I really like building the Polymer80 pistols (Why Polymer80s Excite Me, Tips for Smooth Polymer80 Pistols, and Troubleshooting Your Build). What attracts me is the 1911-like grip angle, Picatinny Rail and the ability to customize the pistol however I want it. You will not save money doing these builds but the results are really cool. When you are planning a build, there are the expected sources of parts like 80P Builder and Glock Store but also a big one that might surprise you – eBay. I’m going to do a series of posts over the next few days with links to a variety of parts listed there.
A few tips for you:
Look at the number of transactions and rating of the seller. If they have less than 10 sales, your potential risk increases.
Stick to Gen 3 parts. Glock has been evolving their pistols for a while now and the Polymer80 frames are designed with Gen 3 models in mind.
Make sure the parts you are looking for match the model you are building. Not all parts are interchangeable across models.
If the deal is almost too good to be true, it probably is. You’re not going to find a high-end assembled slide with barrel for $50. Sure there are used parts and good deals but there are also scams. This is another reason to look at the seller’s ratings.
Polymer80 parts in general:
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I thoroughly enjoyed this Japanese video that covers the forging, engraving and heat treat of a Japanese Katana by a Master – Sadatosh Gassan. The video provides a great overview and while it is in Japanese, there are subtitles in English.
What I found most fascinating was the detail of the creation and application of the clay to create the hamon. Sadatoshi-san also is shown carefully engraving a dragon around a plum tree.
He evenly applied the clay and is now drawing the hamon pattern into it prior to the heat reat.Here it iss just prior to the firing.Carving the dragon into the blade.The end result is beautiful.
The Video
I hope you found this video as interesting as I did!
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In this short video, Ian gives a brief overview of Soviet magazines – notably the slab side, ribbed, waffle and bakelite. As always, Ian does a great job and this is worth a watch!
The first generation was a heavily built (over-built) magazine known as the “slab side”.After the slab side, they developed the ribbed magazine that was copied by many countries.To reduce weight they developed the aluminum waffle magazines- so named due to all the reinforcement ribs. It was relatively short-lived because it was not durable enough.After the waffle mag, they moved to the Bakelite magazine that actually was a glass reinforced polymer. This gave them what they wanted – light weight and durability.When the AK-74 was developed, they went straight to polymer and never developed steel mags. Note, other countries did build steel AK-74 magazines but the Soviets did not.
The Video
I hope you found that video useful. Ian is a wealth of information and you can learn more about his work at Forgotten Weapons.
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While digging for videos on AK magazines, I found this one posted by Apex Gun Parts in 2016. It shows their Croatian AK-47 magazines being manufactured. While they don’t come right out and say they are being made by Zastava, I have a hunch that they are.
I would like you to compare this video to the one I previously posted showing Matra Group’s process. Matra is using older general purpose machines and there isn’t much attention paid to worker ergonomics and lighting.
Now, watch this video and not the differences. This video is showing a much more modern plant where there is also detail provided on their quality control processes and they show the jigs that they use.
The Video
I hope you find the video interesting. Apex Gun Parts is definitely a group that I buy stuff from and have no problems recommending them. I don’t have any experience with these mags so this video is really to let you see the differences in manufacturing.
Please note that all images were extracted from the video and are the property of their respective owner.
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The AK-47 rifle and it’s “banana” 30 round magazine are classics of rugged functional design. While I’ve posted many videos and how-to articles relating to various rifle and pistol variants, I’ve not really covered the steel magazines at all.
I was surfing around and found Matra Group located in Bosnia-Herzegovina. In 2015 this small manufacturer produced a video showcasing their small facility that makes a variety of steel magazines for AK-47, AK-74 and even Lee-Enfield rifles. The Lee-Enfield may be due to those rifles being supplied to the Yugoslav Partisans in WWII to fight th axis armies.
In the video, they show employees starting with sheet metal and stepping through various steps including stamping, machining and spot welding. For the most part, you will see a very labor intensie process using older general purpose machines. If you like videos that showcase how something is made in and old-school fashion, you will find this very interesting.
Here they are cutting the initial sheet down into usable blanks.Making the front piecee that will lock onto the front trunnion.Spot welding the two body halves together.Gettingg ready for final assembly.
