I think I want to try making a pair of wood grips for a SAA clone. Newbie question: which way should the grain run? Vertical, or diagonal from the far lower corner towards the hammer?
Draw a line from the top corner where the grip meets the frame, down to the center of the butt. This traditionally is the flow of the grain. However, better is to make a cut-out of the grip panel in a piece of heavy card stock or thn plywood, so you have a "window" shaped like a grip. Place this on the billet of wood and see which way is most appealing to you. You might try rubbing some alcohol on the wood to get some idea how it will look when finished.