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I just LOVE Michele’s lab experiments! Hehe
Seriously, that’s an awesome tip for these frames.
SAFETY WARNING! Freedom Wolf Rails Can Come Loose!
- Thread starter Bobster
- Start date
I just LOVE Michele’s lab experiments! Hehe
Seriously, that’s an awesome tip for these frames.
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I would agree with this. Alcohol is my preferred cleaning method for a lot of things.I use denatured alcohol in the shop and that is usually MY go-to for a solvent. Blown off quickly with compressed air. It is also less potentially CNS-damaging than MEK, thinners or acetone. At any rate, I don't like using solvents on plastics if I can avoid it.
I particularly don't want this to happen...
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I will add that I have done a few JB Weld repairs lately including a couple of holes in a car body that was pierced (not rusted). Brushing up on the TDS stuff for JB Weld and looking up what chemicals it's compatible with and I learned that you specifically don't want to use alcohol to clean the area before applying JB Weld to bond a surface. Apparently it may affect the bonding. I looked it up to see if it was compatible with body fillers and other solvent based chemicals used to prep for painting.
My hunch is that they say this because some folks may not allow the alcohol to dry and evaporate, but that's pretty hard to do with alcohol because it evaporates pretty darn quick. Not as fast as Acetone, but right behind it.
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That's some shady crap on their part. You might've got really lucky. I too wonder how many people their products have injured.SAFETY WARNING! Freedom Wolf Rails Can Come Loose!
I was planning on using this frame for an upcoming steel shoot. While looking it over, I noticed one of the rails had come loose!Initial correspondance with Lone Wolf and they are like "just glue it back on!"
I replied back with something to the effect of "How many people have been hit in the face with a slide from this issue?" And some other potentially sour notes. I'd be OK with a credit to get a serialized frame from them at a discount but I don't think that is happening ("we don't swap unserialized frames")...
So what do you all think? I'll update with any good news but I'm thinking this will be my last purchase from Lone Wolf...
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UPDATE 07/17/23:
I thought I should update this post as Lone Wolf Arms provided proper satisfaction and customer service to me. I can't and won't guarantee anyone else will encounter the same level of service, but you could probably expect it.
As an aside, I've been a LW customer for a number of years, having bought this frame plug for my Gen3 G30 back in 2008.
As described in my "Cereal-ized" thread, LW sent me a serialized TWC3 frame to replace the Freedom Wolf compact 80% frame purchased during a BF 2021 sales event. I also purchased a necessary "frame completion kit" at that time. You can find their parts kits at this LINK. They no longer sell Freedom Wolf (80%) frames but do sell different size serialized frames with or without parts kits.
The total for the FW back then was $122.50 to my door. (this was before FL decided to start collecting sales tax on internet purchases...
) Update to today and add to that $10 for the transfer ($40/4), ~$218 for the PSA slide delivered, another $15 for the mag and the gun stands me about $366 not including labor. Let's say it took me at least an hour to build/troubleshoot it at my min. shop rate of $120/hr and soon you realize an 80% is far from a "deal". Contrast that with the fact you can get a brand-new base Dagger compact for $300+ and you soon realize we aren't building 80% guns to SAVE money or to create a "throwaway" gun. But since we like spending each other's money, I would recommend getting the Dagger "deal" they offer with optics cut slide, 10 mags and case for $400.
As shown in the pics, the frames are nearly identical. Pics are flash and non-flash. A few minutes to swap the parts over and we're now back in business. The new frame came with a curved backstrap which I installed. It also came with a little "square" that was installed where the locking block goes and removed during assembly. The 80% came with the same "extras". This is a Gen3/Gen4 G-19 size frame. Comes with a flat backstrap, I installed the curved. Also has a pinned-in magwell that functions well but impedes on pinky space (at least for me it does). Has a removable spacer in the dust cover for Gen4 slides. Gen4 parts are the mag release and rear trigger block so you kind of have to get LW's parts kit. I'm not sure if the LW block is the same as a Gen4 block but it does come with a "built-in" trigger travel limiting screw and wrench. Back then, I ended up having to use OEM Gen3 Glock parts in the FW but with their block (Gen3 doesn't fit) to get proper trigger function.
