Making A Pistol Grip - "Tips" From A Bodger
Feb 12, 2021 9:49:50 GMT
Doyley83, Scott, and 1 more like this
Post by twodoctors on Feb 12, 2021 9:49:50 GMT
Disclaimer: I like woodworking, but I will be the last person to claim to be any good at it. This thread is just a pictorial guide to how I made some grips for my Ruger Mk 2. Hopefully it will help someone.
I have made some grips before, so I'm not a total beginner to this game. Made some for my 1911 LBP, Browning Buckmark LBP and recently my Alfa LBR... I would like to think I (kind of) know what I'm doing.
The photos used in this thread will be from my various attempts at this. I hold my hand up here and admit that the final one is my 4th attempt. My 1st one didn't work as I accidentally drilled one of the holes too deep. 2nd attempt failed because I took a shortcut and the holes were misaligned (see below). 3rd attempt was successful, until I realise I left too little wood on the grip itself and the screwhole broke when I overtighten one of the screws. 4th attempt was successful.
My top tip for you is to make sure it will fit. By that I mean the screw holes will line up and the recess for the screw head and and raised part on the frame will fit together. The best way for doing this is to use the existing one and make the "pilot holes" first. That way you will know that the holes will align. Here I've used some masking tape to secure it onto my work piece.
Next important step is to make sure the holes you drill will be absolutely straight. In my view, the only way to do this is to use a pillar drill. Drill the pilot hole through to the other side with a normal drill bit.
Which part you do next is not crucial. You can either roughly cut out the grip first, or continue drilling a slot for the screwhead and protrusion on the frame side, it's up to you. Ultimately you need to be able to dry fit the grip before you even begin to shape it to the final version.
It will be much quicker if you have a bandsaw or a scroll saw, but a coping saw will also do. Cut out the shape to roughly what you want it to be. Notice in this picture I haven't drilled the holes yet. Not a major issue as I still have enough material so that it will still work. If you had cut it right up to your marks then you may run into problem with the drilling part.
And here is another attempt, with the holes and rough shape of the grip.
I would recommend drilling the frame side first.
On mine, you can see I need to make a slightly bigger cavity for the raised part on the frame. An 8mm hole would be the correct size, but I would recommend making it slightly bigger. It will have little effect of the integrity while allowing a much easier fitting. I would recommend using a forstner bit also. I tried a brad point bit initially (as per picture) but that was a mistake as the hole was not flat, but convex. Even when the depth was correct on the raised part, the deeper part at the edge was much weaker, and that's how my third attempt failed.
Here's how not to drill the hole... Don't use a brad point drill bit for this!
I used a dremel to cut out the lower part of the grip to fit the frame. Go slow and check frequently. You can take material off, but you can't put it back on!
Keep checking whether it will fit, and stop when it does!
On the other side of the frame, I needed to make allowance for 2 moving parts.
Again, go slowly. Measure or guesstimate where you need to take material off, and check frequently.
When you know it fits, then that's the hard part over...
Time to shape the grip.
Top tip here. Buy yourself a tabletop sander if you can. Aldi / Lidl every now and then sell the belt and disc sander for about £80. They will save you loads of time. Failing that, there's nothing wrong with 60 grit sand paper and some elbow grease!
Here's my 3 attempt. I made the thumb groove using a round and half round file. Smoothed everything off with sandpaper up to 600 grit. The photo is just for "show and tell". The wood was wetted with alcohol to show the grain.
This attempt also has some finger grooves. Also made using a half round file. I broke this one by overtightening one of the screw holes.
I considered doing some stipling on it, but then thought it would be a bit of a waste doing that on walnut. Even on cherry, which is what I used in the end (as I ran out of thin walnut), it would be a pity to destroy all the beautiful grain.
And here it is, after 3 coats of Tru Oil. More coats needed and more finishing needed.
Some tips on applying a finish.
1) Less is more. Put a thin coat every time. You are likely to get a better result with lots of thin coats compared with a couple of thick coats, which may not dry properly and gives a poor finish. Also the first few coats are really to fill any gaps / pores in the wood.
2) A quick "wipe" with fine sandpaper (600 grit or higher) only after about 6 coats. This will denib any blotches etc. Again, just a quick once over is fine. Doing too much or too soon will just remove all the coats you have applied.
3) Now that all the pores are filled, and surface de-nibbed, apply a few more thin coats for a shinny finish. Feel free to sand, as above, after a couple of coats to ensure a smooth finish.
4) Wax on or wax off? Up to you and also depends on how much shine you want from the finish. The "shine" comes from light reflecting off the surface of the wood, so the smoother the finish, the more reflection you get. Wax can fill most imperfection in your finish. Or you can use pumice stone powder to rub it up.
