First Freedom Wolf

Hawkeye

Hawkeye

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This is a Freedom Wolf with a g-17 gen4 slide with a G-17 gen5 barrel.
I am in the process of tracking down some bugs in this build. So far it shoots fine but only 3 rounds before I get a feeding jam. With using a g17 slide I have to use a dust cover insert to make up the difference in the g19 to g17 slide. I had trouble with this insert from the first and had to hand work it to get it to fit.

I opened up the dust cover so that it wouldn't bind the RSA, this helped but I think there is still a problem in this spot. I am leaning to think I might have the wrong RSA for what I am trying to do with this build.
I have a G-17 gen4 slide with a G-17 gen5 barrel all on a LW G-19 frame. If you look at the post on how I had to get the dust over to work, notice that the G-17 gen5 RSA does not go the full length of the slide, it catches in the middle of the dust cover, so the true length of the RSA is more like a G-19 RSA. I don't have a G-19 gen5 RSA to test my theory, but I will get one to test soon.


wolf.JPG


I have to say!! This is a tight build; the slide is smooth without any I mean any wiggle in the slide.
Pin holes are dead on right, no trouble at all pushing in and out.
The trigger pulls suck big time at 7lbs. but I haven't worked on it at all yet. I should be able to help that, or I will replace it.

I have used Lone Wolf part kits in the past without any problems, but I am not a fan of their upper parts kits.
This is two builds in a row that LW safety plungers will not work with their gen4-5 trigger bar. They set too high for the slide to rack back (shark fin will not go over it). I changed it out for a rook (works fine) I tried a ZEF (works fine) but no-go on the LW.
I'll post up some more on this problem soon.
 
Same, I never got interested in freedom wolf frame, I believe it was on sale the last yr for $50 and still didn't get any.

The slide looks amazing... can't wait to see the final project
 
You can't judge the looks yet, I just got started carving it up.
One thing about these LW frames, they have a lot of stock on them so you can do all kinds of frame mods on them.
 
Here is what happens when you try to shape the Lone Wolf magwell.
IMG_2243.JPG

You can see it doesn't take much to get into the slide catch that hold the magwell on.
I tried to get one out of my box of magwells to fit but all that I have are for P80s and these are too long to fit and are not close enough to make fit. SO here is what I am trying to do to change the looks for the awful Lone Wolf magwell.
IMG_2246.JPG

I glued the magwell on with the same glue that I used to glue in the rails and rail tabs. You have to be careful when using epoxy on your frame because if you paint you have to cure it at least 200F and some epoxy will get soft and runny when heated up. The way I look at using Loctite 380 is if it can be used for rails it must be able to take some heat, we will see if this is true when I paint.
IMG_2245.JPG

I used a lot of glue, letting it ooze out all over then wiping off excess, hoping I can sand it to shape the magwell.

Here is how it has turned out so far.
IMG_2247.JPG

Left, is the new try; right, is the first try.
On the left, you can see how the glue is holding shape as I sand. This seems to work but I still would not take a lot of stock off. This is close to what I will do with for this build, and I still have to clean up the rear of the magwell. I'll post on this next.
 
I've been moving right along with this build so let's go to all the mods I have done on this build.
IMG_2248a.JPG

1) Thought I might try my hand at HD borders.
2) I reshaped the magwell filling in the rear to smooth out the looks. I glued in on then used some JB Weld for shaping. On the front of the magwell I did do a radius to get rid of that square look and feel but I could not take a lot of stock off because of the way it fits.
(I doubt if I ever use one on a LW again)
3) I did a large undercut here. Along with the radius on the magwell my hand fits perfect. I have a large hand with short fat fingers, so it is hard for me to hold a compact frame with a magwell unless it has a radius for my little finger.
4) I did an undercut here and made it thin for a cut out (more info later)
5) Another undercut with a radius that fits a finger just in case you want to use the secondhand grip in this area.
6) This really worked out, the undercut here leads all the way into the trigger. I find without this cut on the LW, your trigger finger feels uncomfortable. For me it feels like there is a hump just before your finger inters the trigger. With this cut to match your finger it really feels good and more of a natural grip on the frame.

