a tad loose in a 4.150 inch slide. Thus the reason for the O-ring. They are cheap, durable, high temp and work well in other pistols. The front sight dove tail was fun. 60* checkering file (has one safe edge) and a dovetail file (2 safe sides). Of course that was only after the initial cut was made to depth (.060"). Lot's of patience and it turned out great for a file job. The goal was a Commander length top end, Officers length bottom end, High Capacity .40. .40 because I have 21 round mags in .40. The mag shown is a 126mm fitted with the 140mm basepad (minimizes the gap). I still need to buy a 120mm which will fit close to flush. Other tweaks. I undercut the trigger guard because I have a LARGE flip off knuckle. I also removed the checkering on the front of the trigger guard. My Surefire would not lock in the groove, now it does. Edited October 13, 2008 by want2race Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn jones Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 i bet you're hell with a dremel tool! good work...i guess. you will not see me doing any of that on my guns. lynn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adiksaputok Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 braveness v Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM262 Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 +1 on the braveness... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bird_Dog0347 Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 ummm wow!! looks pretty good considering, how is the barrel - slide fit now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
want2race Posted October 13, 2008 Author Share Posted October 13, 2008 I'm headed to an indoor place to bench rest it tonight. I'm not expecting bullseye accurate since the barrel was originally fit at STI, but as long as it's 2 inches or less at 20m I'll consider that acceptable considering it's intended use. The fit is very good using the Oring. Same O-ring as seen on USP and MK23 pistols. MK23's are 1.5-2" capable at 20. I looked at the slide stop pin. It's bent. Who ever fit the barrel originally must have done that. It's bowed downward in the center. I tried to slip in a new one but I'll have to recut the lugs to get it to fit. This is a good thing. If I need to tighten up the barrel fit later I can. I want to shoot it as is first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benny hill Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 I'm thinking the O-ring won't last long but I've never used one so what the hell do I know. let us know the resulets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSEMARTIN Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 You've got some serious F'n cajones bro!! Hats off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhgtyre Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 I'm thinking the O-ring won't last long but I've never used one so what the hell do I know. let us know the resulets. Maybe adding a slight flare/bevel to the front of the bushing would prolong the o-rings life? Just a thought. -ld Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
want2race Posted October 13, 2008 Author Share Posted October 13, 2008 (edited) I'm thinking the O-ring won't last long but I've never used one so what the hell do I know. let us know the resulets. Maybe adding a slight flare/bevel to the front of the bushing would prolong the o-rings life? Just a thought. -ld Did that right off the bat. Made a slight flare to the front of the slide. There is no bushing groove (inside the slide) since I cut off that part of the slide. The O-ring is the same as the MK23 O-ring (thank you Knobb Creek gun show) and they are tested to 30k. Not that they last that long, but if it does dissapear it will still function but at reduced accuracy. The groove in the barrel allows the o-ring to sit about 60% in the groove. Not enough of it is exposed for the slide to catch it. Will report on accuracy tonight. I don't expect "metal to metal contact" type of accuracy, but it should be consistant. On the plus side, I can swap out the ring every 1k rounds to keep it fresh. Thanks! Edited October 13, 2008 by want2race Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 My hero. Didn't anybody tell you that you can't do that? I hacked off (sawzall) the barrel in the gun I made GM with. I often thought of trying the O-ring idea too. Keep us updated on it. Any chance to see your setup where you chucked the barrel into the drill press? (Too much trouble to redo and get a pic?) Did you crown it using that setup too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebg3 Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 I never would have thought of using an o-ring for that purpose, but that is a great idea. If you keep it well lubed/greased it should last awhile. Cool, keep us posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolguy Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 Great work! That shows what a real craftsman can do! You don't HAVE to have a mill and a lathe, it just makes life a lot easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
want2race Posted October 13, 2008 Author Share Posted October 13, 2008 I sure does make it easier. Range report. 200 rounds. Indoor. Just fine. Best group was with my JHP load that makes 170 power factor out of a 5 inch gun. 5 shots in .880 inch CTC. Distance was limited to 15 yards though. The lights at 20 were very dim and trying to use green dots didn't work out so well. The larger group is 1.323" and centered as I made sight adjustments. I then blasted away at the little silhouette with reloads and 50 rounds of Blazer Brass. Distance of 10 yards, one shot per second as per the range rules (can't fire any faster). This was mainly to get it as hot as possible given the circumstance (available ammo and range restrictions). Never failed, o-ring is still there and just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDRODA396 Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 Sir My hat's off to you and your skillz!!! Reading the original post I was thinkin, Wow, wish I could afford to trash guns like that, but checkin out the pics, you did a heck of a great job considering! Heck, if the economy continues to head south, you can always get a job making AK's in a bazzar (market) in Pakistan!!! Thanks for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemo Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 One word: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AikiDale Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 Way to go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-JQ- Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 That end piece of barrel and dustcover would be cool suspended in clear acrylic... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSMITH Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 That;s just nuckin' futs man, that clanking as he walks isn't his spurs....... I've done some Wiley E. Coyote stuff before but this makes it look very minor league!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-Ho Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 Don't let this man anywhere near real machine tools. Just imagine what he could do then... Very nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
want2race Posted October 14, 2008 Author Share Posted October 14, 2008 That;s just nuckin' futs man, that clanking as he walks isn't his spurs.......I've done some Wiley E. Coyote stuff before but this makes it look very minor league!! That's funny! I McGyver just about everything. I won't even put on a kydex holster until after I've hit it with the heat gun. Flex: No problem. I used a piece of aluminum rod (actually a solid .50 BMG cleaning rod), wrapped in 1.5 turns of masking tape to get a good bite in the lands. I drilled a hole in one end, slid a 1911 MSH pin in the hole (sticks out both sides of rod). Insert rod into chamber, all the way to the MSH pin. The pin locks up against the hood. This is what ensures the barrel turns with the chuck. There isn't that much load on it and the aluminum rod will give out long before the hood moves. Insert the rod into the chuck all the way until the barrel it's the chuck (adjust alum. rod accordingly). This holds the barrel vertically in the drill press. It's not perfect, but it worked. Oh yeah, I used a piece of masking tape to keep the pin from flying out of the aluminum rod when I turned on the drill press. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn jones Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 okay everyone! put the beer down, put the hack saw down, and slowly walk away from trying this task. you can't do it. this is a jedi mind trick. lynn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
want2race Posted October 14, 2008 Author Share Posted October 14, 2008 "The force is strong in this one." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
North Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 Wow, and I'm scared of undercutting my grip for fear of F'ing it up. You da Man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iainmcphersn Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 Never underestimate the ingenuity of a man who is told it will never work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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