Making Grips

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Seancass

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i was wondering if any of you made you're own grips. I sometimes do some woodwork and i think it would be fun to make my own. same style as the origionals, just different material to change the look a little.


anybody do this? any advice? pics? are the insides complicated?
 
Thats a good thought Seancass. I've been thinking about a nice set of grips for a S&W 27. I think that if one can get the blanks, or at least the wood and maybe glue up a blank it could be done.
I wonder where the wood could be found if say you wanted rosewood, and what the moisture content would be. Probably have to kiln dry before cutting and shaping for sure. Have carved a couple of decoys for gifts and they came out good. Used pine for those and just used a walnut stain.
Could be a nice project. I know a guy who made a nice rifle stock. Took him a while but came out great. Carving the finger rounds if desired would take some doing though. Maybe some other posters can give some input.
Of course, with me, if they come out good I'll have to put in the extra shop time to make a set for the missus gun!
 
i know through woodworking magazines that you can order all sorts of really beautiful wood in small size blocks. it'd be neat to use some of the wood they have.

i was also wondering about the inside of the grips, the part you dont see. could that be flat or does it have to fit certain parts precisely for tightness?
 
I have tried making grips about a year and a half ago because I couldn't find anything that I liked. I have a local lumber store that carries most of the exotic hardwoods from A to Z. I tried a bunch and so far I think Cocobolo is my favorite, here are a couple of pics of some recent grips that I made.

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I used to make them for my revo's - long ago! No real pretty wood, just mahogany of one sort or another. Main hassle was routing out the inside to match frame grip contour.

The left hand set was for my old early redhawk, middle ones IIRC were for an N frame, M27 I think and the right hand set were for a Tropper MkIII. As can be seen I went very thin on left panels to facilitate speedloading.


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Nice!

I've made grips for semi autos but never thought to tackle some for a wheel gun.

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I've got a Model 29 that I would love to have nice wood stocks for, but I want some that cover the back strap (and the only ones I've found on the market are the extremely pricey Nils).


I agree, Cocobolo is a beautiful wood for grips.
 
that site is kinda cool. i went though looking for the hardest woods, just cuz. jatoba from So. america is pretty hard!

i also personally think bloodwood looks pretty cool.

do you guys have any pictures of the insides of grips so i can get an idea of what they look like? and do they still need routered if you are placing them like the origionals and not wrapped around the grip fram?
 
homemade stuff

There is a good article in a back issue of "Backwoodsman" magazine that gives step by step illustration on how to. If you're interested, please post, and I will dig it out of attic storage and let you know which one.
 
I've been experimenting with assorted grits and glues.

These were supposed to be stocks for my Browning Medalist. The original factory stocks are lovely rosewood, but don't fit my hand at all well. I bought some replacement low budget stocks, reconfigured them with Dremel tool and putty and sand paper, and mixed up some grit and glue.

The, uh... glue set before, ah...

Aw, never mind.
 

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I think the stock grips on my GLOCK are more attractive than that!

Looking at the grips on my Blackhawk they don't "appear" to be that hard to replicate in a nicer material. My woodworking abilities are on par with Standing Wolf's adhesive skills so I have never attempted it. The hardest part I could think of would be getting an tapped insert in one of the grips and having the correct screw, though I am sure any hardware store would have the necessary supplies.

I think getting the rough shape should be the easy part, the hard part would be getting the perfect fit and the perfect finish...I see a lot of filing and sanding.
 
I've often contemplated making some grips out of either Ebony or Mohogany. If I could find some of that wood. Afican blackwood is real hard and expensive but would make some nice grips.
 
"...are the insides complicated..." Not that I have the talent, but if you match the inside with the factory grip, you should be fine. And you're right, making your own stuff is fun.
Lee Valley Tools sells all kinds of exotic woods in grip sized blanks. Their shops are one of those places worth popping into just to see the place. They don't seem to list the woods on their site though. I've seen Rosewood, heartwood, etc. in the local shop though. Not exactly cheap, but not disgustingly expensive either.
They'll send you a free catalogue too.
http://www.leevalley.com/
A net search should turn up more exotic wood sellers too.
 
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