Looking for P80 help locally

[OldTengu]

I used a dremel for my first one and it was fine. Used an electric drill for the second and it was better.

 

[DirectDrive]

I actually do use a drill press on mine. Its just easier for me that way personally. What works for me may not for you.. I tape the side up and make sure they are square then i line em up and jog the quill up and down through the hole to make sure im centered (with plumbers sealant Tape) and then drill. Easy and way more accurate.
I tried marine gun builders method and it was a joke. Worst hole i ever drilled in one. I was using a fordome as well. Much better/easier to use than his dremel.

Agree, using a Dremel for the hole seems like a terrible idea to be sending out to the masses.
If you are having success with the drill press, stay with that by all means.

Polymer 80 said that they have had a lot of comebacks from amateurs not knowing how to set up their drill press.
Others were drilling completely through and mucking up the far side holes.

Another thing I'll add is that if you drill at a lower RPM you'll get cleaner holes.
Spinning the bit too fast will start melting the frame material which is a giant no-no.
Also check drill bit trueness as well as drill motor trueness before drilling.
Do this by observing the chucked up and turning bit.

A bent drill bit or cheap, wobbly drill motor needs to stay away from this project.
Accurate and true holes are the key to a successful P80 build.
It's the first thing I look at when someone shows a pic of their P80 build.

 

[Old Noob]

Forget MGB and go Pew Tang!

 

[MountainBum]

This.. The large frames are indeed made for SF parts. You can probably mod the gen4 housings to fit i think they may have the SF profile to begin with but the tabs may be too long.
If you made one of those fit, your pin holes may be off.

On every single one I've seen the RSA channel needs to be widened. And i put a radii or chamfer at the front "entrance" to the channel so ifthe spring does hit it its not as much of a hard hit at a angle. It doesn't take alot. Go slow. You can use some dykem or sharpie or anything that you can "paint" inside that channel then put your slide on and rack it and see where it rubs.
Theres a massive amount of garbage guide rods out there! Most of them have tons of slop between the rod and ID of the spring allowing the spring to bulge out the sides. This will bind and rub on the channel..
Ive bought like 6 diff. Brands in addition to the OEM one. Sadly that cheezy lenny mcgills "glockstore" is by far the best one out there. And not too expensive i got my last one at midway. His website sucks. Its not live, it may say its in stock but its not. Im much more apt to support midway (may even be cheaper).
He also makes a nice thick stainless "washer" thats also the best one out there for RSA. And they are like $3 a 3 pk.

If you have calipers measure the front locking block rails to the top of the frame, (assuming you didnt trim too much off) and then conpare that to the front and back rails. Should be fairly close. If not you may have drilled your pins holes off

Lastly Marine Gun Builder sucks. Im sorry i know ill catch hell for it, but some of his tips are decent, but some of his core advice is terrible.
DONT use a dremel to "drill" the holes. Use a drill. And wrap a couple layers of plumbers tape around the drill bit. This is soft and it will self center the bit. You dont need 5 layers too much and it will slightly melt the jig hole. If done correctly with only a few layers it will self center the bit and you literally wont even touch the sides of the jig hole and it could dang near last for multiple jobs.

Also make sure when you assemble your glocks for the firdt times (especially) when you know your likely to have trigger issues use cut out slide cover plate so you can see inside there or get a pick in there to release the mechanism it can save a headache from having your slide stuck on your frame.

Theres many other tips and tricks, i also advise actually calling p80 they are VERY helpful.
The large frame p80 stuff isn't at all as easy as the smaller frame stuff like the 17 &19.

Good luck.

Thanks for the reply and all the knowledge, I certainly jumped into this with not much of that and have paid for it. It's been fun thought and not too frustrating, but I have definitly had issues with every build so far but all are up and running good now except my subcompact which I believe is a recoil spring or channel issue just havne't got it tested again yet.

I finally got the G20 out and test fired, ran flawaless through the first mag of 17 rounds of Magtech 180gr JHP, but had 4 I guess call them failure to feed on the next 17rd mag of Fiocchi 180gr FMJ's. I had to manually rack the slide and eject the next live round, at which time the following live round fed just fine. This was intermittant and not all 4 ftf's in a row.

Will be saving this for future builds, thanks!

 

[MountainBum]

Double Jig Method
The drill jig needs to made up square and with legs long enough to span completely across the P80 jig.
Use high quality wood glue an let set up overnight.
The purpose of the drill jig is to keep your drill bit square with the frame.

The location of the drill bit is for demonstration only.

ETA
Polymer 80 recommends against using a drill press for this operation.

View attachment 1019505

This is awesome, doing this next time. Thank you!

 

[MountainBum]

Agree, using a Dremel for the hole seems like a terrible idea to be sending out to the masses.
If you are having success with the drill press, stay with that by all means.

Polymer 80 said that they have had a lot of comebacks from amateurs not knowing how to set up their drill press.
Others were drilling completely through and mucking up the far side holes.

Another thing I'll add is that if you drill at a lower RPM you'll get cleaner holes.
Spinning the bit too fast will start melting the frame material which is a giant no-no.
Also check drill bit trueness as well as drill motor trueness before drilling.
Do this by observing the chucked up and turning bit.

