Midway was blowing out white P80 lowers yesterday for $75 and I jumped on one. I've alreadt got the rit dye at home so it won't be staying white.

I had been interested in them because they seemed to address all my issues I have with Glock such as grip angle, contouring, rail, grip texturing.

Seems like a pretty easy build, got a LPK to go with it. My plan is to borrow a buddy's 3rd gen slide just to test and play with so if I hate it I'm only out $125.

Anyone else build one? Looks like it's going to be fun.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Scurvy,

Best of luck with your build. I got a bad jig and so the rear trigger housing holes were out of spec. Two returns with bad jigs ( their determination not mine) and it's still not built yet. The rear trigger housing pin hole is slightly too low in the jigs I've been sent.

I will say their customer service team is nice and professional and they as a company are pretty reasonable to deal with but I've had no luck with the product. Might just be me.

Hate to be a downer but just my experience. I've been modifying factory Glock frames to change the grip angle and have done the 19/26 chop and that's satisfied most of my Glock builds.

If you don't feel like dealing with the P80 lower & the possibility of bad jigs, there's another option, albeit more expensive, but I like the looks of the Nomad 9 quite a bit. It's considered a complete lower, so FFL transfer is required, but might be worth looking at for you.

Nomad 9

Not at all to criticize, but it looks to me like these kits can be more expensive than just a Glock lower ... especially considering buying jigs, etc. I'm just about to hit the buy button on Crook Broker for a complete G43 frame (for a 'carry' frame for my 43X) and it's going to be $114 before shipping and transfer. Understand some people like the idea of build-your-own, but, just sayin'... I am almost absolutely certain that the G43 lower will be reliable with my 43X upper.

quote:

Originally posted by GeoJelly:
Not at all to criticize, but it looks to me like these kits can be more expensive than just a Glock lower ... especially considering buying jigs, etc. I'm just about to hit the buy button on Crook Broker for a complete G43 frame (for a 'carry' frame for my 43X) and it's going to be $114 before shipping and transfer. Understand some people like the idea of build-your-own, but, just sayin'... I am almost absolutely certain that the G43 lower will be reliable with my 43X upper.

It is generally cheaper to buy an OEM lower, but where's the fun in that?!! ;D

The point isn't to save money or having a ghost gun.

I have a lot of misgivings about the glock platform and this addresses most off them.

This gives me a chance to build a pistol I actually want and build it how I want it.

That completed lower looks nice but it's 2.5x what I paid for mine which comes with all the jigs and drill bits necessary.

quote:

Originally posted by Scurvy:
The point isn't to save money or having a ghost gun.

I have a lot of misgivings about the glock platform and this addresses most off them.

This gives me a chance to build a pistol I actually want and build it how I want it.

That completed lower looks nice but it's 2.5x what I paid for mine which comes with all the jigs and drill bits necessary.

It is more expensive, no doubt about it. But there's no drilling/jigging of any kind involved. It's ready to go. Drop in your parts, plug & play.

quote:

Originally posted by Scurvy:
The point isn't to save money or having a ghost gun.

I have a lot of misgivings about the glock platform and this addresses most off them.

This gives me a chance to build a pistol I actually want and build it how I want it.

That completed lower looks nice but it's 2.5x what I paid for mine which comes with all the jigs and drill bits necessary.

But I understand what you're saying, just offering up another option. I like the P80 frames quite a bit, plus it's kinda fun getting them all ready to go. I like the Nomad more.

Here are a few pointers for finishing the P80 lower:

1) I know you'll be excited and want to open up the jig to inspect the lower when you first receive it. I have read that is not recommended; it is recommended you drill the holes first BEFORE removing the frame from the jig.

2) DID I SAY DRILL THE HOLES FIRST? DRILL THE HOLES FIRST! Then you can remove the plastic tabs on top of the rail. Removing the tabs first then drilling could result in the frame not sitting securely in the jig; I made that mistake and the rear detent pin had one heck of a time finding its home and it was a pain in the rear to push it through.

