The grip thread

[sarge43]

Seeing the response that was brought on by my "first attempt at grips" thread, I thought it would be nice for us to have a thread for the following:
1) show the grips that we make (a pat on the back makes everyone feel good)
2) discuss HOW we made them (We could all use a little help now and then)
3) Share information on wood types and where to get it.

I hope this can turn into a good discussion thread, but if not, I'll just let it die out.
I should say out of good conscience, that this is not the place to sell your grips, just to talk about them and the techniques used to get them finished, and post pics of your work. Any sales or inquiries should be kept off site. I hope this keeps the admins happy, but if not, I'm sure they'll let me know, and we'll go from there.

Enjoy! I look forward to seeing some pics from my woodworking, shooting brothers out there!

I'll start off with a few pics of grips I make this weekend in the shop.
First set is a full size set in Amboyna Burl. Beautiful wood, great color and grain. Plyurethane finish (4 coats) for a smooth, moisture resistant, hard, gloss.


Amboyna Burl in officers size panels. Same treatment and finish as the set above.


Probably my favorite set from this weekend, full size bookmatched crosscut Ambrosia Maple stocks. Glass smooth polyurethane finish. I need to clean the "burrs" out of the screw holes, but other than that, these are beauties.
I love Ambrosia Maple and the story behind it. Not too many woods out there that offer the color blue naturally. I don't stain or otherwise color any of the wood I work with as I simply don't think I can improve on it.


I've got pics of others from this weekend, but want to hear from others and see their pics also. Don't want to hog the thread.
I'll post some of the others later, so post up guys. Let's see your handiwork!

[MSgt G]

I like them all, but think the Ambrosia Maple stocks are my favorite! Great job!

[sarge43]

Thanks. The Ambrosia Maples are my favorite too, with the Amboyna Burl running second.
Do you do any woodwork?

[d90king]

Great work sarge they all look great.

[sarge43]

I guess I'll post up the other sets.
This set is in crosscut Zebrawood.


Here's another set of crosscut Zebrawood with a cool grain pattern and a flat "plunger exposed" top on the left panel.


Here's a set in VERY cool Box Elder Burl. Look at the colors and the sunburst pattern. This wood is so very cool to see in person.
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Here's a set of grain cut Bubinga.
I've found that I like to cut mine about a 1/16th of an inch thicker than the supplied grips. That combined with the smooth finish really feels nic ein my hand while shooting. Don't think I'll ever go back to stock checkered grips.


Last pic for today -
Beeswing Narra. Looks like someone threw deep red satin on the floor. The grain just rolls and moves as you rotate it in the light. Put these on a friends Kimber CDPII yesterday afternoon, and it just "made" the pistol. I knew immediately that I wasn't getting them back. Fotrunately, I have 3 more blocks of the same stuff in the shop. This wood is great to work with and is solid as it gets. Beautiful and nice to work with, how do you get better than that?
(picture not found)

[d90king]

Very nice sarge. Do you sand in between coats? I love the different variations of colors.

[sarge43]

Yes, I wet sand between coats with 1200 grit sandpaper to make every subsequent coat smoother and smoother. Enough coats and enough sanding and the finish can turn out to be like glass. I use mineral spirits to wet sand with as it keeps the sandpaper "clear" and evaporates quickly. Water takes too long to dry off and if you happen to sand through the finish accidentally, you might as well set the piece to the side for a day or two and then just start over. Mineral Spirits are much friendlier for wet sanding on polyurethane finishes.
As far a color goes - isn't wood just beautiful?
I've got some more pics to post of grips that are done. Some are still with me, others have disappeared to various friends. It's surprising just how many friends you have when you're handing out beautiful grips. I didn't know I served in Germany with a couple of these guys, but apparently I did.
I'll post them up later.
Sarge

[sarge43]

Here are todays pics.
This first one is of grips in fishtail oak and is cut straight bottomed without the traditional cutout for the MSH pin. I like the way these look on a pistol.


Here's a set in beautiful crosscut spalted maple. The color and spalt is just phenominal on these and a buddy noticed. These disappeared with a quickness! I've GOT to learn to hold the ones that I want back and not leet anyone see them. I've got a little bit more of this wood, so I'll make myself another set.
These have the flat top at the plunger tube instead of covering it.


This set is done in Wenge (when-gay is the pronunciation), and African hardwood. Wenge can have pin straight graining as shown on these grips, or very wild striped graining. The core color is a deep chocolate brown with the graining being black. Can be a boooger to finish sometimes as it has varying oil content makeing it difficult to polyurethane. Lacquer is a good alternative if you can't get the poly to dry. These grips are done in polyurethane, but I had to bake them in the oven twice between coats to get it to dry properly.
another trick is to soak the wood in acetone for a minute before spraying. This draws the oils on the surface out of the wood and allows the poly to pentrate and dry. If you don't do one of these "tricks" the poly will remain tacky and nasty indefinitely.


Last set for today is a beautiful set in Camphor Burl. The eyes, the rich color - I love this wood. It is very light in weight and I probably wouldn't put these on a daily carry weapon, but for a target gun, safe queen, trips to the range, or just to show off, this wood is great. I love working with this wood as is it is VERY aromatic and makes the whole shop smell good for days afterward. Gorgeous wood.


I really expected there to be more guys out there doing this and having discussions on techniques and finishes etc. If the problem is that this is "Sarge's thread", don't let that hold you back! I started this thread for the express purpose of showing OUR work and swapping information that will help each other. If not, I'll keep posting pics of the grips that I make, but I hope there are others out there. While I favor wood over man made, that's no reason that pics of everything used on grips can't be shown here.
C'mon guys, let's see 'em.

[Farnorth]

If I could produce a set of grips even close to the quality of the ones shown here I would be glad to. But alas, woodworking is not my forte, to say the least. Also, consider yourself lucky that you didn't let me put that set of Amboyna Burl grips on my Officers ACP or they would not be yours anymore! I'm not a real grip freak, but that set of grips really got my attention. If there is any way possible to get that set of grips from you, please let me know what it would be. Great work, Greg

[sarge43]

Thanks for the kind words. God gave us all different strengths and he just gave me a burning desire to work with beautiful woods. That Amboyna IS gorgeous isn't it?
Of course, this thread is also for those who may be "just looking". If nothing else, it may spark an interest, or an idea, or just give your eyes a break from the paperwork scattered all over the desk. All valuable things.