SAA clone grip fitting

[Schofield3]

Mornin everyone - I have an AWA SAA, it's a wonderful pistol and I picked up some Jay Scott grips that are for a Colt SAA. I know there needs to be some fitting done to get these to look good but I'm looking for any help or advise as to how I should do so properly. The original grips are 1 piece wood shown in the pic and the grips I picked up are two piece.

 

[rcmodel]

I would put the new grips on and scribe a line around them to mark any excess grip material that hangs over the frame.

Next, you have to remove the excess somehow.

Without power tools like a fine belt sander and buffing equipment, your safest method will be with fine-cut files, and progressively finer sandpaper to bring up the final polish.


Tape/mask the frame with black vinyl electrical tape to protect the bluing, and do the final fitting with the file down to the frame.

Now take them back off the gun and do the final smoothing with 240, 320, 400 grit sandpaper to remove the rest of the excess and the file marks.
Finally, if they are plastic grips, use Crocus Cloth followed by auto rubbing compound for the final polish.
If they are wood, skip the crocus cloth and rubbing compound.
Use Birchwood-Casy Tru-Oil to finish wood grips.

I do not recommend using a Dremel tool sander as some will probably recommend, as it is impossible to keep from making scalloped edges all over the grips. Or even worse, nicking into the metal grip by accident.

rc

 

[owlhoot]

RC's post is right on the money as always, but I have one thing to add. Your revolver doesn't have grip locater pins, therefore it will be impossible to keep the grips in position unless you do something to fix the problem. The best solution is to drill the grip frame and install a pin if you have a drill press. Don't try this with a hand held drill. Second best solution is to fit a wood spacer inside the grip frame with the spacer firmly abutted against the back of the grip frame and held in place by the grip screw. This requires careful fitting and a little sanding but is easy enough to accomplish. The third solution is to super-glue tabs to the new grips that will snugly contact the inside surface of the grip frame in a couple of places.

You didn't ask but Jay Scott has been out of business for a long time for a reason. Many years ago a very good friend gave me two sets of Scott grips for a
Christmas present. I hated the grips, but I put them on my guns because my friend would have been hurt had I not done so. One set was imitation pearl with the composition backing. In no time the grips warped and the plastic pearl separated from the backing. I was overjoyed. The other set was imitation ivory with the composition backing. They lasted for a year and a piece of the plastic cracked off. I was twice blessed.

Your AWA is a nice pistol. It looks right with the wood grips that came on it. More importantly, the grips are a perfect fit. If you want to fancy the grips us a bit, put a rubbed oil finish on them. I can almost guarantee you that your replacement grips will never be a perfect fit. The only way to get that on a SA Colt or clone is to start with oversize grips and carefully hand fit them. But it is your gun and your grips and what you do with them is none of my business.

 

[Schofield3]

Thanks for the replies guys.

The best solution is to drill the grip frame and install a pin if you have a drill press. Don't try this with a hand held drill. Second best solution is to fit a wood spacer inside the grip frame with the spacer firmly abutted against the back of the grip frame and held in place by the grip screw.

Bingo - this is exactly where I'm thinking I could mess up the grips. I wanna say the pistol frame already has a hole where I could place a pin, I'll have to double check though. I was curious about the Scott grips and more or less what reputation they carried - thanks for the input...

 

[gb6491]

I was curious about the Scott grips and more or less what reputation they carried - thanks for the input...

One of my buddies has had a pair of their fake stag grips on one of his pistols for close to 30 years and the are still rock solid (if ugly). Back in the day, I used some Zebrawood Jay Scott's on my Super Blackhawk. They were well made and never caused any issues; I liked them a lot.
Regards,
Greg

 

[rcmodel]

The existing hole in the grip frame should be in the right place for the locater pin holes.
Thats what the hole is there for.
Not all of them came with one-piece grips.

rc