Polymer 80% fire arms!

[Acera]

If you're looking for future product ideas, I wish someone would visit the past.

2 or 3 decades ago someone (I don't remember who but I sure remember handling the frame) was making a thin, aluminum 1911 frame without any cutouts on the sides and without a cutout for the grip safety. You could run it naked, without separate grip panels, for an extremely thin, light piece. The lack of a grip safety was also a huge bonus for guys like me with fatty hands who often failed to actuate the safety properly; this was back in the days before the "memory bump" or "speed bump" came into fashion. I still prefer a backstrap without moving parts.

Make that and I'll buy one.

Not sure if this is what you are referring to, but here is a patent.
Patent USD345002 - Combined frame with grip for handguns - Google Patents

I think that one of the patent holders is now Infinity Firearms

They offer a very different take on the competition 1911, where the bottom half of the frame (grip, triggerguard, etc.) is a separate piece that bolts on to the upper frame. So no grip panels.

Interesting idea.

Their custom frames,

Grip section......

Here is one with a cut out in the grip section so you can see through the magazine well.

Sorry to dive a bit off course on this, but there is a lot of room for folks like the OP who think outside the box to produce some great stuff in the future. Maybe some ideas to help the creative juices flow.

 

[Polymer80]

Not sure if this is what you are referring to, but here is a patent.
Patent USD345002 - Combined frame with grip for handguns - Google Patents

I think that one of the patent holders is now Infinity Firearms

They offer a very different take on the competition 1911, where the bottom half of the frame (grip, triggerguard, etc.) is a separate piece that bolts on to the upper frame. So no grip panels.

Interesting idea.

Their custom frames,

Grip section......

Here is one with a cut out in the grip section so you can see through the magazine well.

Sorry to dive a bit off course on this, but there is a lot of room for folks like the OP who think outside the box to produce some great stuff in the future. Maybe some ideas to help the creative juices flow.

Those are gorgeous!

Thanks for the post!

 

[cpileri]

still count me in for the 10/22 version

 

[benenglish]

Sorry to dive a bit off course on this, but there is a lot of room for folks like the OP who think outside the box to produce some great stuff in the future.

That's not what I was thinking of but it's fascinating. I didn't know those folks existed. Thanks for showing me. Yes, I hope the OP draws some inspiration from there and everywhere else. I have no need for them but I ordered a lower and jig just to encourage them.

 

[benenglish]

Those are gorgeous!

Yes, they are. They ought to be at a base price of $3400 and with an 18-month wait.

OTOH, if you could turn out something actually affordable using polymer to the extent possible, you'll get me interested.

 

[London]

Question to the seller-

The different colored models; are they just a black lower with Cerakote finish, or solid colored plastic?

 

[Polymer80]

Cerakoted. The receiver comes black.

Cerakote looks WAY berter than coolored plastic.

 

[granite]

I gotta throw in my concerns although i do hope this goes well.

Several comments about how it will be tested which means it hasnt been tested.

1000 orders at $100 is what? $100,000?

Preorders are financing the production set up, but the early orders are risking a
60 day limit on credit card claims if product not shipped or refunded?

Spending $100 to save $15 doesnt make sense to me

No need to respond. Only timely deliveries of a workable product will tell. Seems now the "early investors" are being held up as you reconfigure the molds for the latecomers

 

[Polymer80]

I appreciate the sentiment, but this has to be done righrt, period. Not reconfiging the molds would not only have been frankly stupid but an incredible disservice to our customers. There is a much bigger picture at stake here. And % 15 is a considerable chunk for us with all the costs involved. The lagidtics are astounding. And the massive amount of orders, though incredibly awesome makes our initial run even more expensive.

Not to mention the ridiculously huge response we have already gotten was totally unexpected. We had no idea this would explode right out of the gate. In the end its good for everyone.

I know you said there was no response necessary but anytime real and valid concerns are raised, a response is absolutely necessary.

Thanks for bringing these up, it helps keep us all on the same page.

 

[Polymer80]

Ok p80 fans... There is (yet again) good news and bad news:

So the good news: We have a DEFINITE ship date. The molds are far enough along and even with tweaks and correction time included, we know for sure we will be shipping on or before this date.

The bad news: Adding the extra cavities caused more of delay than I was told.





!!!!!!!!!!SHIP DATE: ON OR BEFORE JULY 25TH!!!!!!!!

 

[Watchdog]

I would love a 10/22, I have lots of things I want to do with 10/22s so a quick and easy to build receiver would be awesome. I suspect the 10/22 would outsell the 1911 over and over again.

 

[TX69]

Any updates?

 

[Slamjam]

I would love a 10/22, I have lots of things I want to do with 10/22s so a quick and easy to build receiver would be awesome. I suspect the 10/22 would outsell the 1911 over and over again.

I'll second that.

 

[Polymer80]

Update

So I am flying out to the mold maker on Sunday. The molds are done as of yesterday. They are running test batches now. When I get there I am going to check out the test batches, and beat the ever loving crap out of them to test our polymer and then do a final fit and finish.

Upon my approval, we will be shipping the mold overnight air to our manufacturer.

We will be running TIGHT but our deadline still stands.

Barring any BS from customs this really should be no problem to meet.

 

[Shotgun Jeremy]

YouTube it!

 

[556.45.12]

Polycarbonate is an extremely tough plastic but I believe very brittle - I'm not sure that I would trust these not to fail at the RE like other polymer lowers. Now.. a CNCed G-10 lower may be cool...

 

[benenglish]

On the 25th, the prior projected ship date, I got an email from Polymer80 that read, in part:

...the mold is finished!...
...more work needs to be done...
...we’ve come a long way and I have confidence that we’ll get through any other challenges we have. Right now it’s a matter of tweaking the material and manufacture process to produce your final product, but with that I will unfortunately have to revise the ship date.

I don't know what the new ship date is (the email didn't say) but I do appreciate the fact that I've gotten multiple emails from them since I paid for my pre-order. Sometimes those emails include links to videos of real work.

I plan to document the build and post a thread on it (or add to whatever threads exist since it's highly likely someone else will move faster on their build than I will) and so I'm still looking forward to receipt of the product.

Personally, I don't have a problem with all the slips in ship date; I've worked big projects before. However, I'm sure others are getting antsy. It would have been nice if one of the principals had dropped by here on the promised but missed ship date (yesterday) to reassure folks.

 

[Shotgun Jeremy]

Has anyone been charged for these lowers yet?

 

[Polymer80]

Polycarbonate is an extremely tough plastic but I believe very brittle - I'm not sure that I would trust these not to fail at the RE like other polymer lowers. Now.. a CNCed G-10 lower may be cool...

Not true at all:

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polycarbonate

Polycarbonate is what bullet proof glass is made out of.

Respectfully, I would no longer take whoever told you that seriously. Polycarbonate is the opposite of brittle.

 

[Polymer80]

Polycarbonate is an extremely tough plastic but I believe very brittle - I'm not sure that I would trust these not to fail at the RE like other polymer lowers. Now.. a CNCed G-10 lower may be cool...

Polycarb is not brittle at all. I have no idea where you heard that but one of the hallmarks of Polycarb is its off the charts impact resistance This is one reason we chose it. Polycarb is among the least brittle polymers you can get.