Making wood grips

[Phil Coffins]

For those interested in making grips for Colt style grips here’s how I do it. I believe most anyone can.
like better wood on my Colts so I make them this way.
Step one: remove the grip frame and if needed smooth and flatten the sides, as little as possible.
IMG_0665 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr
Step two: select the wood and cut to over size. A piece that is about 1 1/4" allows you to match the grain but if you have wood that is 5/8" thick that can work.
IMG_0664 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr
Step three: with the thick piece cut the slabs off a bit thicker then finished size, this one required the slabs to be .530" finished.
IMG_0667 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr
The saw cut sides need to be flat and smooth to lay up to the frame. By cutting them off the same side keeps the grain and figure near the same. And the top corner need to match the angle of the frame and grip. This isn't all ways 90 degrees!
IMG_0669 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr

 

[Phil Coffins]

Step four: measure the thickness of the frame and make a piece of wood that thickness. On this one that is .390" then cut to fit the frame like the one shown above. A small piece of wood can be cut to place between the main spring and this spacer to hold it in place. It's important that the spacer fit the frame well.
IMG_0670 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr
At this point glue and clamp the slabs to the spacer while on the frame being carful to have the square corner hard up to the receiver.
IMG_0671 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr

Once cured use a pencil to trace the frame to the wood and remove for rough shaping.
I like to add the serial number to the grip because Colt did, here you can see the pencil lines. Note how the grain appears to flow threw.
IMG_0673 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr
Back on the pistol I use electrical tape to protect the metal as I file down to size then scribe a line to the frame. remove them and sand down to the scribe mark.
IMG_0674 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr
At this point I put on a sealer coat of oil then refit them to the frame to look for spots that don't match like this, remove and trim till you're happy with the fit.
IMG_0675 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr
Now remove and finish. I see I didn't mention that the bottom of the grip has a 12 degree bevel like Colt did but you do them to suit yourself.
IMG_0678 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr
My way, maybe not the right way but what do you expect in two days.
IMG_0679 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr

 

[Norman Brooks]

Nice looking grips. like the pictures.

 

[ohio ramrod]

good step by step.

 

[Col. Batguano]

nice tutorial

 

[user 48679]

Nice (and correct) - Me likey…

 

[Dude]

Hah! Piece a cake! Love it!

I had the idea the two sides were all one piece and the channel for the grip frames was routed out. Didn't realize they were three pieces glued together. Of course! (bashes forehead with palm of hand)

So you stamped the serial number into the wood. Cool - wouldn't have thought of that.

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

Excellent article ! The wood you selected is beautiful ! Thanks for posting.

 

[user 48679]

I had the idea the two sides were all one piece and the channel for the grip frames was routed out.

Didn't realize they were three pieces glued together.

AFAIK, Original Colt grips (not the Gutta Percha) were routed out a solid black of wood, and not pieced together.

 

[B P Arn]

There is some great information there! Thank you for posting this. I am going to try making a pair.

How do you put the 12 degree angle on the bottom of the grips?

 

[Phil Coffins]

Yep, Colt had the machinery to rout out one piece of wood but most of us don’t. These are good enough for a hobbyist.
I grind the angle on a disc sander but it could be filed.

 

[user 52142]

Great article and step by step instruction. You do great work Sir !
I've built alot of grips also, and basically do the same as you. I dont like the woods the factory grips are made of either. Highly figured English Walnut, screwbean Mesquite, Claro Walnut and Maple look so much better.

 

[B P Arn]

I used Phil Coffins's great tutorial above to make a set of grips for my brass-framed Griswold & Gunnison reproduction black powder revolver. The barrel on mine has been shortened to 5". My gun was a Pietta, probably built from a kit. The first thing I did was removed the "Pietta Tail",aka "Bugle Butt".

Whoever built the kit ruined the grips, so I decided to make a new pair. The wood I used was Palo Fierro, which came from the Sonoran Desert in Mexico. I bought the wood blank on eBay. I made a triangular shaped piece of wood out of oak, and then glued the grip panels to each side, one side at a time. The blue colored substance that can be seen on the brass frame in some of the pictures is mold release. I used Brownells Acraglas Gel epoxy to attach the grip panels to the center piece. The mold release kept the grips from being permanently adhered to the brass grip frame.

 

[B P Arn]

Shaping the wood...

 

[B P Arn]

Done!

 

[poker]

Nice work BPA

 

[Dude]

How cool! Beautiful grips!

 

[hrt4me]

great work

 

[Old-Duckman]

Thanks Phil, I wanted to make a new grip for my handgun as the factory one is below the grip frame in places. But, looking at the grip once removed I thought that it would be a difficult job…and it would be, but your 3 piece method is brilliant and greatly simplifies the job.

I’m thinking of ebony or cocobolo, both of which I have “in stock”. Neither of those woods require an applied finish other than a coat of wax but the oiliness of those also complicates adhering the three pieces together but I’ll give it a shot when I get time. I think the ebony would look really sharp next to the brass frame. I’ll post photos when done but that may be after the snow flies !

Thanks again for the great tutorial!

 

[VAN]

I used that 3-piece method to make some plain walnut grips for my Colt Pocket Model 36 caliber. That method works great as the guys show above. Mine was a Dixie Kit Gun that had some pale ugly wood grips. I put it in a curio case with a Twister Kit Gun that I also made some walnut grips for. The original one that came with it were made of plastic.