Made a mag well filler

[Tap]

Well I made my first mag well filler today by melting lead and pouring it into an old mag that had crack part way down the back, and I must say Im glad to still be single, If I had a wife she would have killed me! I did it on the stove top, next time I think I will by an electric melting pot and do it in the shed. I taped pennies over the holes and held it with kitchen tongs and just poured a small amount of lead in at a time and let it cool in between pourings, probly not the best way to do it but it worked.

[John]

Huhhhh, excuse me, but what is this thing you made? From what I read, you partially (or completely) filled a magazine with lead. So what you got is something that goes in the mag well, as if it was a magazine. And what do you plan to do with it?

Sorry if I am missing the obvious, but I still do not have enough caffeine in my veins.

[jaybo292]

:confused: :confused:

[Tap]

completely filled it with lead and you put it in the magazine well of your frame when you put it in a vise so that you wont crush the frame by over tightening the vise

[Hawkmoon]

I dunno. Lead is very soft. I don't think I would trust it. The ones Brownells sells are aluminum alloy, which has a much higher compressive strength than lead. Personally, I'm even nervous about aluminum. If I were making one I would hold out for steel.

[John]

Quite so. The lead is very soft. I won't trust it. You could have filled the mag with concrete and it will hold better than lead (plus you won't have messed with the wife's kitchen).

[Paratus]

I'm not sure of the size of the mag well filler you buy, I made mine from aluminum and it fits the mag well much tighter than a regular mag would this way it's no room for compression of the frame.

[Azrael256]

Paratus, I was thinking the same thing. Somebody try stripping off the slide, removing the catch, and inserting a magazine. Hold it in with your finger, and see if you can get it to rattle. I dunno if it will, but I'll bet there's at least some clearance. Enough to damage the mag tube if you crank it down in a vise. I know my double stack has a vast amount of space in there.

[robot1911]

A lead-filled mag is really good as a filler to prevent crushing. I've done several of them over the years, and I do it in one pour. The mag will get quite hot and will expand to the point that some shaving will be necessary to fit in most wells. But when you're through, the danger of deforming is minimalized. I'm told by the Metalurgists that lead does not compress, it only moves.
Another good reason for a lead-filled mag is for dry-fire training. It adds just enough weight to help tune your muscles yet not enough to damage them.

Bob