Thanks for posting your findings.
glock slide plates
We all like the decorative slide cover plates. The ability to put your favorite logo or saying on the rear of your Glock slide is the coolest thing ever. Or is it?
Recently I installed one on a customer's gun that he obtained from a vendor on Ebay. The fit was pretty poor. I had several others in my inventory so I measured them as well. They were from several different common gun part suppliers.
Seems that the makers of these aluminum cover plates have little to no regard for the proper dimensions to fit the slide cuts. The factory slide plate fits snug and offers no inclination to fall out. The part provided by my customer actually could be slid down about .030 with just the friction of my thumb. During test fire prior to returning to the customer, the decorative part actually locked up the gun. The part slid down, hit the rear of the frame as the slide traveled forward and prevented the slide from returning to battery rendering the gun inoperable. Needless to say I refused to install said part. I re-installed the factory Glock part and admonished the customer to discard it.
When compared to several factory slide covers, all these aftermarket slide covers appear to be .015 to .020 too thin in the flange area. They are .010 to .015 too narrow. The recess is .005 to .010 too shallow. I checked samples from 3 different vendors. All were undersized.
I would advise that all users examine the fitment of the slide plate with the striker assembly and extractor rod assembly removed. If the slide is sloppy as heck you must realize that it relies on the spring tension of the striker sleeve to keep it seated. the factory slide cover plate is a rather snug fit in every direction. I'm not saying you all need to junk them...but it sure deserves inspection if you use your Glock for personal protection.
Cheers
Mac.
Admins: I posted this here as I suspected that much of the Glock owners with bling would be likely to find it here. If it is better placed elsewhere feel free to move as required.
Recently I installed one on a customer's gun that he obtained from a vendor on Ebay. The fit was pretty poor. I had several others in my inventory so I measured them as well. They were from several different common gun part suppliers.
Seems that the makers of these aluminum cover plates have little to no regard for the proper dimensions to fit the slide cuts. The factory slide plate fits snug and offers no inclination to fall out. The part provided by my customer actually could be slid down about .030 with just the friction of my thumb. During test fire prior to returning to the customer, the decorative part actually locked up the gun. The part slid down, hit the rear of the frame as the slide traveled forward and prevented the slide from returning to battery rendering the gun inoperable. Needless to say I refused to install said part. I re-installed the factory Glock part and admonished the customer to discard it.
When compared to several factory slide covers, all these aftermarket slide covers appear to be .015 to .020 too thin in the flange area. They are .010 to .015 too narrow. The recess is .005 to .010 too shallow. I checked samples from 3 different vendors. All were undersized.
I would advise that all users examine the fitment of the slide plate with the striker assembly and extractor rod assembly removed. If the slide is sloppy as heck you must realize that it relies on the spring tension of the striker sleeve to keep it seated. the factory slide cover plate is a rather snug fit in every direction. I'm not saying you all need to junk them...but it sure deserves inspection if you use your Glock for personal protection.
Cheers
Mac.
Admins: I posted this here as I suspected that much of the Glock owners with bling would be likely to find it here. If it is better placed elsewhere feel free to move as required.
1 - 20 of 26 Posts
Thread moved to Glock Accessories & Gear subforum.
Thanks for the heads up...and
Welcome to the Glock Forum !!
Welcome to the Glock Forum !!
I purchased 2 from the Glock Store. Both were perfect fits.
Great post, thanks for the heads up...
Actually, this isn't really anything to get to concerned about. You will find if you take most Glocks and assemble them, factory, without the striker and guide rod that the fitment of the plate often leaves something to be desired.
The majority of the aftermarket ones are just OEM plates that have been engraved, and those that aren't really don't give a fitment that is anything below average because the average from Glock isn't that great.
The reason is that the striker and guide rod do a very good job of keeping it all very tight, so they don't need to loose sleep over the spec. Nobody ever really notices with the factory plates because nobody ever leaves the striker and guide rod out.
Gen4's seem to be a little better, but again Glock has no reason to really care if the plates are perfect.
The majority of the aftermarket ones are just OEM plates that have been engraved, and those that aren't really don't give a fitment that is anything below average because the average from Glock isn't that great.
The reason is that the striker and guide rod do a very good job of keeping it all very tight, so they don't need to loose sleep over the spec. Nobody ever really notices with the factory plates because nobody ever leaves the striker and guide rod out.
Gen4's seem to be a little better, but again Glock has no reason to really care if the plates are perfect.
We all like the decorative slide cover plates. The ability to put your favorite logo or saying on the rear of your Glock slide is the coolest thing ever. Or is it?
