I thought I would point out some of the frame mods I do. If anyone would like more info on how to do these mods just ask.
On the barrel end you can see how I put a radius on the P80 barrel step, bringing it into the rail.
All so I removed the rail. This is a range gun, made for taking to the range in a range bag and nothing more so it does not need a rail. (Just my thoughts)
I did away with the square trigger guard, narrowed the trigger guard and increased the figure relief by the grip. Another thing I like to do is mold my magwells onto the frame, doing away with the mounting screw. This gives your build a real clean look.
On this one I did the same mods on the barrel end and trigger.
I molded in the magwell but had to reshape it too. The magwell here is for a Glock 21 that is short for a PF45 so I had to JB Weld it and shape it to blend into the frame. For more info on molding in magwells I have a post on the steps. look for JB Weld tips
Some of my early build I did away with the rail by filling it in with JB Weld and shaping back to a clean smooth look with a radius. This one became the Dragon build I did. On the Deadpool I did I filled in the rail but made the corners sharper. When you do something like this it leaves open all kinds of shaping ideas.
This is the Black Widow frame and has the most trigger guard work I have made so far.
Radius on all edges and rail gone, trigger narrowed by half the original size.
One thing I have found on all P80s trigger guard, in this area when you start shaping you see little pits show up. I think this is from air bubbles that get trapped in this area that does not vent during the molding process. Some are worse than others and have not been a big deal for me. I fill them in with JB Weld for painting if they are big, but the small ones fill up with paint and are not noticeable.
If anyone need more info on the process in doing frame mods shoot me a question and I can help you do some of these mods. Basically, it's just shaping, and sanding then paint. You can all so just sand to a fine finish and polish, but you will have to sand your whole frame to get a good texture match.
by Hawkeye » Sat Aug 20, 2022 4:57 pm
Ancient Order wrote: ↑Sat Aug 20, 2022 2:37 pm Look up sanding twigs on Amazon. They promoted them to me and I thought the might be useful. I bought some sticks like those, MGB had them in his tool list. They came with grits 220-1200. I thought they were ok but to limber anyway my wife took them from me for her nails. I use these sometimes but not a lot. https://www.amazon.com/Lumberton-12301- ... B24G&psc=1 These are hard and if you are not careful, they will leave makes that then have to be smoothed out. Double work! so I don't use them often. Be careful when using sanding sticks or anything with a hard edge. They have a tendency to sand heavy where you make a pass leaving line. I use them a lot on steel because they hold up when used wet.
by Ancient Order » Sat Aug 20, 2022 2:37 pm
Look up sanding twigs on Amazon. They promoted them to me and I thought the might be useful.
by RAMjetta » Sat Aug 20, 2022 1:12 pm
DAMNIT HAWKEYE! Reading your threads keeps me in the dog house. Now I gotta work and extra hour or two to get the new tools. Thx. Lol
JettaMan OUT!
by Hawkeye » Sat Aug 20, 2022 11:42 am
Ancient Order wrote: ↑Sat Aug 20, 2022 1:13 amExcellent info! How do do the sanding? By hand, Dremel, etc? I use my rotary tool for most of the shaping and course sanding. My rotary tool is like a Dremel on steroids. I can control speed and it has more torque then a Dremel but a Dremel will work. Then I use a micro sander!! This thing is a must have if you do a lot of sanding. https://www.amazon.com/MicroLux-Recipro ... s9dHJ1ZQ== For the fine sanding I do it by hand. For those hard to sand corners I cut my sandpaper into small pieces and push them with sticks I cut for getting into tight places. I just got these for help with hand sanding. I'll give them a try on my next build. Probably cut them to make them smaller. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07S2T2Z4W?ps ... ct_details After all the sanding I use a Abrasive Wheel Buffing Polishing Wheel https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075C ... UTF8&psc=1 The only wet sanding I do is by hand. Polymer has a tendency to get gummy when wet sanded so it's best to do that on the fine sanding by hand. If you try to wet sand when doing rough-out or course sanding, you have a lot of (what I call mud) build-up that keeps you from seeing the finer detail you are trying to achieve. When polymer gets wet and you sand, it rolls out instead of cutting out. The difference is how slick the surface is going to be on your frame. After all the sanding, use the buffer wheels. When you get the feel for useing them (controlling speed) you can slick the surface of your frame. Remember!!! Don't think of how things (including sanding) are done in steps BUT think of what you want to archive and what feels comfortable for you. As you become more confident in use of different hand tools, you will start to get what feels right for you. Not everyone has the same feel in hand working but everyone can archive the same outcome just by using different steps that feels comfortable for them, I have tried to teach a number of young upcoming toolmakers how to polish and none of them use the same steps in the same order as I do. I call it the art of the scratch. When you learn how to remove a course scratch by using a finer scratch until all the scratches are gone, that is the goal, how you get there is up to how this process feels to you. In the post, https://www.ftq80.info/forum/viewtopic.php?t=188 There are all the sanding things I use.
by WE4PONXYZ » Sat Aug 20, 2022 1:36 am
Hawkeye you are just a wealth of knowledge and ingenuity. I absolutely love your write ups and all of your frame mods.
by Ancient Order » Sat Aug 20, 2022 1:13 am
Excellent info! How do do the sanding? By hand, Dremel, etc?
by RAMjetta » Wed Aug 17, 2022 6:29 pm
Love it
JettaMan OUT!