My foray into custom exotic wood 1911 grips

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My fault, I think I crossed your wires. I was talking about zericote (or ziricote), yes, looks like 3 or more trees grown together. A buddy just got back from Belize and brought me back about 25-20 board ft.

Then...I ran off on a tangent about Bodark (osage orange).

Have you tried pressure pot casting (as shown in the picture from my last post)? I think it would make for some interesting pistol stocks.
~z
 
As promised, here is the light version of the Koa. No discernable difference between the light and the dark other than the actual color. Both quite curly and both beautiful!
Enjoy!
SRT
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Beautiful wood of the day today is Buckeye Burl. Although very light in weight, the wood is tough due to the swirling graining running throughout. Buckey Burl can be be cream, brown, grey or blue or even a combination of all of them as shown. Graining can run from interesting swirling grain only to that plus burl eyes and dramatic movement as shown in the pic. This wood drinks finish, so if you're working with it, plan on doubling your finishing coats and time, but other than that it works nicely and is beautiful!
Enjoy!
SRT
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Can you believe it? I forgot the camera at home today. Meh. :banghead: More beautiful wood tomorrow.
Sarge
 
A very nice setup here with Camatillo over Bloodwood. Camatillo is brown, yellow and purple and as you can see has some wild graining patterns. It is an oily wood and takes to oil or lacquer better than poly. Putting it over Bloodwood just adds to it - a subtle framing. Actually, it was a necessity as the camatillo blank was about 1/8" too narrow to use on it's own. A friend sent the blank to me to make these for him. Cut flat for him final fitting to his pistol per his request. Finish is satin lacquer. They came out well.
Enjoy!
SRT
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A set of government sized grips in Buckeye Burl. This wood has different looks from the same block. Some has cream, some doesn't, some even has purple in it. All of it beautiful!
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A "perfect storm" in wood - Afzelia Xylay with heartwood, sapwood, high figure AND fine line spalt. Wow, the total package! Gorgeous wood!
Enjoy!
SRT
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Todays beauty is provided by White Box Elder Burl. Gorgeous fine line burl clusters, depth and a color that while beautiful, goes with anything. If you get the chance to work with this wood, you should. It's very rewarding. The depth and beauty that jumps out as the finish is applied is truly outstanding to see.
Enjoy!
SRT
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The featured wood of the day is Redwood Burl. This wood, except in a few cases, should be stabilized to fill and reinforce the many natural vissures that occur between the burl clusters. It is another beuatiful wood that has rich full color and a swirling grain that flows between the burl clusters themselves. A fairly lightweight wood that once stabilized is good for grip panels. Easily shaped, but somewhat problematic in the finishing stages, I'd say it's 3 knots out of 5 on the "difficult wood scale". :D The results can be stunning though. The finish in the picture is a satin poly for the low gloss, but well protected look.
Enjoy!
SRT
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The wood of the day is Zebrawood, shown here in a set of Ultra Thins on my CDPII Pro. The stark linear graining of the Zebrawood can be quite nice when cut like this, or even more dramatic when crosscut (across the grain instead of with the grain as shown). A tough wood, Zebrawood is brittle, but that is usually a non factor once fabrication is done. It's more the type that will chip as you cut it. Once it's done and finished, it's a great wood fro use in grips. End grain will burn if you sand it too much too quickly, so take your time.
Enjoy!
SRT
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KentuckyDave,
Those look very nice on that SIS. Very cool!
Sarge
 
i know someone who needs some grips. you may want to pm evenflo76. Check out his thread on cleaning rosewood grips
 
I've "talked" to him about his grip cleaning problem. I hope he has it figured out now. He did the right thing by not jsut jumping into it with a bunch of different stuff to see what it did. :p
SRT
 
A regular grip customer sent me a block of wood to fabricate some grips for him. He does this from time to time, so there was nothing out of the ordinary to that point, but when I opened the box, I was presented with probably the most beautiful block of English Walnut I had seen in years. He wanted two sets of grips and the rest of the block was mine. What a bargain! Theh block is closed grained and dense. It has the rich walnut browns ranging from lighter to darker over the block, all with the inky black graining that is so sought after in great patterns throughout. The pictures are of the first set finished in a totally matte poly. I can't wait to dig into the rest of the block!
Enjoy the beauty!
SRT
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The beautiful wood of the day is Afzelia Burl and we have a prime sample for you to see. 100% burl coverage in this piece. If you ever work with it, Afzelia Burl shapes easily, but is tough. It's fairly open grained, so plan on multiple coats and wet sanding to get the finish to the glassy smooth state. These are shown in a satin polyurerthane which lets all the beauty out without hiding it, but is more matte than the gloss. Afzelia Burl typically is a brownish red color, but can go lighter at times to almost a dark yellow. It is indeed beautiful wood, so if you get the chance to work with it, take it! Added bonus is that it is very aromatic in the shop while you're working it. Great stuff!
Enjoy!
SRT
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A unique style of grip that combines two great woods with great results, this set is Wenge over Bloodwood with a stripe of bloodwood in the middle. I think they're pretty cool and go real well on my CDPII. The finish is a satin lacquer. Sometimes you have to think outside the box. :scrutiny::D
Enjoy!
SRT
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First shot at Desert Ironwood. I brought some of it back with me from the last dive trip in Mexico. I like working with it. Although dark in color, it has a grain that flashes in the light from different angles. A beautiful, hard wood, there will be more of this in my future. The finish is a satin lacquer.
Enjoy!
SRT
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I'm out of contact for the next 5 weeks for a military commitment, so there won't be any new pics from me until I return October 21st or there abouts. Hopefully, some of you wood grip makers will fill in with your own pics. I'd love to see them when I get back!
Hooah!
SRT
 
SRT1 what do you use for sanding your grips to the proper size. I recently acquired a 1911 clone for a graduation present and have started to make my own grips for it. I am using cherry wood and have finished one grip so far I am using a dremel tool but was wondering if there was an easier way to get a uniform size and shape any input would be helpful. I love the pics of all of you different styles they are gorgeous Thanks.
 
I got a set of Afzelia Burl a couple of weeks ago. Fantastic they look better in person than on the web.
 
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