Posted: 6/10/2016 3:51:31 AM EDT
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First things first, let's get this out of the way: You don't build a Glock to save money. You do this because it's fun to mess with guns. It also gives you a chance to buy all the custom components you want up front instead of piecemealing it together. The Glock is actually pretty simple and easy to work on. That being said this also isn’t my first rodeo with a Glock. It's important to understand what the hell you're doing before you go popping the backplate off, shooting pieces across the room never to be seen again, and prying on plastic parts with an armorer's tool. Because there are many excellent guides available online, I’ll just focus on this build in particular.
Concept: A project CCW Glock 19 with better handling and speed, but to the casual observer looks like a run of the mill Glock 19. Kinda like how an old Monte Carlo SS looked like a regular ass car till you hit the gas. Enter the Timberwolf Compact frame by Lonewolf Distributors. It's an aftermarket frame (complete gun builds are also available) that addresses my primary issues with the Glock: grip angle, and magazine release. It also feels a bit stiffer and less.... slippery than typical Glock polymers. All in all it is a very well made, solid feeling frame. At $250 it comes with the enlarged mag release, and 2 backstraps. The small backstrap is nearly straight, and actually does make it feel more like a very short 1911. The larger feels more like a Sig 250. I chose the larger, but in the end it doesn't matter that much since you can swap it out in seconds. Keep in mind that legally this is the gun, so you're going to have to get it shipped to an FFL. Lonewolf is no bull when it comes to this too, and they won't even look at your credit card info until they get the shop's information. 
The Timberwolf Compact accepts Gen3 glock slides, and this proved to be pricier than I anticipated. I ended up getting a factory new OEM Glock 19 slide kit from Glockmeister for about $285, and had to wait about 3 or 4 weeks for it to come in on backorder. I'd considered just buying an old Glock 19 at this point, but decided I wanted a new gun made of new parts, not a FrankenGlock made from cannibalized corpses of Glocks. I didn't want to order the Lonewolf slide (though their custom slides look fantastic) because I wanted to maintain the sleeper Glock look. I also wanted to keep the OEM Glock barrel because the semi-supported chamber is a bit less finicky than match barrels. I'm also not a god enough shot with a pistol to really benefit from a match barrel. My Zev kit came with springs for the plunger safety as well as a lighter spring for the firing pin. I changed out the plunger spring to shave a couple ounces off the trigger squeeze, but I want reliability, so I left the OEM firing pin spring in. One thing to note is that if you shoot rounds with harder primers, or if you need the gun to never light-strike, it’s a good idea not to mess with the firing pin or firing pin spring. The OEM ones are completely reliable, and you don’t really get any [practical] performance boost from changing them out. In fact, if you shoot rounds with harder primers a lot (like milsurp), you can wind up with light strikes by “upgrading” the firing pin or firing pin spring. Let’s talk about cups as well. Below you can see the OEM cups my slide kit came with (black) and the maritime ones I ordered from Lone Wolf (Lone Wolf makes them in house) for shits & gigs. 
Glock won’t sell Maritime cups to civilians, and it actually has to do with per-unit cost. Glock pistols are all about efficiency. Their business is all about efficiency too. Glock isn't a custom shop. They make the spring cups the way they are because they are reliable and cheap to produce. Maritime Glock spring cups are more expensive to make, and to install. Both those things translate into unnecessary cuts into profit for Glock. There is a lot of lore about the military’s “exclusive” maritime cups, specifically that they allow the Glock to fire underwater. The truth is that as long as you fully submerge it, your factory-stock civilian Glock pistol will fire and cycle (poorly) underwater. The Maritime cups are to enhance the draining of sandy salt water out of the firing pin channel. Useful for a SEAL coming up on a beach, not particularly important elsewhere. I figured I'd try em out though anyway just in the name of experimentation. The big hangup I found with the maritime cups is that they are a pain in the ass to install (moreso than spring cups already are to install). If they are not PERFECTLY lined up & seated, they will sit all wonky around the firing pin. This did not give me a warm and fuzzy, so I installed the OEM cups and kept the maritime ones as spares. Enough with the slide, let’s talk about the Timberwolf Compact frame. This is what makes this gun different. I decided that since it was going to be a carry gun, the beavertail had to go (I don’t think it would be an issue for making a comp/racing gun though). I blocked out a rough outline, and went to town with some various grits of sandpaper. A short amount of time later, I had a beavertail that was more extended than a regular G19, but about 1/3 as long as the original extended beavertail. It turned out nice, and I'm glad because at this point I was all in. 
