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Had the 25 cent trigger job done

15K views 70 replies 32 participants last post by  Blackshirt 
#1 ·
By a gunsmith, so lets just say it was not 25 cents.

3.5 lbs connector already there. Breaks a little better, a little smoother and a surprise when goes off like it should.

Still not exactly browning hi-power territory but a small improvement.

Very reasonable combat mod.

The gunsmith used a dremmel to polish, took maybe 5 minutes.
 
#37 ·
I think if you want to do a .25 trigger job...go for it! At the very least, it gives you some insight and experience with how the gun operates. It may make for a better trigger break...or not.... It doesnt make any difference.
When i was younger, I used to dis-assemble, polish and tweak parts on my car all the time. Did it make a difference in performance???? Maybe...maybe not. But I had fun...thats all that matters. I find it odd that some folks get excited when others "play with their toys". Thats what they're for. Live and let live.
 
#39 ·
I had a $250 Glock trigger done a while ago. Shot one thousand rounds of WWB ball ammo through a factory stock 9mm Glock. It didn't take long as I had about a dozen magazines and I had fun doing it. The results were no FTF, FTE, and BTF. The trigger was smoother than when I started and had a perfect reset not to mention a lighter trigger break.

Had a big old 5hi7 grin on my face after all was said and done. HA!!! :D:woohoo:
I'm with you. I bought a new, Gen 4 model 34 MOS three months ago. I have 4,000+ rounds through it now. I let the trigger group polish itself. :supergrin:
 
#40 ·
The ironic part is that way is more expensive but just moving that decimal 3 places to the right of that number makes all the difference. Most importantly it provides you with enough practice so you don't need band aids like polishing. Second, the parts wear together naturally and only remove material from places where it is absolutely necessary to function rather than everywhere. One thing people also never take into consideration when being a garage YouTube gunsmith is that oil retention in the only critical place for lubrication (between the trigger bar and connector) is hurt because surface imperfections that assist in retaining oil are removed from the entire surface area rather than just in the places necessary for proper function. You YouTube gunsmiths might want to do a search for firearm galling to see some potential problems with those pretty shiny parts before before taking a Dremel to their guns internal parts. At any rate most will ignore the facts and keep letting their mind trick them into thinking they did something awesome rather than something detrimental to their firearm.

I figured all this out the hard way on my then carry G19 years ago. When at the range one day after a hiatus from shooting the trigger out of nowhere became increasingly difficult to pull until I couldn't get the trigger to break at all. Things started feeling off with the trigger when I was nearing the end of the first 50 rounds and steadily got worse until it ultimately stopped about halfway through my second box. A large drop of oil returned the pistol to working order after giving some thought as to what the cause may have been but upon detail stripping it later I saw weird markings on both parts like debris got stuck and did damage. Under magnification with a jewelers loupe you could see that a bit of material from the connector had somehow come loose and fused itself to the trigger bar and created a stopping point where the trigger would not travel rearward past the point just at where the trigger breaks. Baffled at how this could happen to my shiny polished parts I started searching and what had happened became apparent along with the fact that I caused the problem with my polishing. Over the years I have run a few Glocks nearly bone dry and never had a problem until this. Now the only pistol parts I will touch with a Dremel or polishing wheel are parts that need to be fitted and require it. Will it happen to you? If you are lucky, no. If you are the most unlucky person on the planet your gun could be rendered completely useless at a critical moment. That alone is more than enough for me to leave my Dremel on the workbench when it comes to making my guns work "better". Had I been in a situation like that, even though odds are against it, I may not be here to share this. Even though oil fixed it until it I could detail strip it to inspect the parts more thoroughly, field stripping your firearm and then having a lubricant to put there and the time to do it is pretty much an impossibility at best.