A bent drill bit or cheap, wobbly drill motor needs to stay away from this project.
Accurate and true holes are the key to a successful P80 build.
It's the first thing I look at when someone shows a pic of their P80 build.

Yup I used a dremel on all builds for the 3m wholes as I watched that specific video before I started...

 

[DirectDrive]

Yup I used a dremel on all builds for the 3m wholes as I watched that specific video before I started...

I think to get a clean hole you have to drill at a low RPM.
I don't see how you could do that with a Dremel.

Also chuck up the bit and check for trueness by spinning it slowly and observing.
The bits supplied by P80 are not the highest quality and need to be checked.
A cheap drill motor can also throw some wobble into the mix.

 

[DirectDrive]

Using "Slave Pins"

For those that may not know, a slave pin is a temporary pin used to line up components while the actual pin "chases" out the slave pin. This method is often used for installing AR triggers, for example.

Where do I get Slave Pins for a Polymer 80 project ?

You make them.
When you are done with your drilling operation, you have a 3mm bit and 4mm bit left over.
These will become your Slave Pins.
I used a drill motor and a 4" grinder, but you could use a drill motor and a Dremel.
Wear Eye Pro !

1) Chuck up a bit and get it spinning
2) With a "cut-off wheel" on your grinder or Dremel get it spinning
3) Makie your pin as long as possible (cut into the spiral a bit) cut off the spiral portion of the bit
4) Now taper (clean up) the end of your new slave pin and you are done

When doing your P80 assembly and you are ready to drive a pin :

1) Take a slave pin of the correct size and lube it with something other than a super thin oil.
In other words, no Rem Oil (or similar) for this.
2) Tap the slave pin in to a point where it is just below the surface of the frame.
You will need to use a smaller diameter punch for the last tap or two.
This forms a pocket or a "nest" for the actual pin to get started.
3) Tap the actual pin into place. The slave pin will fall out the other side.

 

[Dr Prepper]

I think to get a clean hole you have to drill at a low RPM.
I don't see how you could do that with a Dremel.

Also chuck up the bit and check for trueness by spinning it slowly and observing.
The bits supplied by P80 are not the highest quality and need to be checked.
A cheap drill motor can also throw some wobble into the mix.

100% agree. You can melt the plastic if too fast. Slower is better. Also with a drill press and slow speed but alot of pressure you can hour glass the hole and it can actually be undersized. Which to me is better than over sized. I have had to grind the locking block. Or rear rail holes slightly to get the pins to fit. No biggie. Talking a few thou.

My main problem was for a 10mm i was working with it was all lone wolf parts and apparently they are so high quality they are the only parts p80 says wont work with their frames.
Mine had feeding issues as well. I found a burr on the chamber entrance about 10 O' clock and rounded that out. And smoothed the entrance to the entire circumference. I also put a tiny compound angle at the very top of the ramp and polished it. I also polished the ramp. I didn't increase the ramp at all. And not enough to cause case bulge at the base. Just enough to get the case over the corner and seat. I think its called a 3 point jam. Oh and i also stoned the slide face with a fine ruby stone. 22# ISMI spring and it seems to run every thing but the hottest loads so far.
I find it can be very aggravating and tedious, but well worth it and you get a great feeling of accomplishment when your done and succeed.

Feel free to pm me later if you need to.
Ps. I also removed some of the outside of the frame as well above the rail so it would fit more common glock 20/21 holsters. Looks WAY sexier IMO too! Just a couple more lines made a huge difference to appeal.

 

[Dr Prepper]

Using "Slave Pins"

For those that may not know, a slave pin is a temporary pin used to line up components while the actual pin "chases" out the slave pin. This method is often used for installing AR triggers, for example.

Where do I get Slave Pins for a Polymer 80 project ?

You make them.
When you are done with your drilling operation, you have a 3mm bit and 4mm bit left over.
These will become your Slave Pins.
I used a drill motor and a 4" grinder, but you could use a drill motor and a Dremel.
Wear Eye Pro !

1) Chuck up a bit and get it spinning
2) With a "cut-off wheel" on your grinder or Dremel get it spinning
3) Makie your pin as long as possible (cut into the spiral a bit) cut off the spiral portion of the bit
4) Now taper (clean up) the end of your new slave pin and you are done

When doing your P80 assembly and you are ready to drive a pin :

1) Take a slave pin of the correct size and lube it with something other than a super thin oil.
In other words, no Rem Oil (or similar) for this.
2) Tap the slave pin in to a point where it is just below the surface of the frame.
You will need to use a smaller diameter punch for the last tap or two.
This forms a pocket or a "nest" for the actual pin to get started.
3) Tap the actual pin into place. The slave pin will fall out the other side.

I also do things like this. I never throw out a drill but shank. If you broke one. Take the new bit and drill a peice of larger rod and then loctite the drill shank in there for a nice solid punch especially for those teenie tiny pins like the gas blocks and charging handle roll pins.
Just be careful what you use it on. Remember they are hardened drill rod.use common sense. Dont get in a rush.