A broomstick, a variety of sandpaper, and some double stick tape would be how I'd go about it. Fasten the stick down somehow, stick the sandpaper to the stick, and get to sanding.
Start with the heavy grit, then use the finer stuff to progressively polish the cut.
I'd mark the centerline of the grip somehow, and check regularly to ensure I'm not going off center.
"You win 100% of the fights you avoid. If you're not there when it happens, you don't lose." - William Aprill
"I've owned a guitar for 31 years and that sure hasn't made me a musician, let alone an expert. It's made me a guy who owns a guitar."- BBI
Altenatively, you can use base pads designed for single handed mag stripping.
Henning Group’s Blueline base pads are an example.
If you happen to have a Gen2 or other frame with the cutout, you could simply make a cardboard template; whittle down a piece of cardboard until it fits perfectly in the cutout. Viola, template. You can affix that to the frame you want to cut, and use that as a guide.
Personally though, I'm not that brave...the only Glock carving I've ever done was to shave off the finger bumps on a Gen 4 G19 (the compact frames have the bumps precisely where my fingers go; don't suffer from that problem on the full size frames). Shaved them off, wrapped the grip in some AGrip Grip Tape, and within 6 months, Glock came out with the Gen 5...and a little bit after that came out with the improved Gen 5, with the breech face cut. C'est la vie.
Moral of the story: Wait a few months, I'm sure the Glock Perfected Gen 6 will reintroduce the finger bumps and the front strap cutout
TBH I honestly don't know why the fuck people bust out the dremel to modify plastic parts, it's like trimming a bonsai with a weed whacker.
I used to be the same way but one day a light bulb went off in my head and I realized I could do most of these jobs way cleaner and more accurately with plastic model snippers and wood carving knives. You can get both off Amazon for about $30 together. Finish with sandpaper and it will look professional with no risk of taking off too much material.
Files and saws will be slower but will reduce the risk of wrecking. You can start with a shallower cut out notch and stop when you get to a contour that looks good.Originally Posted by El Cid
It’s like chainsaw carving ice sculptures…
It’s FUN.
VCDgrips has the best idea for a first time frame mod. I have several pieces of wood dowel, copper pipe, and even pvc pipe w/ sandpaper wrapped around them. About 6 inches long and about 4 inches of sandpaper. I usually use the sticky back paper that comes in about 4 inch squares. I wrap it around and then a couple wraps of masking near the edges. The paper is a heavier weight which makes it last a lot longer than standard paper. The nice part of this technique is you can start w/ a smaller than final size and work your way up. Makes it easier to be sure you are keeping your cutout centered since you can fudge it sideways a little as you need to.
Curved file with the contour already built in works well too.
Awesome ideas - thanks everyone!
As for practicing on an old A2 grip, I did that when I thought about stippling my own guns... it just convinced me to pay a pro. lol! I may start with the broomstick and sandpaper idea at first and see how it goes.
The only mag floor plates I've seen that work for one-handed manipulations are the TD/LAV and I have a few. But they are wider than the gun and make it harder to conceal in warm weather. If I ran Glock, there would be 2 SKU's for each gun. One with the cutout and with without.
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