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Fancy Wood - Making my own grips

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Got the backstrap fitment a lot closer. Also took out all the scratches, stripped the old finish, and reblued. Fitment isn't perfect, but I may make unmentionable modifications to this revolver. If I do that, I'll need to refinish the frame anyway, and I'd really rather only do that once. Can blend the edges perfect then.

BackStrapFitted.png
 
How difficult would it be to model something like this trigger guard? I have files that were apparently used to 3d print this example but the company I spoke with couldn’t use those files…
I am an old timer and most of this is far beyond my reach…
 

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Bad Karma said:
How difficult would it be to model something like this trigger guard? I have files that were apparently used to 3d print this example but the company I spoke with couldn’t use those files…
I am an old timer and most of this is far beyond my reach…
Click to expand...

That shape would be moderately complex to model. Could be done, but might be no reason to re-invent the wheel. Start another thread and post up the files. Might be able to make what you have work. Lots of places out there do casting or CNC metal work, or even metal 3D printing.
 
SOLANCO said:
Ever try your machine with bone? I have a collection of bone handled knives and would like bone grip panels on my 1911 unmentionable.
Click to expand...

I have not. Thought about doing antler or something, but haven't come across a source for big enough pieces yet. Would probably need to come up with a good air filtration solution before doing either. Actually, I really should do it anyway. Sawdust is bad enough.
 
The last coat of tung oil was finally dry enough to do a test fit. Wood swelled a bit, and there was a little excess oil in the grooves to remove, but was all pretty easy to clean up.

I'm quite happy with how it's turned out. Pretty good for a first try. The next sets will be easier.

BirchGripsDone-1.png


BirchGripsDone-2.png


These are much more comfortable for my big hands. When making the model I left a good bit more meat around the palm area than either Pietta or Uberti do. When you've got long fingers, the extra thickness really helps with smooth trigger manipulation.

BirchGripsDone-3.png


Tempted to nickel plate the trigger guard as I've already got the stuff to do so. I believe they used silver for fancy civilian guns, not sure if there's a big difference in looks between the two.
 
AwwNaww said:
The finish is fabulous! I appreciate this post; it gives me lots of ideas.
Click to expand...

I haven't decided yet, but I think the next time I use the birch, I may try filling the cracks and inclusions with black CA glue. It'll have to be after heating the iron nitrate though. Will give a perfectly smooth finish if I do my job right. Not sure if that's any better than the "naturally checkered" condition the wood comes in.


Got some new wood to try. Spalted maple on the left and some maple burl on the right. The burl may require stabilizing, I'll have to play with it and see what happens. Still waiting on the walnut. Got a few pieces ordered.

Spalted-Ambrosia.png




Need to find a good source for 1860 trigger guards and backstraps. Got a couple more navy grips to swap out. Taylor says they have them on the website, but they're actually out of stock. Dixie gunworks has them, but I think they're old stock and my guns are newer. Took a ton of fitting to get the last pair to work.

Maybe I should just post my navy grip sets up for trade. Might find someone with the reverse problem I do who would appreciate navy sized grips.
 
Been too busy with other distractions to do much the last few weeks. Finally got a chance to cut out some more grips. Bought some walnut on Etsy that looked interesting. Was supposed to ship from the the US, but ended up coming from Turkey.

Cool patterns, but it really stinks when cutting!

These are a new pattern, tweaked to fit Uberti army guns. Will need to design Uberti and Pietta Navy grips next.

TurkishWalnut.png


TurkishWalnut-2.png


TurkishWalnut-3.png


Was able to cut the machining time down by half. Now it takes about an hour to cut one grip half. Might be able to push things a little further, but I think I'm close to the edge now.
 
KingOfKindling said:
Gonna cut out the center section and get the birch grips glued together today. Might also cut out a pair of maple grips while I'm messing with the CNC.

Here's the grips and the frame they'll be going on. Second picture shows the toolmarks that need removing. I could get rid of a lot of that on the CNC with a second pass, but it'd be wasted machine time. Sandpaper removes the lines faster, and you need to remove a bit of wood to match the metal anyway.

View attachment 351689View attachment 351690

Now, as for the first maple grip I cut, it likely won't be getting a matching side. I only had enough room on this pieces to cut 3 grip sides, and honestly didn't expect the first attempt to go well.

Since It's gonna be lonesome on it's own, I figured it'd be a good test to properly sand it, and do more stain testing.

Here it is with a really light coat of iron nitrate. It's been sanded to 320 grit and whiskered twice.

View attachment 351691

Here it is after heat was applied. You can see some splotches up towards the top where I had to add more iron nitrate and it got a little darker. Missed some spots on the first application.

View attachment 351692

Fortunately, the darker spots blended in just fine with everything else. Here's the grip after I knocked back the iron nitrate with some green scotch bright (~600grit).

View attachment 351693

I then added some LMF Cherry, and LMF Maple to get a look I liked. Here it is next to a Uberti Walker grip for reference.

View attachment 351694
Click to expand...
Super!
 
I bet you could make a nice side business selling stock sizes for various single actions, and maybe offer slightly oversized or undersized for those that want them. Your grips are beautiful! You have a great skill and obviously you have the equipment to pursue it!
 
lone pine said:
awesome patterns/finish on these!

is producing a shoulder stock for 3rd model dragoon possible using this type of production/pattern?
thx
lp
Click to expand...


Yeah, that has been the goal from the beginning, well for an 1860 anyway. Finally got my hands on one, but have been using my spare time to go shoot it instead of clone it. I'll start a new thread here pretty soon once I start tackling the design.
 
I've made a few pistol grips and I'm really very impressed with your work. Ever considered making them and offering them for sale?
 

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