Just to put things into perspective I tested the parts later by drying them the same as they were when the failure happened and dry firing continuously until it happened again. No matter how much pressure I put on the trigger it would not break. With a Lyman gauge the take up alone at the very bottom of the trigger where the most leverage is, take up was reading at just under 9 pounds and when the trigger stopped moving I instantly went over the max reading of 12 pounds that the gauge has. Because I didn't care about the parts I put the pistol in a vice and used a small c-clamp to pull the trigger rearward. The trigger shoe actually started deforming under the force and even forcing the trigger shoe rearward would not allow the trigger to break releasing the firing pin. Even though nothing visually catastrophic happened like you would get with a "kaboom", I still consider it a catastrophic failure as it turned the pistol into a paperweight.

Hope this post helps at least one person by keeping them from doing something only marginally useful and more detrimental to the reliability of their gun than anything.
The exact same thing happened to me once. I polished up a smooth-faced Gen3 trigger bar and minus connector for my Gen4 G19 and then one day it seized up. Put my stock parts back in and never looked back. After about 10k rounds and regular maintenance my G19 is as smooth as butter. I'm now convinced that the best upgrades you can make to your gun is a lot of ammo, a good set of sights, and a better grip.
 
#41 · (Edited)
I can appreciate the garage gun smiths and the learning curve both of you experienced. In competition and putting as many as 27k a year down range one must learn to survive ( keep the gun running ) and do it by the rules the competition dictates. There are good situations to experience and gun care is one of them, it might assist those that do not .

Ps agree 100% on you tube, walk the walk, anyone can talk it.
 
#42 ·
So much placebo effect here that this thread reads like the results of a clinical trial.

Have any of you that did the .25 trigger job actually use a trigger pull weight gauge to measure the actual difference or are you just using your hands and positive thoughts to come to the conclusion that the polishing actually made a noticeable difference in trigger pull? If done right (where no angles or edges are changed during the polishing process) there should be no difference in trigger pull weight. It may be marginally smoother but the actual difference is negligible. With a Dremel and polishing wheel and even a mild polishing compound like flitz, it is very easy to remove necessary material and actually hurt the reliability and safety of your pistol.

Fortunately all the components made shiny during the process are inexpensive. Just shoot the gun and let the parts wear in properly. If you are that in need of changing the most important part of the pistols function, buy something aftermarket that will make a real difference.

Also for those of you that recommend YouTube for gunsmithing information, you need to be very careful what advice you follow as there is plenty of awful advice mixed in with the good videos.

What he said.
 
#43 ·
Problem was that many were going to lower recoil spring assemblies than factory and that to shoot GSSF you had to use stock. New guns often exhibited Resistance to shoot standard pressure ammo in the beginning.
Rsa's, unpolished feed ramps with coatings left from finish, slight machining marks left on the inserts, bullet profiles , AOL of the bullet itself had an impact.

The rates of fire were not trying to be improved, just form fit and function to be achieved. When I'm prepping I'm emulating a gun that should normally function under ammo lightly loaded as well as plus p plus. Not to argue that everything out of a Glock box works, it does not.
Well said. This is actually shaping up to be the most productive thread I have read here regarding the subject.
 
#44 ·
How long did it take with the qtips till the metal was shiny? Did you keep applying the polish as you buffed, or apply it once then buff for however long? Thanks, much appreciated.
It didn't take too long, probably 30 minutes per pistol. All I would do is place a dab of polish (Flitz is what I had) on a Q-Tip, then start to polish. As the Q-Tip would become too dirty or fall apart, wipe the part off with a shop towel and use another one with a dab of compound. No need to use more than a small amount of polish. Repeat until desired results have been achieved.

As posted above, the best part was learning how to take the guns apart and reassemble everything correctly. Did it turn the gun into a 1911? No, it's a Glock. The most noticeable change was smoother take up. It was a lot of fun and I do feel helped me learn how the parts interact.

