Gunsmith San Francisco Bay area

[Jon_G]

Anyone know of a trusty gunsmith in the San Francisco Bay area? I am having trouble with my glock. Don't make fun of me, but I had it cerakoted and now it jams on me. Every single component was removed and only the slide and frame were cerakoted but I don't know where the issue might be. I've tried sanding the inside but it has done nothing. First and last time I cerakote a firearm. It does look bad ass though you can't tell me it doesn't lol

 

[Ucsdryder]

San Francisco huh? You sure you aren’t limp wristing it?


Sorry…couldn’t help myself!

 

[wnelson14]

I would take it apart, watch some videos on how to assemble it, and rack it unloaded about 700 times and break that bad boy in.

 

[Jon_G]

I would take it apart, watch some videos on how to assemble it, and rack it unloaded about 700 times and break that bad boy in.

I have racked it a freaking ton. But I am actually going to fully take it apart and sand some more on the inside now that you mentioned that.

 

[Beendare]

I wouldn’t start sanding Unless you understand exactly what you are doing.

Try calling Primo Tactical in Walnut Creek…if they don’t do it they should know of someone.

If that is an aftermarket slide or did you have it milled? Whichever, that might be the issue, take it to them.

I’ve seen these issues a bunch with modified Glocks including the 10mms guys use for bear protection. They start rebarreling, changing springs, etc and turn a stock pistol that functions perfectly into a malfunctioning monster.

FWIW, All of my stock Glocks function perfectly, inc a G20 shooting Hardcast.

 

[Jon_G]

I wouldn’t start sanding Unless you understand exactly what you are doing.

Try calling Primo Tactical in Walnut Creek…if they don’t do it they should know of someone.

If that is an aftermarket slide or did you have it milled? Whichever, that might be the issue, take it to them.

I’ve seen these issues a bunch with modified Glocks including the 10mms guys use for bear protection. They start rebarreling, changing springs, etc and turn a stock pistol that functions perfectly into a malfunctioning monster.

FWIW, All of my stock Glocks function perfectly, inc a G20 shooting Hardcast.

It's the original slide I just had it milled. I sanding just the inside of the slide and it helped but not very much. I will give them a call. Thank you!

 

[RockAndSage]

Take a very, very careful look at the friction points, not just rails. The locking lug area on the front of the ejection port is often a hidden one, for example. In one way or another, material and friction have built up on at least one of the friction surfaces of your gun in excess of what the energy of a round being fired can overcome. It could be a broad build up, or enough of a buildup in just one spot to keep it from cycling properly.

The most important first question you can ask is: What is the nature of the malfunction? Is it more on the backstroke (ie, failure to eject, stovepiping, etc), or more on the front stroke (failure to feed, failure to chamber/lock up, etc)? This is an important part of a diagnostic, and will help point you where to look in finding the friction.

 

[Jon_G]

Take a very, very careful look at the friction points, not just rails. The locking lug area on the front of the ejection port is often a hidden one, for example. In one way or another, material and friction have built up on at least one of the friction surfaces of your gun in excess of what the energy of a round being fired can overcome. It could be a broad build up, or enough of a buildup in just one spot to keep it from cycling properly.

The most important first question you can ask is: What is the nature of the malfunction? Is it more on the backstroke (ie, failure to eject, stovepiping, etc), or more on the front stroke (failure to feed, failure to chamber/lock up, etc)? This is an important part of a diagnostic, and will help point you where to look in finding the friction.

Thanks for the information. I am having issues both to eject and sometimes to feed the next bullet of course. I am not entirely clueless about some of the parts that I've already sanded but obviously not well enough to be able to fix the issue or I wouldn't have come on here. I don't recall having worked on that lug area you mentioned. The problem is I have to try working on it and head to the range after lol. I have tried with dummy rounds but since I'm manually racking it everything seems to be perfect. It's only when I fire that the issues present themselves.

 

[7mm-08]

Not trying to offend the OP (or anyone else for that matter), but Glocks operate very well in their original, manufactured state. I can't exactly recall the malfunction frequency the FBI observed with the Gen 5 Model 19's they tested before adopting it as their current duty weapon, but it was something absolutly incomprehensible and along the line of one malfunction in 110,000 rounds. Having been a Glock armorer and firearms officer for 20 years, these issues are most frequently observed in modified weapons. Hope you get it figured out. Tinafer is a durable finish in its own right.

 

[Jon_G]

Not trying to offend the OP (or anyone else for that matter), but Glocks operate very well in their original, manufactured state. I can't exactly recall the malfunction frequency the FBI observed with the Gen 5 Model 19's they tested before adopting it as their current duty weapon, but it was something absolutly incomprehensible and along the line of one malfunction in 110,000 rounds. Having been a Glock armorer and firearms officer for 20 years, these issues are most frequently observed in modified weapons. Hope you get it figured out. Tinafer is a durable finish in its own right.

Not offended at all I appreciate your input. I have had 2 rifles and 2 shotguns but never a handgun. I plan on getting a glock 43 and I definitely will not be messing with that one. I've learned my lesson. I am going to take it into a shop somewhere. I hope not to have a bad experience. The shop where I bought it doesn't have the friendliest of staff so I won't be going there. The friendliest person is the guy who sold it to me otherwise I would have just walked out. I too hope to get it fixed soon.

