Homemade grips!

[grant1265]

Hey everybody, just wanted to show your my new pair of homemade grips for my 22/45. I didn't like the original stocks, and was looking for something more unique and a bit lighter in tone. These are made of scrap aspen board with a golden pecan stain. They are still drying and have yet to be polyurethaned. Just wanted to see what everyone thought of them and maybe see some other homemade grips. Sorry the images are turned sideways- formatting problem.
(These are my first handmade grips.)

 

[grant1265]

bump.

 

[jufam44]

Hey everybody, just wanted to show your my new pair of homemade grips for my 22/45. I didn't like the original stocks, and was looking for something more unique and a bit lighter in tone. These are made of scrap aspen board with a golden pecan stain. They are still drying and have yet to be polyurethaned. Just wanted to see what everyone thought of them and maybe see some other homemade grips. Sorry the images are turned sideways- formatting problem.
(These are my first handmade grips.)

Nice job. Might I ask how long this project took you?

 

[C5rider]

Nice job Grant!

I just tried my hand at grip making for the first time also. The plastic grips on my Llama 9mm were getting brittle so, I decided to try making a set for it. I figured that if nothing else, it would keep the plastic ones from breaking more. I think they turned out okay. I used red oak and once they were shaped like grips, I put 6 coats of Tru-Oil on them, rubbing them down with 0000 steel wool after each coat.

I've already got a thread started on my experiences at

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=595312

 

[grant1265]

With dry times and all it took me a full day. I just shot the gun this morning and the grips give me a little more control because they are about 1/8 " thicker on either side.

 

[Fred_G]

Nice looking grips! I do not have woodworking skills...

 

[rdrancher]

Nice job on the grips!

I do not have woodworking skills...

I hear that! I'm a general contractor and pretty handy at a lot of things...but I do not have a lick of finish woodworking skills. If I attempted to make a set of grips / stocks, I have a feeling that they'd end up looking like a couple of 2x4's bolted to the gun.

Let's see some more!

 

[Standing Wolf]

Were I to show you what I've accomplished trying to make stocks, you'd laugh yourselves silly.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Lowe's sells a nice little bandsaw for around $120. It's ideal for projects like this. Add a bench sander and a Dremel tool, and you can make beauriful grips.

For revolver grips, I like to cut the blanks on the bandsaw, then mark the inletting with a pencil and use a small veiner to cut a "trench" where the grips are to be inletted. I have a fixture for my Dremel kind of like a drill press, which can be set for height and locked. I use a router bit to carefully cut away the wood inside the "trench" then when the grips are fitted, shape the outside with the bench sander and the Dremel sander drum.

I like to leave the grips rough-sanded and treat them with Tung Oil. This gives a pleasing appearance, prevents staining when handled with wet or dirty hands, and is about as non-skid as checkering.

 

[rcmodel]

Here are some of my homemade grips.

Top L to R: Elephant Ivory, Walnut, Walnut, Laotian Rosewood.
The walnut grips have Tru-Oil finish. The Ivory & Rosewood are just polished.



rc

 

[grant1265]

All the sanding was done by hand and the blanks were cut with a jigsaw.

 

[Fred_G]

Nice work, but not for me! I buy grips someone else made. Should have a matching set of grips for my JMB designed guns when they get made.

 

[Lonestar49]

...

Good job, nothing like doing it yourself..

Hey RC, kudos on your grips as wll - You wouldn't happen to have a pair of Sig P225 textured grips like on the gun at the bottom, would you.. ?

I'll take them, (you know what I mean)


Ls

 

[El Mariachi]

A piece of wooden pallet, a bit of cutting, some sanding, 2 coats of lacquer and 95 minutes later.......

 

[Vern Humphrey]

That's really nice -- I've made up several grips from pallet wood, but only for practice and models. On a .22 they look great -- but on something like a .357 or a .45 Colt, I'd be afraid they'd split from recoil.

 

[El Mariachi]

I honestly don't see how any lumber would split just from recoil----especially if your holes are slightly over sized, to allow for some slight movement by both heat/cold and from any sudden shock.....

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Believe me, it's possible. I've seen a beautiful pair of ivory grips ruined by recoil,

 

[El Mariachi]

But ivory has zero elasticity nor grain to it. Kinda like an ice cube.....

 

[Vern Humphrey]

But ivory has zero elasticity nor grain to it. Kinda like an ice cube.....

Yup.

 

[El Mariachi]

I just found some of my old ab shells----so I'm trying to figure out how and if I can make some grips out of them for MKIII. Oughta be fun trying at least.....

 

[rcmodel]

But ivory has zero elasticity nor grain to it.

Not true.

Real ivory does in fact have grain.
In fact, it often cracks along the grain when it dries & shrinks with age.
If you look at a few old ivory grips, you will see it.

And it does have elasticity.
That's why they made billiard Q-Balls out of it for about a 100 years before they invented cheap plastic imitation ivory.
So the other balls would bounce nicely off the Q-ball.

rc

 

[El Mariachi]

Wow, the stuff one can learn here. Thanx for that....

 

[BCRider]

Yep, ivory, and other bone such as antler, has a grain to it just like wood. And it needs to be used with this grain in mind just like wood.

To the OP, grant1265. From the fuzzy pictures I'd say you're a better wood worker than photographer. The one of the grips on the gun is particulary fuzzy. The other of just the grips is better. You need to learn how to use the focus option. Or if using your cell phone how to light the subject until you almost need sunglasses to be in the same room when taking the picture!

Your workmanship looks pretty good from what I can see. But the wood itself seems a bit lifeless as far as grain goes. It also looks like the aspen is a softwood judging by the slight chewing around the screw holes.

So first off for your next project of this sort search around for a good hard wood to work with so it takes and holds the details and sharp edges well. Even if you're not planning on doing any checkering your choice will pay off with sharpness to the edges of the grips and the screw holes.

Generally, as a long time wood working hobbyist, I find that if I need stain to make the wood stand out that I've chosen the wrong wood to start with. The better woods for grips and stocks stand out on their own with just some oil or varnish finish and have grain that holds its own for color and appearance.

Keep in mind that this doesn't mean you need to shop in some exotic wood emporium to find good wood. The pallet wood used by El Mariachi above shows what you can find if you keep your eyes open and attentive.

Please don't see this as in any way negative. You did a great job on those grips. My thinking is to encourage you to look around for other woods and experiment a little for your next project so they really SNAP much like the grips seen in RCModel's post. Such stuff is out there. And with some knowledge of what to look for can often be found in the firewood pile if there's an assortment of hardwoods present rather than the usual garden variety softwoods.

Even passing by a gang chopping down old trees can often land you a hunk of apple or other fruitwood for the asking if that's what they are chopping down. I've got some wood turnings I did using wood from an old deseased apple tree that are wonderful for their colour and grain.

Be warned though. You may be wandering into a whole new hobby if you take the bait...

 

[Jeb21]

Very, very nice!

 

[Sport45]

Nice!

When did they start puting removable grip panels on the .22/45? Mine has a one-piece polymer grip frame.