1911 Pistol Magazine Base Pad

In timed pistol competitions such as IPSC or IDPA, people often install a magazine well to facilitate speedy reloads.  But standard “flush-fit” 1911 magazines don't work well with a mag well.  Adding a pad to the bottom solves that.

Print the pad in a flexible material such as TPU, so it will cushion impact when dropping empty mags to the floor.

I've designed this to match the standard screw hole spacing (0.531" on center) and thread (4-40) used by most magazine manufacturers.  Mount the pad using a pair of 4-40 3/8" long cap screws.

Some magazines don't come from the factory with pre-drilled floor plates.  I have also designed a 1911 Pistol Magazine Drilling Jig to help with drilling the required holes.

Print Details

I printed mine in TPU, using a 15% concentric infill, and only three top and bottom layers.  This helps maintain the “squishiness” of the print.

Print it upside-down, with the counterbored screw holes on top, to avoid the need for supports. The overhang slope is easily achievable, even with TPU.

If you're going to print TPU on the smooth PEI sheet, put down a layer of masking tape first. Otherwise the print will be very difficult to remove, and may damage the sheet. The textured sheet seems good.

If you want to print multiple instances at once, it's worth using the “Complete individual objects” output option in PrusaSlicer, to minimize stringing between instances.