 

[7mm-08]

Not offended at all I appreciate your input. I have had 2 rifles and 2 shotguns but never a handgun. I plan on getting a glock 43 and I definitely will not be messing with that one. I've learned my lesson. I am going to take it into a shop somewhere. I hope not to have a bad experience. The shop where I bought it doesn't have the friendliest of staff so I won't be going there. The friendliest person is the guy who sold it to me otherwise I would have just walked out. I too hope to get it fixed soon.

If you'd like a detailed tutorial on appropriate cleaning/lube practices as taught by Glock, PM me your phone number and I'll spend a few minutes on the phone with you.

 

[Jon_G]

If you'd like a detailed tutorial on appropriate cleaning/lube practices as taught by Glock, PM me your phone number and I'll spend a few minutes on the phone with you.

Awesome will do appreciate it!

 

[Bendejo]

San Francisco huh? You sure you aren’t limp wristing it?


Sorry…couldn’t help myself!

Dam

 

[RockAndSage]

Thanks for the information. I am having issues both to eject and sometimes to feed the next bullet of course. I am not entirely clueless about some of the parts that I've already sanded but obviously not well enough to be able to fix the issue or I wouldn't have come on here. I don't recall having worked on that lug area you mentioned. The problem is I have to try working on it and head to the range after lol. I have tried with dummy rounds but since I'm manually racking it everything seems to be perfect. It's only when I fire that the issues present themselves.

This is a good start, no worries. If you have another Glock, go ahead and disassemble it, and look for every single tiny speck of rub wear. That's essentially your friciton points, but they won't necessarily show up on your cerakoted Glock for a while. Those would be the places you'd want to hit with your sandpaper - just keep in mind that you want it to be as smooth as possible, so try to finish with the finest grit you can. A heavier grit on cerakote (or steel) can actually add friction by adding friction-surface area by making the surface more 3D, with deeper ridges and valleys that grind against each other like stuck gears. You can do the initial resurfacing with a heavier grit, but definitely finish with as fine of a grit as you can.

With it sounding like consistent FTEs first and foremost, and occasional failures to chamber, that indicates the excess friction is occurring on that backstroke. It sounds like you already did the rails, but maybe hit those again too. That said, my firmest suspicion is that the locking lugs may be binding a bit on the cerakote, especially if it's a bit on the softer side.

Glocks use the barrel hood as the "locking lugs". The front of the hood locks up against the font of the ejection port. The back of the barrel hood locks up into that notch at the back of the ejection port, just above the firing pin hole. There's a pretty decent chance that some visually imperceptible excess is in those corners at the back of the ejection port where that hood locks up against it. Anywhere those locking lugs come into contact with the slide would be a good place to take down a bit and smooth out.

 

[Jon_G]

This is a good start, no worries. If you have another Glock, go ahead and disassemble it, and look for every single tiny speck of rub wear. That's essentially your friciton points, but they won't necessarily show up on your cerakoted Glock for a while. Those would be the places you'd want to hit with your sandpaper - just keep in mind that you want it to be as smooth as possible, so try to finish with the finest grit you can. A heavier grit on cerakote (or steel) can actually add friction by adding friction-surface area by making the surface more 3D, with deeper ridges and valleys that grind against each other like stuck gears. You can do the initial resurfacing with a heavier grit, but definitely finish with as fine of a grit as you can.

With it sounding like consistent FTEs first and foremost, and occasional failures to chamber, that indicates the excess friction is occurring on that backstroke. It sounds like you already did the rails, but maybe hit those again too. That said, my firmest suspicion is that the locking lugs may be binding a bit on the cerakote, especially if it's a bit on the softer side.

Glocks use the barrel hood as the "locking lugs". The front of the hood locks up against the font of the ejection port. The back of the barrel hood locks up into that notch at the back of the ejection port, just above the firing pin hole. There's a pretty decent chance that some visually imperceptible excess is in those corners at the back of the ejection port where that hood locks up against it. Anywhere those locking lugs come into contact with the slide would be a good place to take down a bit and smooth out.

You've made me realize that my sand paper may be too coarse and therefore the issue isn't really going away because of that. I did to the rails as it is where I saw some cerakote flaking off initially so I was sure it was only that part. I am going to try a bit more sanding and finishing it off with really fine sandpaper like you mentioned. Very good information thank you!

 

[Jon_G]

Dam

Yeah, I came up with something to tell that idiot but it is better to ignore it. I don't have time the time or energy for that.

 

[RockAndSage]

You're welcome, and good luck in getting things dialed in.

 

[Jon_G]

You're welcome, and good luck in getting things dialed in.

I will take this positively at it will teach me how to better inspect my firearm as I will be forced to better understand how the parts inside move and what purpose they each serve. Thanks again.

 

[RockAndSage]

I will take this positively at it will teach me how to better inspect my firearm as I will be forced to better understand how the parts inside move and what purpose they each serve. Thanks again.

Absolutely, all good. Digging into your guns from a perspective of friction surfaces reveals a lot of their reliability secrets, along with the hows and whys of the design. Glock has a minimal amount of friction surface compared to almost any other design until recently, and I think that's a huge part of what makes them so inherently reliable out of the box. Good looking gun, btw.

 

[Jon_G]

Absolutely, all good. Digging into your guns from a perspective of friction surfaces reveals a lot of their reliability secrets, along with the hows and whys of the design. Glock has a minimal amount of friction surface compared to almost any other design until recently, and I think that's a huge part of what makes them so inherently reliable out of the box. Good looking gun, btw.

Thanks. It'll be even better once it works properly lol.