What do you think would happen...

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  • Rating - 100%
    139   0   0
    Sep 3, 2010
    1,439
    48
    If you made a polymer copy of a steel or aluminum frame, and dropped the slide on?

    Assuming you had good blend of plastic (like glocks), how do you think it would do without the metal reinforcements you see on most (all?) polymer pistols.

    I'm assuming there'd be something to the concept of shaving, which brings to mind Kahrs (which apparently shave a little plastic) versus glocks (which apparently don't).

    I ran into this article which makes a couple of interesting points about the flexibility of polymers, but I don't know who that guy is to listen to, so... :)


    I'm not trying this, I was just thinking about it. I promise. More or less.
     

    pops66goat

    Plinker
    Rating - 66.7%
    2   1   0
    Dec 15, 2011
    121
    16
    Greenfield IN.
    hmmmm....I'm thinking on a 1911 for instance you would have deflection issues with how the parts are held in place with pins. Although I have heard of polymer framed 1911's. You also might have issues with the slide getting in a bind when fired. The deflection could possibly cause the slide to bind on recoil. I was thinking of a carbon fiber frame or similar to minimize the deflection. Just my opinion of course!
     

    Indy_Guy_77

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    16   0   0
    Apr 30, 2008
    16,576
    48
    As in a wholly polymer frame? Zero steel at all?

    Unless something truly revolutionary in the polymer world comes to light, it won't work. Otherwise it'd already be done.

    You've got to have something to withstand the impacts. Polymer alone isn't there yet.

    -J-
     
    Rating - 100%
    139   0   0
    Sep 3, 2010
    1,439
    48
    As in a wholly polymer frame? Zero steel at all?

    Unless something truly revolutionary in the polymer world comes to light, it won't work. Otherwise it'd already be done.

    You've got to have something to withstand the impacts. Polymer alone isn't there yet.

    -J-

    I'm talking about taking a metal frame and copying 100% in plastic, not stress testing it and reinforcing points....I'm just curious.

    That's really my thought about the impacts, that the slide would eventually batter its way through the plastic and off the frame. On the other hand, it really doesn't seem like that's much metal in a glock frame to take the force and keep the barrel/spring in place to stop the slide.
     

    BrewerGeorge

    Sharpshooter
    Rating - 100%
    1   0   0
    Feb 22, 2012
    561
    18
    Plainfield
    Interesting question. We were using Airsoft Glocks the other day for practice at Muay Thai. I took one apart, just fooling around, and it surely looked like I could put a real Glock slide on top.
     

    indykid

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    4   0   0
    Jan 27, 2008
    11,859
    113
    Westfield
    As in a wholly polymer frame? Zero steel at all?

    Unless something truly revolutionary in the polymer world comes to light, it won't work. Otherwise it'd already be done.

    You've got to have something to withstand the impacts. Polymer alone isn't there yet.

    -J-

    Actually it has been done, and very successfully. Check the Ruger P95. When it first came out, a magazine thought they would be cute and run the pistol through a 20,000 round torture test to see if a polymer only frame would hold up. After the 20,000 rounds they reported no detectable wear on the frame.

    They then ran it through a mud, ice and other tests to take it to the extremes, and the pistol passed with flying colors.

    It is easier to use metal inserts in the polymer frames, but Ruger has proven that it they aren't 100% needed.
     
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