But remember, I'm a bodger, not a carpenter! Someone else here may be able to help more!
I have made some grips before, so I'm not a total beginner to this game. Made some for my 1911 LBP, Browning Buckmark LBP and recently my Alfa LBR... I would like to think I (kind of) know what I'm doing.
The photos used in this thread will be from my various attempts at this. I hold my hand up here and admit that the final one is my 4th attempt. My 1st one didn't work as I accidentally drilled one of the holes too deep. 2nd attempt failed because I took a shortcut and the holes were misaligned (see below). 3rd attempt was successful, until I realise I left too little wood on the grip itself and the screwhole broke when I overtighten one of the screws. 4th attempt was successful.
My top tip for you is to make sure it will fit. By that I mean the screw holes will line up and the recess for the screw head and and raised part on the frame will fit together. The best way for doing this is to use the existing one and make the "pilot holes" first. That way you will know that the holes will align. Here I've used some masking tape to secure it onto my work piece.
Next important step is to make sure the holes you drill will be absolutely straight. In my view, the only way to do this is to use a pillar drill. Drill the pilot hole through to the other side with a normal drill bit.
Which part you do next is not crucial. You can either roughly cut out the grip first, or continue drilling a slot for the screwhead and protrusion on the frame side, it's up to you. Ultimately you need to be able to dry fit the grip before you even begin to shape it to the final version.
It will be much quicker if you have a bandsaw or a scroll saw, but a coping saw will also do. Cut out the shape to roughly what you want it to be. Notice in this picture I haven't drilled the holes yet. Not a major issue as I still have enough material so that it will still work. If you had cut it right up to your marks then you may run into problem with the drilling part.
And here is another attempt, with the holes and rough shape of the grip.
I would recommend drilling the frame side first.
On mine, you can see I need to make a slightly bigger cavity for the raised part on the frame. An 8mm hole would be the correct size, but I would recommend making it slightly bigger. It will have little effect of the integrity while allowing a much easier fitting. I would recommend using a forstner bit also. I tried a brad point bit initially (as per picture) but that was a mistake as the hole was not flat, but convex. Even when the depth was correct on the raised part, the deeper part at the edge was much weaker, and that's how my third attempt failed.
Here's how not to drill the hole... Don't use a brad point drill bit for this!
I used a dremel to cut out the lower part of the grip to fit the frame. Go slow and check frequently. You can take material off, but you can't put it back on!
Keep checking whether it will fit, and stop when it does!
On the other side of the frame, I needed to make allowance for 2 moving parts.
Again, go slowly. Measure or guesstimate where you need to take material off, and check frequently.
When you know it fits, then that's the hard part over...
Time to shape the grip.
Top tip here. Buy yourself a tabletop sander if you can. Aldi / Lidl every now and then sell the belt and disc sander for about £80. They will save you loads of time. Failing that, there's nothing wrong with 60 grit sand paper and some elbow grease!
Here's my 3 attempt. I made the thumb groove using a round and half round file. Smoothed everything off with sandpaper up to 600 grit. The photo is just for "show and tell". The wood was wetted with alcohol to show the grain.
This attempt also has some finger grooves. Also made using a half round file. I broke this one by overtightening one of the screw holes.
I considered doing some stipling on it, but then thought it would be a bit of a waste doing that on walnut. Even on cherry, which is what I used in the end (as I ran out of thin walnut), it would be a pity to destroy all the beautiful grain.
And here it is, after 3 coats of Tru Oil. More coats needed and more finishing needed.
Some tips on applying a finish.
1) Less is more. Put a thin coat every time. You are likely to get a better result with lots of thin coats compared with a couple of thick coats, which may not dry properly and gives a poor finish. Also the first few coats are really to fill any gaps / pores in the wood.
2) A quick "wipe" with fine sandpaper (600 grit or higher) only after about 6 coats. This will denib any blotches etc. Again, just a quick once over is fine. Doing too much or too soon will just remove all the coats you have applied.
3) Now that all the pores are filled, and surface de-nibbed, apply a few more thin coats for a shinny finish. Feel free to sand, as above, after a couple of coats to ensure a smooth finish.
4) Wax on or wax off? Up to you and also depends on how much shine you want from the finish. The "shine" comes from light reflecting off the surface of the wood, so the smoother the finish, the more reflection you get. Wax can fill most imperfection in your finish. Or you can use pumice stone powder to rub it up.
But remember, I'm a bodger, not a carpenter! Someone else here may be able to help more!