I now see the $0.25 trigger job as similar to when you buy a new Ruger revolver and the first step the manual recommends is to field strip it and clean everything. I love my Rugers, but I'm used to making sure everything is smoothed out and no metal shavings are left behind. These are both machine made guns for a good value.
 
#45 ·
Do you folks realize that when you polish with a Dremel or a Q tip your only making the rough parts shiny? That's why you don't feel much improvement from the 25 cent trigger job. If you want a 2lb trigger there is more to do than a .25 .
 
#46 ·
Even if those parts were stoned and filed to the point where there were no more actual imperfections the pull weight would still remain largely unaffected unless the angles of the contact surfaces are changed. Most here seem to realize this as almost everyone refers to a marginally smoother take up after the work and not talking about an actually lighter break.
 
#51 ·
All my guns get taken apart when I first get them home. All parts are inspected for metal flash, machine marks, or loose materials. Polishing compounds or extra-fine sandpaper (600 grit) are used to correct uneven mating surfaces, but no shapes are actually changed. Calling such a "trigger job" is not accurate...it is simply the careful fitting of parts. My Glocks have benefited from this type of attention, but not nearly as much as my Marlins and Kel-Tecs. Affordable firearms are built to a price point and hand-fitting is just not possible at the prices that are offered. Careful setup by the user CAN make even a good gun better...
 
#52 · (Edited)
Misconceptions like this is where the problem lies.
It's not a misconception. 2000 grit wet dry paper is a polishing grit. It isn't even good for dust nibbing a fresh paint job though it does serve a purpose when reducing the size of fish eyes in that paint job where you go over a 1500 sand job to ensure one pass with a polisher and not burn through the thinnest part of the fish eye (the bottom center) with the compound. Compound will not always remove 1500 scratches with one pass, but I've never seen one pass not remove 2000 grit scratches, not even in epoxy. To remove the edge of a gun part to the point it is no longer functional, it would take a lot of purposeful sanding, on that edge, and it would take a lot of paper changing. Just a few passes with 2000 clogs the paper and renders it useless, even when oil is used with it, not to mention how fast the paper wears.

I've honed the edges on my ignition parts, at least the ones I felt needed it, to ensure I have no resistance right before the break. I did not use 2000 to do it 'cause it's worthless for that, but I did use it for the final polishing of said edges. I don't explain what I do to the edges 'cause I don't want someone making a mistake if they don't know what they are doing.
 
#53 · (Edited)
Harold 63,correct me if I read an earlier post incorrectly,you had trigger that you couldn't pull with a C clamp and then found the problem with the aid of a jewelers loupe?
 
#55 ·
I guess after all the time this thread has existed, I get to be the one who mentions that Glock thinks so highly of these polish jobs that they will honor such skilled work by replacing all such parts with unmolested ones.
 
#56 ·
To those thinking about shooting GSSF. To shoot Amateur Civilan, probably the most awards in any category, 1) your gun and parts must be stock or made by Glock, there are exceptions as grip tape and Pearce extensions on the 26/27/33, read the rules.
2)Trigger parts if stock, may be polished as long as the profile has not changed nor material removed.
3) if you take your weapon to an Armor at GSSF to rebuild, or trouble shoot they will replace parts that show wear/change with new parts.
4) step three will also apply if you send your weapon in to Glock for repair.

I will comment since the 43 hit the market before the connector/upgrade many customers took it upon themselves to solve a trigger that they did not like.

I believe as time and Gaston passes less derog on parts being polished as the unaccepted, as policy will change.
 
#64 ·
The .25 trigger job is more of a placebo.
You're suggesting a person will think the trigger pull is lighter when it really isn't, with just polishing. Even if it is only 8oz less after polishing, it's 8oz, not to mention the reduction in 'stacking'. I do agree with you in getting an optimal trigger job involves more than just a Qtip and rubbing compound, but depending on how rough the parts are or what edges have lips (AKA horns or burrs), just a good polish can help, some. Some people say just polishing shines up the burrs, and that's true to a certain extent, but if the parts have sharp burrs, the polishing, alone, can take the sharp edges off the burrs, thus giving a lighter trigger pull. Not optimal, but better.
 
