Home >> Collecting >> Gun Collecting

How to Lighten Glock Slides

The Glock semi-automatic pistol is a top-selling firearm. Used extensively by military and police forces around the world, the Glock has proved itself to be a tough, reliable handgun under any circumstances. Some gun owners like to continue to tinker with their firearms to make them custom to their desires. Lightening a Glock slide -- or the movable part that covers the gun barrel -- is a way to create a smoother, more rounded gun and to reduce overall weight by removing some metal. Removing the slide's factory finish, though, requires that another professional finish be applied.

Things You'll Need

Milling machine

Instructions

- 1
  Clamp the slide into a milling machine and remove metal by milling a pattern of your choice in the top of the slide. Lightning bolt patterns are often used to remove the most amount of weight in the smallest space.
- 2
  Bevel or round the slide with the milling machine. This requires taking the area where the sides and top of the slide meet with a sharp edge and either squaring it off at an angle or rounding it off.
- 3
  Test the slide on the handgun by firing rounds through it to ensure that the Glock still works properly. Change the interior springs as necessary to accommodate the change in slide weight.
- 4
  Send the slide to a metal specialist who will put a new, protective coating on the exposed metal.

Gun Collecting