DIY grip questions

[kBob]

I am thinking about grips today. Woke up an old thread on making your own form polymers that was interesting.

I have an friend whos dad made grips for a cheap little auto out of pine. They are just thin "scales" but actually look nice. Now I know pine tends to be either mushy soft or glass brittle and nothing inbetween but I was wondering if any folks had played with making pine grips from old scrap boards and such.

Also what are folks thoughts on using pine before using up some scrap walnut and such....I have a few old broken stocks out in the shop I picked up here and there in Walnut and I think birch and a Dutch M-1 Garand stock made of some weird euro wood appearently that was so worn I had to replace the gun's stock with 'merican GI walnut. I am loath to go cutting these up with out some sort of practice and wondered if it would be worth while playing with the pine until I get used to my tools.

Thoughts? Opinions? Flames?

-kBob

 

[loose noose]

KBob, I made some grips for a Ruger Mark I out of Maple and they came out really well, also grips for a American Derringer out of Walnut, and quite a few other small hand guns. Can't say as I ever tried Pine though. Mostly just hard woods, Maple, Walnut, Cherry, Beech, and even Oak. On a cheap Davis Derringer I used Oak and it came out really well, much better quality than the gun itself ha ha.

 

[BCRider]

There's nothing wrong or bad about making up grips or scales from cheap lumberyard 2x4's. It's only going to cost you your time. But you'll learn a lot from doing so.

Also not ALL softwoods are as unworthy as simple pine, poplar or some of the other rather weak and easily marked softwoods. Hemlock and fir are actually quite tough. And if you find some nice old growth wood that has tightly grouped growth rings it can look pretty darn nice when oil finished to give a warm honey glow that will turn more orange coloured after a couple of years of exposure to UV and air.

A firewood pile can also produce some great woods for small items such as grips or scales for firearms. The knotty stuff which doesn't split well can often turn out to be very nice looking when sawn through and used for something like this.

If you live in an area where there's any sort of fruit or nut trees it's well worth keeping an eye open for trees that have had to be taken down for any reason. A few bits of wood tossed in the trunk and dried for a few months at home with care can become amazing grips.

If you find some wood "rounds" do not leave it in the round. Split it at least 3 ways and then wax or latex paint the end grain well. Splitting and coating the end grain on the splits will help a LOT for avoiding back checking splits that would ruin much of the wood.

 

[kBob]

BC,

So I need to keep some of the American Cherry that needs to come down around the house?

It had not occured to me to play with hickory from the wood pile.

Got thinking about hickory and I also have a couple of axe handles somewhere and maybe a madox handle.

Blast I am going to have to clean the shop to make room for new projects.

-kBob

 

[farmerted]

Grips

I've used avocado from a trunk that I had cut down. Avo has real nice grain but is soft as pine. The grips have held up real nice even after a year of regular shooting. Next time I'll pick up that "wood petrifier" stuff from the hardware store and see how that works. Anyway, soft wood is a good way to learn the ins and outs.

 

[BADUNAME30]

Yep, what BCRider said.
I can add tho that a lot of woods 'work' differently.
Workin with the pine will certainly give you the fitting skills you need but not nessecarily the 'working' skills you'll need for more exotic woods. For instance, don't even waste your time tryin to checker any kind of soft wood.
It will 'wisker' constantly on you and only frustrate you and most likely send you runnin from ever trying to checker again.Yes, some of the cheaper .22's 'nsuch with the softer sapwood walnut are indeed 'checkerd'. BUT, they are stamped and not cut. And don't think that you can't checker. It's easier and more rewarding that you know once you take the time to understand it and practice it.
And no matter what wood you are working with.
SHARP tools is the key.SHARP 2nd only to patience.
Monte Kenedy, gunsmith and stock maker/checkerer can teach you MUCH about workin with and understanding gun woods.He has great and very easy to understand/follow books on the market.
Oh yeah, another great overlooked resource for beautifull pieces of hard woods is pallets and crates.
Meantime, don't be shy about tryin any kind of wood you can get yer hands on. You can only improve your knowledge, abilities and skills.

 

[Jaymo]

I have some mahogany, sweetgum, and (I think) myrtle that I'm thinking about using to make my own grips.
I also have some reddish orange linen (I think) Micarta.