I’m looking to build a 3d-printed glock 19 as my first build. I was wondering if you guys had any tips on how to prevent malfunctions and ensure that it feeds properly and doesn’t have any hiccups.
My plan is printing rails-up to make sure everything fits with no issue and will of course calibrate the filament. Regarding the lower parts, how important is it to get an OEM LPK? Is it absolutely mandatory for reliability?
For rails and a locking block, I plan on using Aves or any other reliable vendor. For the magazine, I’m gonna use a Magpul magazine.
What about slide? I’d prefer not an OEM since aftermarket OEM glock slides cost almost as much as a glock itself. Do you guys have any suggestions on aftermarket slides that are reliable? I was thinking maybe a PSA dagger slide, or even an RXM slide, since they are both cross-compatible.
You can get away with cheap LPKs but only if you understand how the glock FCG functions. The cruciform and connector can sometimes need adjusted with slight bends, or the housing may be out of spec and require adjusting.
However for those that don’t know those components and how they should interact they should definitely buy OEM and save themself the trouble and risk of an ND.
As an example: The cruciform holds back your striker which is under spring pressure, bending that cruciform up and down very slightly changes the engagement of the striker, too much and it wont fire, too little and the striker can slip. Add onto that, many cheaper kits have weak springs, and the odds that the slipped striker could bypass the drop safety increases, which results in the gun going off in a holster or when dropped. Id highly suggest watching JohnnyGlocks videos for anyone interested as he’s a true expert when it comes to glock triggers.
There are a lot more things that can go wrong beyond the cruciform angle. And bending the cruciform can screw up the contact surface angle with the striker extension which can negatively impact trigger feel. You’re also going to induce metal fatigue unless you have the ability to anneal and then re-heat-treat the metal. Connector angle and how it matches the “shape of the bird’s beak” on the trigger bar also affects trigger feel and weight and often the cheap LPK makers know nothing about this so you may end up with a heavy, creepy, or gritty trigger or may have a weak reset and may even jump the connector. Then there’s the safety plunger extension on the trigger bar which may not be long enough or angled correctly to fully depress the safety plunger which can lead to apparent light primer strikes.
Yes, all these things can be fixed – but it’s going to take knowledge, skill, time, and possibly money. As someone who does have the ability to troubleshoot these kinds of problems, I’ll gladly pay the extra $50 for an OEM LPK so I don’t have to.