Those that have watched GOT know what wolf this is from. My plan here is to take the pattern in the wolf and continue the pattern into the stippling down and around the back strap meeting the wolf on the other side as if the wolf in coming out of the grip. The rest of the stippling will be just a random pattern that does not take away from the wolf. I call this one "The Young Wolf"
 
Here is what I plan for a cut out in the trigger guard.
IMG_2253.JPG

My plan is to cut out a wolf paw print into the trigger guard.

If anyone wants to know how I do this stuff just ask, I can reply on the forum or talk about it on Fireside Chat.
All you need is a Dremel and sandpaper.
 
Here is the challenge, how to cut this wolf paw into the trigger guard?
IMG_2277.JPG

Most of this type of cut I see I think are made by CNC machines, but I don't have one so how can I do this with what tools I have, and can it be done by hand? After a brandy and some deep thought
:lol:
, this is the steps I came up with.
I decided to drill some small holes into the center and then hand working the out to shape.
IMG_2278A.JPG

I've had these kicking around for a while and are just what I need for small holes using my Dremel workstation.
IMG_2279A.JPG

Use a vise just to keep the frame steady.
IMG_2280A.JPG

you can see that I drill holes leaving plenty of room to slowly work the side out to size but do it slowly. I used a very small end mill then switched over to a small diamond burr.
IMG_2281A.JPG

Once you get close you can start using small Jewlers files to finish to size.
IMG_2283A.JPG

It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, with a little more sanding it should be ready for paint.
 
So, I moved on to doing a Glock knuckle fix.
IMG_2286.JPG

You can just eyeball the looks of the trigger as you remove stock or try this tip I came up with to help keep your cuts even. What I do is take a measurement and work one side. I like to take small amounts off at a time from one side and then take another measurement subtracting for the first, this tells you how much to take off the other side to keep the trigger with equal on each side. Just do this over and over to remove the desired amount.
IMG_2287.JPG

I can really feel the difference in feel from before and after the fix.
 
I back tracked and started to fix that awful magwell that Lone Wolf uses. This time I worked on the rear of the magwell.
IMG_2317.JPG

So, what do you think? Is this an improvement?
All it needs now is paint but I still have a bit more work on the stippling before we are ready for the first coat of paint.
 
I am at the point in this build that I have to decide on what part get what color of paint and I am stumped.
Here is my dilemma, I want to have HD borders, but my first plan was to paint HD borders in antic gold but as I move forward in this build, I am beginning to think using antic gold may not work with the wolf having antic gold as an outline in the grip.
IMG_2305.JPG

Picture the wolf head as well as the tops of the diamond armor being a gold. Now picture the HD boarders in the same color gold. The slide will have some highlight gold spots as well; the rest of the build will be a black chrome with gold bling. As I see this in my mind, I am afraid there may be too much gold going on making the build look to busy to the eye.

I could just take the HD borders out blending them back into the grip stippling, this is one direction to go or do not high light the HD boarders keeping them the same color as the rest of the build black chrome.

SO! what do you think? I would like to hear some input on this before I start the painting.
Top
 
Here is a sample of my plan for the second stippling pattern going around the wolf and covering the rest of the grip.
IMG_2307.JPG

I removed it so masking would stick
IMG_2318.JPG

A big thanks to Mooner for the tip on how to remove stippling.
IMG_2319.JPG

Here is a tip.
I save my scrape vinyl from making stencils. The reason I do this is for masking off areas that will have masking on these spots for the rest of the painting process. The vinyl will stay stuck tight though all the cure times between paint coats. This build will have at least three coats of paint and one coat of clear, so the masking on the grip will be there for a long time and in the cure oven for at least three times. By using scrape vinyl, I can use a hot air gun to get them to stick and there good for the whole build. At the end of the painting, they come right off and all that is left is cleaning up over spray around the edges.
 