Recently I installed one on a customer's gun that he obtained from a vendor on Ebay. The fit was pretty poor. I had several others in my inventory so I measured them as well. They were from several different common gun part suppliers.
Seems that the makers of these aluminum cover plates have little to no regard for the proper dimensions to fit the slide cuts. The factory slide plate fits snug and offers no inclination to fall out. The part provided by my customer actually could be slid down about .030 with just the friction of my thumb. During test fire prior to returning to the customer, the decorative part actually locked up the gun. The part slid down, hit the rear of the frame as the slide traveled forward and prevented the slide from returning to battery rendering the gun inoperable. Needless to say I refused to install said part. I re-installed the factory Glock part and admonished the customer to discard it.
When compared to several factory slide covers, all these aftermarket slide covers appear to be .015 to .020 too thin in the flange area. They are .010 to .015 too narrow. The recess is .005 to .010 too shallow. I checked samples from 3 different vendors. All were undersized.
I would advise that all users examine the fitment of the slide plate with the striker assembly and extractor rod assembly removed. If the slide is sloppy as heck you must realize that it relies on the spring tension of the striker sleeve to keep it seated. the factory slide cover plate is a rather snug fit in every direction. I'm not saying you all need to junk them...but it sure deserves inspection if you use your Glock for personal protection.
Cheers
Mac.
Admins: I posted this here as I suspected that much of the Glock owners with bling would be likely to find it here. If it is better placed elsewhere feel free to move as required.
I've yet to find one worthy of my Glocks. This is one of those things you have to be careful of buying on eBay.
What are you talking about? The OEM part is Polymer. The aftermarket ones are Aluminum. The Factory part is just .001-.002 less than the thickness of the slot it fits. The aftermarket plates can be as much as .015 to .020 too thin and that my friend is WAY too sloppy to fit proper. The detent notch on the back of some aftermarket plates are just a circular scratch not deep enough to retain anything. The OEM plate fits a LOT better than many of the aftermarket engraved plates I have on hand. Please keep in mind while you are dismissing it as a NON issue the thinner the slide plate flange is...the less spring pressure is applied to the striker and the extractor push rod. A person has to be very selective on what parts they add to a Glock as glocks are 100% reliable outta the box.. It makes no sense to make them unreliable by adding substandard junk parts. It is worth checking.The majority of the aftermarket ones are just OEM plates that have been engraved, and those that aren't really don't give a fitment that is anything below average because the average from Glock isn't that great.
.
Correction, SOME aftermarket plates are aluminum not all of them. The most popular ones used to be the OEM polymer slides that were sanded smooth, painted, and engraved. Most of them are probably aluminum now as I have not seen people making them the old school way for a few years, but they are still floating around.What are you talking about? The OEM part is Polymer. The aftermarket ones are Aluminum. The Factory part is just .001-.002 less than the thickness of the slot it fits. The aftermarket plates can be as much as .015 to .020 too thin and that my friend is WAY too sloppy to fit proper. The detent notch on the back of some aftermarket plates are just a circular scratch not deep enough to retain anything. The OEM plate fits a LOT better than many of the aftermarket engraved plates I have on hand. Please keep in mind while you are dismissing it as a NON issue the thinner the slide plate flange is...the less spring pressure is applied to the striker and the extractor push rod. A person has to be very selective on what parts they add to a Glock as glocks are 100% reliable outta the box.. It makes no sense to make them unreliable by adding substandard junk parts. It is worth checking.
Secondly, your comparisons are limited to the ones you have on hand. I'm not flagging this as a hands down non issue, I'm just saying there is no cause for any kind of panic. I handled a LOT of Glocks and more than half of them have OEM plates with a fit that is sloppy or leaves something to be desired. Most aftermarket ones are not an issue at all, and the few that are tend to be junk from junk sources. Many of the aluminum ones actually fit too tight.
Nobody is saying to risk reliability by just throwing things onto your gun, of course you should check it. Seems like anyone with a brain knows to pay attention when they install any aftermarket parts. The bottom line is your experiences are not typical of the masses and while it is something to keep in the back of the mind it is nothing to declare as a problem.
Lone wolf does custom slid covers and if you don't mind me asking what do they run I still can't find one that's already doneKd4rgwml said:Crapy picture Family crest on G27 slide cover
from lone wolf.
28 bucks including shippingLone wolf does custom slid covers and if you don't mind me asking what do they run I still can't find one that's already done
And they will make anything you want on itKd4rgwml said:28 bucks including shipping
Zombie thread....
Btw... Nice crest on the plate.
Btw... Nice crest on the plate.
1 - 20 of 26 Posts
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