Fired a couple mags at the range and the new frame seemed to be working well. I need to get a better rear sight tool so I can replace the skyscrapers with some tritiums.
Here are some other misc pics of the box...
A little OT but since melty plastic was mentioned, I noticed my shop TV remote had a Rayovac battery (DO NOT BUY!*) that had melted down. I'm usually pretty good about removing batts from unused devices (I use the Roku remote with this TV), but this one was overlooked. Gave it a little spritz with Brakleen Red to clean the corrosion off the spring and noticed the plastic getting soft! Quickly blew it off with compressed air before it caused too much damage but it did damage it a little... Although Brakleen Red has many uses such as killing wasps and pepper spray substitute , cleaning plastic probably should not be one of them and I should have known better. I had a can of electronics cleaner right next to it...
* regarding Rayovacs, I bought a couple few bulk containers of AAs and AAAs a few years back during BF sales. They sat on the shelf inside, climate-controlled for maybe 6-8 months until I needed one. Unfortunately, I found them melted down inside the NEW, UNOPENED package. Rvac said they would give me a total of $15 back keeping in mind I probably have $30-$40 into them. I've been having good luck with HF "orange" batts for the past few years and Rvac lost a customer for life...
I thought I should update this post as Lone Wolf Arms provided proper satisfaction and customer service to me. I can't and won't guarantee anyone else will encounter the same level of service, but you could probably expect it.
As an aside, I've been a LW customer for a number of years, having bought this frame plug for my Gen3 G30 back in 2008.
As described in my "Cereal-ized" thread, LW sent me a serialized TWC3 frame to replace the Freedom Wolf compact 80% frame purchased during a BF 2021 sales event. I also purchased a necessary "frame completion kit" at that time. You can find their parts kits at this LINK. They no longer sell Freedom Wolf (80%) frames but do sell different size serialized frames with or without parts kits.
The total for the FW back then was $122.50 to my door. (this was before FL decided to start collecting sales tax on internet purchases...
) Update to today and add to that $10 for the transfer ($40/4), ~$218 for the PSA slide delivered, another $15 for the mag and the gun stands me about $366 not including labor. Let's say it took me at least an hour to build/troubleshoot it at my min. shop rate of $120/hr and soon you realize an 80% is far from a "deal". Contrast that with the fact you can get a brand-new base Dagger compact for $300+ and you soon realize we aren't building 80% guns to SAVE money or to create a "throwaway" gun. But since we like spending each other's money, I would recommend getting the Dagger "deal" they offer with optics cut slide, 10 mags and case for $400. As shown in the pics, the frames are nearly identical. Pics are flash and non-flash. A few minutes to swap the parts over and we're now back in business. The new frame came with a curved backstrap which I installed. It also came with a little "square" that was installed where the locking block goes and removed during assembly. The 80% came with the same "extras". This is a Gen3/Gen4 G-19 size frame. Comes with a flat backstrap, I installed the curved. Also has a pinned-in magwell that functions well but impedes on pinky space (at least for me it does). Has a removable spacer in the dust cover for Gen4 slides. Gen4 parts are the mag release and rear trigger block so you kind of have to get LW's parts kit. I'm not sure if the LW block is the same as a Gen4 block but it does come with a "built-in" trigger travel limiting screw and wrench. Back then, I ended up having to use OEM Gen3 Glock parts in the FW but with their block (Gen3 doesn't fit) to get proper trigger function.
Fired a couple mags at the range and the new frame seemed to be working well. I need to get a better rear sight tool so I can replace the skyscrapers with some tritiums.
Here are some other misc pics of the box...
A little OT but since melty plastic was mentioned, I noticed my shop TV remote had a Rayovac battery (DO NOT BUY!*) that had melted down. I'm usually pretty good about removing batts from unused devices (I use the Roku remote with this TV), but this one was overlooked. Gave it a little spritz with Brakleen Red to clean the corrosion off the spring and noticed the plastic getting soft!