#63 ·
Performed $0.25 trigger job with Q-Tips and Mothers Mag Polish . Then after careful research I installed #6 .0 lb. (up from stock #5.0 lb.) Wolff Trigger Spring , next installed #5 .0 lb. (down from stock #5.5 lb.) Wolff Striker Spring - I kept the stock Connector and have a Wolff reduced power Safety Plunger Spring on deck to try if I still need a slightly more lighter trigger pull . The above mods give me a smooth , slightly lighter trigger pull from stock with a clean break . I didn't want to go too crazy by installing a "-" Connector with all three springs changed . *Although this thread is about the $0.25 trigger job I believe my mods are very safe and provide just enough trigger pull improvement to be noticed . Where people run into trouble is going down below #5.0 lb. on the Striker Spring OR run a reduced power Striker Spring with a reduced power Safety Plunger spring , plus a heavier Trigger Spring all with a "-" Connector . For a small $ investment from Wolff Springs (very high quality / reliability) I recommend you try the $0.25 trigger job plus install just a #6 lb. Trigger Spring and a #5.0 reduced power Striker Spring staying with the stock Safety Plunger Spring and the stock Connector and see what you think ?
 
#65 ·
I have, had the time inclination and wanted to know. On a Glock 30s, we started at 5.7# and after polishing I was at 5.4#, this was (10) measurements average before and after.
By the way this was not the .025$ trigger job. This was with a felt wheel on a Dremel tool with Flitz. I prefer a lighter trigger and add the (3) springs which get me normally around 4#.
 
#67 ·
The ability to accomplish an objective and the work remain of quality lies within the operator. I see several opinions that do differ, going too far often brings negative results immediately or sometime in the future. Those that receive results fulfilled will continue those that do not will turn to something else.
 
#68 ·
Harold: You're right about post #91. This is exactly the reason I refer to this as "hand fitting", instead of any sort of trigger job. The idea is to make the part as dimensionally perfect as the engineer who designed it intended. As I said earlier in this thread, Glocks are pretty good as stock when you consider it's price...but can still benefit from a little fitting.

Oh...and you can save a little money on files/stones by using some 600 grit sandpaper wrapped around the anvil flat on your shop vise and gently moving the part you wish to fit. A single light pass will reveal if the part is flat or needs a little work.
 
#70 ·
The idea is to make the part as dimensionally perfect as the engineer who designed it intended.

Oh...and you can save a little money on files/stones by using some 600 grit sandpaper wrapped around the anvil flat on your shop vise and gently moving the part you wish to fit. A single light pass will reveal if the part is flat or needs a little work.
I agree 100%. Unfortunately, stamped parts don't always reflect the engineer's purposeful design. Sometimes, it definitely takes more than just buffing with cream to get the parts working at their peak.

I've been using only wet dry paper for all my work...400 to 2000 grit, depending on what needs to be cut or how much. You're correct about one pass (or a few) to determine exactly what needs to be done. I wrap the paper around a large concrete nail that I touched up with a grinder or a small piece of hobby wood. Works great. :winkie:
 
#71 ·
I got started working on guns after buying my first Kel-Tec...a P-11. It was hardly shootable until I did a "Fluff and Buff" on it and changed out the old style hammer spring. It is still not a tack-driver, but it goes bang every time I pull the trigger, is light as a feather, holds 10 rounds in the carry mag, and 15 in the reload mag. It is a great gun out to 15 or 20 yards. It wouldn't last long on +P ammo, but I've been shooting standard pressure through it for the last 20 years with zero stoppages once it was cleaned up. I had a similar experience with my KT P32, my Marlin 925M, and my (cherished) JM Marlin 336. Proper fitting of precision parts makes a big difference...
 
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