After playing around with the backstraps, I decided squarely on the larger of the two, and put it on. I got a Talon Grips pre-cut Glock 19 adhesive grip, and after a very small amount of trimming, had it in place (I can’t stress the importance of dry-fitting enough on this step). I had to cut some griptape material away from the back side of the magazine catch, and down by the magazine well to get it to fit. I also noticed the 3 strips that go across the front strap weren’t lining up, so I cut them off, and placed them across the front of the grip individually. That alone solved my annoyance with the bumps on the Glock grip as the grip tape filled in the finger grooves. 
The Timberwolf Compact uses mostly Gen3 internals. I say mostly because it most definitely does not use a Gen3 trigger housing. Initially I tried, and it failed miserably. Eventually I sanded it down and got it to fit. I looked at it for a second and realized I most definitely did not trust it, so out it came, and the project was put on hold. The Timberwolf Compact actually uses a Gen4 or the Lone Wolf Timberwolf slim trigger housing which I ended up getting. It also uses the newer version (post 2000) of the Gen3 3 pin locking block (the one without the little wings on the side). Since I already had one Gen4 part in the gun, I decided that I was going to use the smooth Gen4 trigger as well since I like how it feels better than the ribbed Gen3 trigger. I tossed in a Zev SPR Starter Kit. When it comes to a Glock trigger, the two things to work on that will yield a reduced trigger squeeze are the trigger spring, and the connector. You will have to replace these two parts to reduce your trigger squeeze weight. If you are expecting lighter trigger squeeze out of any sort of polishing job, you are going to be disapointed. Smoother maybe, but not really lighter. Replacing these 2 components yielded a crisp trigger break at 4lbs, which is a weight I feel comfortable carrying. I rounded out the package with a Vickers extended slide catch. It didn’t want to line up at first, but de-burring the stop, and removing about 1/16” of material from the front of the notch in the frame resolved the snagging issues. A functions check later, and I declared this beast done! It was a fun project, I hope I can fit a range trip into my schedule soon to take this new gat for a spin. 
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Quoted:
Will this accept an NY1 trigger spring? I've been trying to figure this out for some time. From what I can tell, the Timberwolf does not use a standard Gen 3 trigger housing, so I'm having a hard time finding a definitive answer. They use the Gen4 trigger housing (part no GLO-30275, or GLO-28927). Everything I can find about GEN4 Glocks says it would work. LoneWolf has live customer support on their site, give em a shout to be sure |
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Quoted:
I have a Gen 4 G19 and it has a ribbed trigger. I think you mean full-size trigger (not ribbed) vs compact (ribbed) not G4 vs G3 Quoted:
Quoted: to use the smooth Gen4 trigger as well since I like how it feels better than the ribbed Gen3 trigger.
I have a Gen 4 G19 and it has a ribbed trigger. I think you mean full-size trigger (not ribbed) vs compact (ribbed) not G4 vs G3 Yah the Gen4 19's come stock with a ribbed trigger. According to my online research, the smooth trigger that comes on the full sized models fits gen4 19's too. We'll see if it WORKS at the range though. It's passing all the functions tests and looks fine through the armorer's plate |
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Quoted:
Yah the Gen4 19's come stock with a ribbed trigger. According to my online research, the smooth trigger that comes on the full sized models fits gen4 19's too. We'll see if it WORKS at the range though. It's passing all the functions tests and looks fine through the armorer's plate Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted: to use the smooth Gen4 trigger as well since I like how it feels better than the ribbed Gen3 trigger.
I have a Gen 4 G19 and it has a ribbed trigger. I think you mean full-size trigger (not ribbed) vs compact (ribbed) not G4 vs G3 Yah the Gen4 19's come stock with a ribbed trigger. According to my online research, the smooth trigger that comes on the full sized models fits gen4 19's too. We'll see if it WORKS at the range though. It's passing all the functions tests and looks fine through the armorer's plate You could put a Gen 3 g17 trigger I. The g19 gen 4. Just drop it in there. You'll get rid of the Gen 4 trigger bump on the bar and you'll also get a smooth trigger pad. I can attest this works fine I've got plenty of rounds through my g19 like this it actually improves trigger feel a good bit. |
