The grip thread

[Bud White]

Excellent Looking grips i'm no wood worker so i wont even try

[sarge43]

If nothing else, maybe the pics gave your mind a rest.

[d90king]

Sarge great work. I am jealous of your talents. I would buy some from you if you want to sell a few sets you can pm me. Congrats on some great work.

[sarge43]

A tip for those who may be making grip panels and are perplexed by getting the holes centerred on each other.
I use a scrap piece of 1/4" thick stock that approximately 3" x 14" as a "spring clamp" to hold the panels in place. I simply speed clamp one side to my drill press table (use a spacer if you need to), put the grip panel to be drilled under the scrap and in the proper alignment to the bit and then bend the scrap over the grip and clamp it on the other side of the table. I drill the 15/64 hole first, then without moving the clamped grip, immediately change bits to the 9/32 and drill the grip screw hole. This ensures that the two are aligned perfectly with each other.
Also, I have experienced times where the actual bushing hole is just a 64th or so off and wont fit on the frame (I always shoot for a tighter "press fit" anyway, but I'm talking about the holes jsut not being right). In those cases, you can re-drill the bushing hole inside the perimeter of the grip screw hole boundaries on one or even both if you need to without the difference being at all noticeable once the grips are on and screwed down to the frame. We all shoot for perfection, but can't always attain it on a 100% basis.
Hope this helps someone out.
Sarge

[Cap]

my first attempt was this evening

This is the first set prototype



I've always done a little wood working, so when I found this;

http://www.1911pistolgrips.com/process.php

it was a piece of cake.
(for plain smooth panals, anyway)
The trickiest part is getting the holes and counter sinks exact
I got 'em right the first time

here's a closer look.
rough cut black walnut, I ripped the scales to 3/8" thick on the table saw.
The traced the lines from a "store bought" set of grips.
Scroll saw, drill press, dremel, belt sander and palm finish sander with grits up to 800 did the rest



took me about 3 hours start to finish
speaking of finish, I haven't done that yet.

I'm looking for a jig/fixture to checker now.
I started a thread just now in the multitool room asking about checkering fixtures

..L.T.A.

[Cody302]

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. [IMG][/IMG]

MAN,I have really fallen in like with that wood. It reminds me(a bit) of the leaf pattern on a real nice cigar(if it were a little greener). Is that a descent example of what that woods "average" grain appearance is?

[sarge43]

Cap - Good to see you here! I just sent you a pm with some info and to tell you about this thread.
You're on your way to being addicted man, be careful! The grips look great! I look forward to seeing the grips finished when they get to that point. Keep up the good work!
Sarge

[sarge43]

MAN,I have really fallen in like with that wood. It reminds me(a bit) of the leaf pattern on a real nice cigar(if it were a little greener). Is that a descent example of what that woods "average" grain appearance is?

Cody,
The pics are of what I call "Dirty Ambrosia Maple" as it has an overall darker tone and the colors are a little muted. It's not a knock on it, it's beautiful. It's just a way of me differentiating between it and it's brother which is much brighter. You can find Ambrosia Maple with a very light creamy base color and the colorings being bright blue with some other colors thrown in. Very stark contrast in it. Beautiful stuff. I'll be making some grips out of that in the near future I hope. I just have to keep up with demand right now, but I always take time to make what I want also. I'll post up some pics when I get some of the brighter variety done.
You just can't beat beautiful wood can you?
Sarge

[sarge43]

A teaser of pics to come......
Last night I started on the following grips:
Crosscut spalted Tamarind - One of my personal favorite woods
Crosscut Marblewood
beeswing Narra
Wenge with a bloodwood diagonal stripe
Bubinga with a wenge diagonal stripe (these should be really cool)
Black and White Ebony - should be very cool also
Amboyna burl in full size and officers
Some will be "normal" with the MSH pin cutout and jewelled bottom, some will be full bottomed (no MSH pin cutout) in either flat or jewelled. I really like the different looks.
I may make some that are higher on the frame also, going up more square toward the slide. Been thinking about that. More of a full coverage kind of grip.
Playing around is half the fun isn't it?
Glad to see others gravitating to the thread and posting pics, ideas, etc. Very nice.
Sarge

[Cody302]

Cody,
The pics are of what I call "Dirty Ambrosia Maple" as it has an overall darker tone and the colors are a little muted. It's not a knock on it, it's beautiful. It's just a way of me differentiating between it and it's brother which is much brighter. You can find Ambrosia Maple with a very light creamy base color and the colorings being bright blue with some other colors thrown in. Very stark contrast in it. Beautiful stuff. I'll be making some grips out of that in the near future I hope. I just have to keep up with demand right now, but I always take time to make what I want also. I'll post up some pics when I get some of the brighter variety done.
You just can't beat beautiful wood can you?
Sarge

No Sir you can't. I don't know why,but I have a huge fascination with different woods. Not so much what they're made into, but the wood itself. Then when it happens to involve another interest,like guns,it makes it all that much more irresistible.