Hawkeye said:
This is a Freedom Wolf with a g-17 gen4 slide with a G-17 gen5 barrel.
I am in the process of tracking down some bugs in this build. So far it shoots fine but only 3 rounds before I get a feeding jam. With using a g17 slide I have to use a dust cover insert to make up the difference in the g19 to g17 slide. I had trouble with this insert from the first and had to hand work it to get it to fit.

I opened up the dust cover so that it wouldn't bind the RSA, this helped but I think there is still a problem in this spot. I am leaning to think I might have the wrong RSA for what I am trying to do with this build.
I have a G-17 gen4 slide with a G-17 gen5 barrel all on a LW G-19 frame. If you look at the post on how I had to get the dust over to work, notice that the G-17 gen5 RSA does not go the full length of the slide, it catches in the middle of the dust cover, so the true length of the RSA is more like a G-19 RSA. I don't have a G-19 gen5 RSA to test my theory, but I will get one to test soon.


View attachment 6128

I have to say!! This is a tight build; the slide is smooth without any I mean any wiggle in the slide.
Pin holes are dead on right, no trouble at all pushing in and out.
The trigger pulls suck big time at 7lbs. but I haven't worked on it at all yet. I should be able to help that, or I will replace it.

I have used Lone Wolf part kits in the past without any problems, but I am not a fan of their upper parts kits.
This is two builds in a row that LW safety plungers will not work with their gen4-5 trigger bar. They set too high for the slide to rack back (shark fin will not go over it). I changed it out for a rook (works fine) I tried a ZEF (works fine) but no-go on the LW.
I'll post up some more on this problem soon.
Click to expand...

Hawkeye said:
This is a Freedom Wolf with a g-17 gen4 slide with a G-17 gen5 barrel.
I am in the process of tracking down some bugs in this build. So far it shoots fine but only 3 rounds before I get a feeding jam. With using a g17 slide I have to use a dust cover insert to make up the difference in the g19 to g17 slide. I had trouble with this insert from the first and had to hand work it to get it to fit.

I opened up the dust cover so that it wouldn't bind the RSA, this helped but I think there is still a problem in this spot. I am leaning to think I might have the wrong RSA for what I am trying to do with this build.
I have a G-17 gen4 slide with a G-17 gen5 barrel all on a LW G-19 frame. If you look at the post on how I had to get the dust over to work, notice that the G-17 gen5 RSA does not go the full length of the slide, it catches in the middle of the dust cover, so the true length of the RSA is more like a G-19 RSA. I don't have a G-19 gen5 RSA to test my theory, but I will get one to test soon.


View attachment 6128

I have to say!! This is a tight build; the slide is smooth without any I mean any wiggle in the slide.
Pin holes are dead on right, no trouble at all pushing in and out.
The trigger pulls suck big time at 7lbs. but I haven't worked on it at all yet. I should be able to help that, or I will replace it.

I have used Lone Wolf part kits in the past without any problems, but I am not a fan of their upper parts kits.
This is two builds in a row that LW safety plungers will not work with their gen4-5 trigger bar. They set too high for the slide to rack back (shark fin will not go over it). I changed it out for a rook (works fine) I tried a ZEF (works fine) but no-go on the LW.
I'll post up some more on this problem soon.
Click to expand...
Awesome work! i LOVE that slide! would love to own that in black. Cant wait for follow up posts on this one, Hawkeye!
 
Nice work Hawkeye! I’ve done two Freedom Wolf. They are a little small for me.
 
Sc1911 said:
Nice work Hawkeye! I’ve done two Freedom Wolf. They are a little small for me.
Click to expand...
Yeah it is tight on my hand too but increasing the cut under the trigger guard help. My second Freedom Wolf I when in a diferent style that works better for a big hand,
IMG_2295.JPG

Adding this magazine extension, gives the feel of a G-17 grip
 
Hawkeye said:
Thanks all, I love showing off my builds but most important is showing how to its done.
Click to expand...
You do some of the best work I've ever seen. they are all works of art, and i thoroughly enjoy seeing them, and the process of you creating them.
 
Nice work!

However after building one I removed all the and cut the frame. Used the parts for another build. Didn't really like the feel of the LW frame.

Rick
 

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