3) For removal of the recoil spring blocking tab, I cut it down with a triangular file first, then once deep enough (like 1/4inch) you can use a dremel sanding drum or just tape a piece of sand paper (I used 250 grit, then 300, and finished with 600) to a cordless drill bit holder and sand that sucker down. You may want to tape off the take-down pin channel to protect the plastic, but that is not necessary.

4) You can absolutely rit-dye the frame to another color; I too got one of the P80C frame in white and died it dark cobalt and it came out beautifully.

Take your time and enjoy the build Lots of good resources/tutorials out there on YouTube

quote:

Originally posted by akcopnfbks:

It is more expensive, no doubt about it. But there's no drilling/jigging of any kind involved. It's ready to go. Drop in your parts, plug & play.

We'll know soon enough if the hassle of finishing the lower is worth the $150 savings.

quote:

Originally posted by akcopnfbks:
Nomad 9

I wish these guys or Lone Wolf had had a larger-frame option on the market back when I could get a .50GI conversion for the Glock from Guncrafter Industries.

You might have some trouble with holsters, but if you’re handy with a heat gun you’ll prolly be able to make one work

Got my kit built and assembled yesterday.

Completing the kit wasn't awful. Not difficult in the slightest, more tedious than anything. I really wanted to make sure everything was as smooth and flush as I could manage.

I wanted to get it dyed before assembling the whole thing. I was going for a dark gray somewhere between magpul gray and HK gray. I got Rit dye in Black and Pearl Gray. I figured it should be pretty easy to get the shade I wanted using those two colors.

This is what I wound up with:




It's not what I was going for but I really dig the color. It's a deep deep blue, like a cobalt. Definitely a happy accident.

I have an Alpha Marksman V4 slide coming. Seemed to be the best balance of the features I wanted (don't look like a Glock slide and have angled front/rear serrations) without looking too Gucci.

I still need a barrel and I'm honestly thinking about going with a factory one. I just don't see the benefit of the aftermarket ones.

The upper parts kit is what's going to bog this build down though. They are out of stock pretty much everywhere... coupled with the fact that all of the non gucci aftermarket slide completion kits have horrific reviews, I might be stuck.

Any thoughts or useful info from the collective would be appreciated.

Buy the upper parts separately from places like Midway, Glockstore, Brownells, etc. you don’t need a “kit” of anything special it’s all just std stuff.

looks good- I think somewhere down the road I will be doing that as well. did you have any challenges? or was it a matter of being thorough and patient?

quote:

Originally posted by DJ_Boston:
looks good- I think somewhere down the road I will be doing that as well. did you have any challenges? or was it a matter of being thorough and patient?

No challenges. Just tedious. I didn't go hog wild with the dremel bit so I did a lot of file work. Then went to 150 grit sandpaper and then 220. Stopped there as it was already smoother than frame texture.

Got my Alpha Shooting Sports V4 slide in yesterday and immediately assembled it. I drifted in the rear sight today and smoothed out the guide rod channel more so there was better clearance. The barrel is current out for delivery. The anticipation is killing me.

Been messing around with it and it seems like it will function well. It points BEAUTIFULLY!!

Can't wait to lube it up and start dry firing for function.

If all goes well, I'll have her at the range with me tomorrow.

Pics to come.

Nice!

Custom work and slowly putting it together yourself can be rewarding. I got carried away with mine a few years ago. I started off with a Salient frame (what budget?) and continued with a ZEV slide and used a Salient barrel. It now sports a Trijicon RMR and a few parts in Titanium Nitride. Bought the parts when they presented themselves or the more common parts when they went on sale. It can get kinda spendy, but still cheaper than you think.

Let us know how it shoots.

And just like that, she's ready for the range tomorrow.









Parts:

Polymer80 frame.
Glock LPK.
Alpha Shooting Sports v4 slide and barrel.
Glock Slide Completion kit.
Ameriglo supressor height tritium sights.
Magpul mags on the way.

Drifting the rear sight in was probably the hardest part of the whole build.

I am not usually a gold guy, but a gold barrel in that would be sweet