Quickly blew it off with compressed air before it caused too much damage but it did damage it a little... Although Brakleen Red has many uses such as killing wasps and pepper spray substitute , cleaning plastic probably should not be one of them and I should have known better. I had a can of electronics cleaner right next to it... * regarding Rayovacs, I bought a couple few bulk containers of AAs and AAAs a few years back during BF sales. They sat on the shelf inside, climate-controlled for maybe 6-8 months until I needed one. Unfortunately, I found them melted down inside the NEW, UNOPENED package.
Rvac said they would give me a total of $15 back keeping in mind I probably have $30-$40 into them. I've been having good luck with HF "orange" batts for the past few years and Rvac lost a customer for life...
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Did you let the frame sit for a full 48 hours after gluing the rails in place?
Letting the adhesive cure for a full 48 hours is very important!
I have built several Freedom Wolf frames and have never had any issues with the rails. The first frame I built was for a G44 22LR slide. I shot the snot out of that build and got the slide and barrel hot enough that I got a third degree burn on my finger from touching the barrel. I did at least 8 mag dumps as fast as I could with the 18 round ProMag magazines. The rails never came loose.
Letting the adhesive cure for a full 48 hours is very important!
I have built several Freedom Wolf frames and have never had any issues with the rails. The first frame I built was for a G44 22LR slide. I shot the snot out of that build and got the slide and barrel hot enough that I got a third degree burn on my finger from touching the barrel. I did at least 8 mag dumps as fast as I could with the 18 round ProMag magazines. The rails never came loose.
Yup. I had some pics of the process but they were lost in a hard drive crash. The frame was gently clamped in a vise to make sure nothing slipped out of place as it dried.
I put pliers on the other rails and gave a gentle pull and twist and they are not loose at all. The replacement frame has been working good, probably 50 rounds or so through it so far...
UPDATE: so I had the FW frame advertised "AS-IS" needing the rail re-glued on a local guntrader website for $100 firm. Had a guy hot on the hook, seemed legit, local town public works guy. Was "going to pick it up but had to work late" a few days in a row. I don't chase buyers and I told him once the ad ended later that week, I was going to keep and fix the frame. That was a couple months ago and yet another item on my "list" of things that need doin'...
My dot's BF has Prime so I had him get the glue for me: $16? + sales tax, I gave him a $20. I will note that you get your money's worth--the bottle was filled to the brim! I had the glue in a day.
To refresh your memory, the rail came loose due to a glue failure. Lone Wolf graciously sent me a serialized TWC3 frame gratis "under warranty". Since I was doing a number of transfers at the time, the FFL only charged me $10. The TWC3 is identical to the Freedom Wolf frame and is a Glock 19 Gen4 style. It will also take a Gen3 slide with included dust cover spacer. The TWC3 is currently sitting in my son's glove box with a Dagger DLC black non-RDS slide on it.
I cleaned the old glue off best I could and scored and scuffed the pieces so the new supersuperglue could adhere better. I'm going to let it dry a couple days while I round up parts. I have a P80 940SC rail I think will fit and work if I can find it. Should have everything else to put it together. (maybe) Then I will test it with the Shitmos slide--that ought to stress it. I think I still have some .40 reloads left...
I don't chase buyers and I told him once the ad ended later that week, I was going to keep and fix the frame. That was a couple months ago and yet another item on my "list" of things that need doin'... My dot's BF has Prime so I had him get the glue for me: $16? + sales tax, I gave him a $20. I will note that you get your money's worth--the bottle was filled to the brim!
I had the glue in a day.To refresh your memory, the rail came loose due to a glue failure. Lone Wolf graciously sent me a serialized TWC3 frame gratis "under warranty". Since I was doing a number of transfers at the time, the FFL only charged me $10. The TWC3 is identical to the Freedom Wolf frame and is a Glock 19 Gen4 style. It will also take a Gen3 slide with included dust cover spacer. The TWC3 is currently sitting in my son's glove box with a Dagger DLC black non-RDS slide on it.
I cleaned the old glue off best I could and scored and scuffed the pieces so the new supersuperglue could adhere better. I'm going to let it dry a couple days while I round up parts. I have a P80 940SC rail I think will fit and work if I can find it. Should have everything else to put it together.
(maybe) Then I will test it with the Shitmos slide--that ought to stress it. I think I still have some .40 reloads left...
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