Full Profile Comp

[wrmiller]

Got the lower portion of the comp roughed in. Frame cut for the ramped barrel. Thought I had a new slide stop in the build box. Wrong.

Ordered up a slide stop and pin/rebuild kit to get the misc pins and springs. It's getting there. Slowly.

 

[Rick Leslie]

Just think: if you were building a Glock, your comp would be finished now.

 

[wrmiller]

Well I'm ******. Ended up with almost a .001 gap between the top of the slide and the top of the comp.

Apparently my fine motor skills have gotten worse than I thought. Oh well, good thing it's a personal shooter and not going to a paying customer or I'd have to start over.

I started roughing in the top profile on my belt grinder and just kept going. I'll save the radius cutter for the next one I guess.

I will sand/file/polish it a bit more to 'try' to get the side flats perfectly flat. But I may get tired of it and just bead blast the whole thing to hide the imperfections I have found or created.

 

[wrmiller]

One more...

 

[brav65]

Bill to my untrained eye it looks great! I am still getting used to the tolerances you all expect on your projects, after having worked with wood my whole life it is quite an adjustment.

 

[sgisler]

You could set the comp back one turn and refit?
How are you holding it in battery while you belt grind the contour?
It's looking good!



Stan,
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[wrmiller]

Bill to my untrained eye it looks great! I am still getting used to the tolerances you all expect on your projects, after having worked with wood my whole life it is quite an adjustment.

I am whining a bit, true, but I'm just ****** at the rolled edges on the slide flats and other imperfections in this thing. If I had a surface grinder I'd just thin the sides of the slide and comp a bit in an attempt to get rid of the lousy edges. I like those 'slice your thumb open' knife edges where the comp and slide meet.

Considering I fit this by hand, it's not too bad. I recently purchased a semi-full profile comp for another guys gun from a 'nationally known' gunsmith and the fitment was terrible, so I guess I shouldn't be complaining TOO much about mine.

You could set the comp back one turn and refit?
How are you holding it in battery while you belt grind the contour?
It's looking good!

Stan,
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm out of threads on the barrel. I've never attempted to pick up an existing thread before so I'm really not wanting to attempt that on the lathe. I guess I could look on Brownells to see if they have a .685" tap and die set. They probably do. That would be the safest route.

See that little block in upper left near the back of the slide? It is a piece I made that holds the lower barrel lugs centered in the slide for hood fitment (there's a longer one higher up in the pic that I bought from Wilson over 20 years ago, but it's a piece of junk). I use that and the rod to the right of that which holds the barrel in battery while I cut/fit the lower lugs (look in the first pic). The little block is damn near an interference fit in the slide and around the barrel's lower lugs/ramp so it works really well for lining up the slide flats and holding them there.

EDIT: I just checked Brownells and they do have the die, but it sure is spendy. But I went ahead and ordered it as it is less than half the cost of a new barrel should I screw that up.

 

[sgisler]

Gotcha. I've got one of those Wilson blocks, don't think I've ever used it though.

Stan,
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Chris Bettis]

Lookin good Bill! Excited to see the finished product!

Sent from my LG-LS980 using Tapatalk

 

[jbolt]

I'm out of threads on the barrel. I've never attempted to pick up an existing thread before so I'm really not wanting to attempt that on the lathe.

It is not that difficult if you can get the part/barrel dialed in. Once that is done I set my cutter height and compound angle, engage the half nut and then loosen the tool in the holder. Run the tool into a thread and let is self adjust to the thread, tighten, and double check. Use some dykem on the threads and manually turn the chuck to verify.