Machining Glock slide from scratch

[jason867]

Sorry for such a long delay in replying; I've been dealing with a plumbing emergency here among other things.

Looks like I'll have to get a coolant sprayer then. I am not part of a machinist club. I'm about 45 min away from Columbus and I'm sure there's one there, but I haven't looked. I do not read any machinist periodicals. I may take you up on your offer if I can't figure it out on my own. I bought all the parts to finish the CNC and they arrived today EXCEPT for the spindle and some lumber to build a table for it. That'll have to wait until I get some extra money. Hopefully in February or March.

I'm thinking of starting my machining adventures with aluminum so I can learn toolpaths and such on a more forgiving material; doing things other than high-stress gun parts.

I talked with an engineering friend of mine and although the vast majority of the internet recommend against it, we think we can design a working aluminum slide where the wear components such as the rails, the notch the slide stop interacts with and perhaps the breech face are steel inserts that are mechanically (and likely chemically as well) attached to the aluminum slide. So basically the slide itself would be a carriage and the wear parts hardened inserts. I was thinking 7075 aluminum alloy with 4140 or even AR-500 inserts.

I'm aware that mass, ammunition velocity etc... all plays into that so a stronger spring will be needed as an aluminum slide will always be lighter than a steel one. I know a stock G17 spring is 17lb. The heaviest I can find is a 24lb spring. So the idea will be to design an aluminum slide with appropriate steel inserts and start with a 24lb spring and fire it remotely for testing starting with reduced power ammo (I am a seasoned reloader with 20+ years of experience there). I'm aware an aluminum slide won't hold up to the same abuse and lifespan of a steel one, but I'm after proof of concept here and if I get a few thousand out of it, I'll be happy.

Again, this is all proof of concept and will be a range toy for me, not something I rely on or sell for money.

Eventually, once I get more experience, I was thinking of going with 4140 steel for a real slide and cerakote at home. That will require an upgrade on the CNC as the NEMA 17 steppers do not have enough holding power to hold a spindle with the power needed to machine steel. So, I will need a larger stepper for at least the Z axis, and a new spindle setup. I have seen them on Amazon for about $4-500 including a VFD. I can do electrical work and install the necessary 220V circuit for it myself.

Good luck, keep us updated!

 

[emerica4424]

Hey spook, is there any way you could pm me? I'm looking for a custom length g21 slide milled from scratch. I was hoping you could help me out?

 

[SPOOK331945]

Hey spook, is there any way you could pm me? I'm looking for a custom length g21 slide milled from scratch. I was hoping you could help me out?

I appreciate the interest but merely do it as a hobby. Unfortunately, I'm not tooled up properly to make it cost-effective either.