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Many folks have heard of the US Navy’s Sea Air and Land (SEAL) teams. The SEALs have been in a ton of movies and books but they are supported by another critical special warfare group – the Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewman (SWCC). These are the teams that man the small boats that deliver and pick up the SEALs.
I have a lot of respect for the SWCC crews and get a real kick out of their boats – wow. These things are packing some serious firepower.
So, I ran across this cool motivational video this morning and thought I would share it:
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Military Division makes some kick ass motivational videos of different special forces groups. They released this video entitled “Wolves || Ukrainian SOF” on December 6, 2019. It has some great videos and a wicked track.
What caught my eye is a number of shots of the Ukrainian Malyuk Bullpup Assault Rifle. I’m not sure what caliber they are running in the video but you can get it in 5.45×39, 7.62×39 and 5.56×45.
You can see a combination of AKs and also the Malyuk bull[pup.Another view of two MalyuksPretty cool shot of a modern AK – note the EOTech and magnifier.Another Malyuk shotThis is another cool rifle to show itself. It’s an AR pattern sniper rifle – the 7.62×51 UR-10 – with a can. It was in trials in for a number of years and announced in February 2018.
The Really Cool Video
I hope you enjoyed it!
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Whether you call it them pressure washers or power washers, these are darned handy machines to have around. For portability, we use models with a gasoline engine and are on our second one. The first lasted for a few years until one wither the water in the pump turned to ice and finally cracked the housing. As they say “and that was that”. I thought about just buying a pump but for a little bit more we bought a whole new unit. My friends also cautioned me to always winterize the unit to make it last through Michigan winters. That was 6-8 years ago and I have learned a few tips to share.
By the way, the photo above really is of our pressure washer. I don’t have space to store it indoors so I really do need to Winterize it. Regardless of the brand you buy, there are three things I would tell you to do.
Drain the gas and/or use a mix with Stabil
Assuming you have a gasoline pressure washer, you might want to drain the gas from the tank and run the unit until it stalls. There are two reasons for this – gas can spoil if left untreated and also, when it evaporates out of the carb it will leave a gummy residue that may need to be cleaned out. In my case, my washer only sits idle a few months so I don’t always drain it. I’ve not had a problem so far. I always drain my chain saws because they may sit an unpredictable amount of time.
The second recommentation that you can do along with the first is to always add Stabil, a gasoline conditioner, that keeps it from breaking down for at least 12 months. I always add it to all of my gas cans when I fill them.
Blow out the system and disconnect the gun/wand and hose
What did in my first pressure washer was not draining the water out of the pump. I made a small air fitting by taking an old piece of hose and a 1/4″ air fitting that I can screw into the pressure washer and blow all of the water out of the pump, lines and wand. It works great.
I just use junk hose to make the adapter. You just need a male hose fitting on one end and a way to connect your compressor on the other.
If you really want, you can buy pre-made winterizer fittings for $12-20. The above fittings were all made with old stuff I had laying around.
Drain The Soap Tank
Don’t forget to drain the soap tank also. You don’t want it to freeze and crack anything. I did forget this one year and had to rebuild the fitting that cracked with epoxy.
Don’t forget to drain the soap from the plastic soap tank.
Add a Winterizing fluid
I then use an aerosol based pump winterizer. It can blow the water out by itself technically but I’m paranoid. I use my compressor to blow out everything and then I disconnect the air lines and wand/gun. I then connect the Briggs & Stratton 6151 Pressure Washer Pump Saver Anti-Freeze and Lubricant to further protect against freezing and to lubricate the pump and prevent the O-rings and seals from drying out. This works great for me and one can will last me 2-3 years at least.
This is what I use and have never had a problem.All you do is connect the hose assembly to the hose inlet and push the trigger. The foam will come out pretty quick – it doesn’t take a lot. Note, stand to the side or you will wear the foam. I kid you not that it took me two years of wearing foam until I remembered to stand to the side when filling the unit with foam. Also, remove the hose and wand/gun before doing this or you will use a lot of material to purge them also. You can blow them out or even hang and drain them vs. using this stuff unnecessarily.
Now a ton of reputable companies sell some form of pump protector / winterizer. I suspect one or two companies actually make it and then applies different labels – Generac, Briggs & Straton, Stabil, etc. Just go with a name brand and I bet you will be fine.
Summary
I hope this helps you out. My current pump is still going strong even though it is out in the winter weather every year. The paint is fading but it is mechanically solid.
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