Rifleman1776
New member
True, but woods can be stabilized. This is shown by the beautiful spalted grips here. I do stabilizing and it can turn an otherwise useless piece of wood into a thing of function and beauty.
Which wood to make my own grips?
- Thread starter Pond James Pond
- Start date
True, but woods can be stabilized. This is shown by the beautiful spalted grips here. I do stabilizing and it can turn an otherwise useless piece of wood into a thing of function and beauty.
I agree with K1500. Unless you are well skilled you will possibly not like the first set you make. Get something cheap and make some grips To experiment with before getting into the nicer looking more expensive woods. Once you have it shaped how you want maybe experiment with some checkering or something.
I for one agree the lighter colored woods look great on blued guns and dark woods on stainless.
I for one agree the lighter colored woods look great on blued guns and dark woods on stainless.
2damnold4this
New member
+1 Some real works of art here.
I've just got to disagree with that. if he wants a particular wood that costs a fortune, I have to agree, but a person can get big planks of walnut, maple, or other top quality woods for a few dollars. As was shown, he can pick up firewood or other dried specimens for free. There's no need to make them out of something undesireable.
Here in the ozarks, you could go up to some guys back porch and be almost certain to find a piece of wood worth carving up.
I have never made revolver grips. I made a set of grips for my ruger .22 auto out of some rock maple that had great figure, and used a colored oil on it.
No, they weren't spectacular. I have made knives, and my favorite one is black walnut (firewood) and a simple carbon steel blade.
I've used rosewood (blech) pau ferro, cocobolo, maple, walnut, and several others. Lignum vitae is interesting, but lord, it makes the word ugly hide its head and cry.
No, they weren't spectacular. I have made knives, and my favorite one is black walnut (firewood) and a simple carbon steel blade.
I've used rosewood (blech) pau ferro, cocobolo, maple, walnut, and several others. Lignum vitae is interesting, but lord, it makes the word ugly hide its head and cry.
I vote for the myrtle burl that is the most pretty most easy to work wood you can find plus its hard as all heck. You can dent it you can bend a barrel. Also what most call a easy to carve wood is not that easy to carve as its soft as all heck and tends to chip if it has any grain in it.
I really wish that you had access to a harbor freight, or other big box american hardware company. You can pick up power tools in recent times that would have cost two and maybe 3 times as much to buy as they would have 20 years ago.
At top quality scroll saw, narrow belt sander, drill press, and wide belt/disc tabletop sander could be bought for much less than $1,000. I spent that much just buying my first table saw. Just a dremel tool kit can be had for less than 50, I spent more than 75 on my first one and it came with nothing extra.
At top quality scroll saw, narrow belt sander, drill press, and wide belt/disc tabletop sander could be bought for much less than $1,000. I spent that much just buying my first table saw. Just a dremel tool kit can be had for less than 50, I spent more than 75 on my first one and it came with nothing extra.
gotcha.
What's really ironic is that if you go to the right places and have the chance to pick through, you can find hardwoods with patches of figure on them for standard lumber prices. a 6 ft plank of walnut may have a bit of fiddleback or crotch figure, for example, but nothing that could boost the grading.
One time when I was working on our last house, I found a plank of oak, 4x8, among the standard boards that was all fiddleback. I ripped it into strips and framed a wall mirror with it. Not even 10 dollars, but buying that from a real lumber broker would have cost over 50, maybe.
I'd love some mesquite grips on a vaquero, that's a really nice wood.
What's really ironic is that if you go to the right places and have the chance to pick through, you can find hardwoods with patches of figure on them for standard lumber prices. a 6 ft plank of walnut may have a bit of fiddleback or crotch figure, for example, but nothing that could boost the grading.
One time when I was working on our last house, I found a plank of oak, 4x8, among the standard boards that was all fiddleback. I ripped it into strips and framed a wall mirror with it. Not even 10 dollars, but buying that from a real lumber broker would have cost over 50, maybe.
I'd love some mesquite grips on a vaquero, that's a really nice wood.
I saved a piece of curly oak from my wood pile just 2 weeks ago. Very nice even curl the entire length. White oak. I put it with some black walnut chunks I have set back for knife handles etc. I imagine the curl in that oak went pretty far past the foot and a half that I caught. Oak is hard to work, curly oak even more so.
John Bergman over in Puryere, TN made a Tennessee Longrifle out of a superb piece of curly oak. He vows never to use it again.
I am considering letting my piece season some more and sending it to Kim Ahrends to be turned into grips for one handgun or another. Dark curly oak on the Smith Model 57 sounds pretty appealing right now. Ozark wood on an Ozark deer killer.
John Bergman over in Puryere, TN made a Tennessee Longrifle out of a superb piece of curly oak. He vows never to use it again.
I am considering letting my piece season some more and sending it to Kim Ahrends to be turned into grips for one handgun or another. Dark curly oak on the Smith Model 57 sounds pretty appealing right now. Ozark wood on an Ozark deer killer.
There is a lot to love about oak. Quarter sawn oak is marvelous.
You're familiar with MSSU? the racquetball courts have maple floors, and nearly half of the boards have quilted pattern. Those floors are beautiful. Such a waste. The floor belonged in a mansion, or should have been used in furniture.
I turned a whole lot of elm one year. A good spoiled piece of elm wood with spalting and damage is really spectacular turned and lacquered.
You're familiar with MSSU? the racquetball courts have maple floors, and nearly half of the boards have quilted pattern. Those floors are beautiful. Such a waste. The floor belonged in a mansion, or should have been used in furniture.
I turned a whole lot of elm one year. A good spoiled piece of elm wood with spalting and damage is really spectacular turned and lacquered.
windchaser_8
Inactive
try manzaneta or cherry wood,myrtle wood out of oregon is very pretty but has to age a very long time befor workable.manzaneta is avable out in wild.
Just another thought here....if you salvage a good looking piece from a wood pile....cut it to an oversize rough thickness, say 5/8" if you're making six-gun grips or a little thinner for auto ones, then let it dry indoors for at least six months...maybe longer if it was still green. If you hurry it, the finished grips will shrink and may even check once they're on the gun...believe me, I've been there. The set below, maybe my favorite on my Vaquero, shrank in all directions and no longer fit...you can see by the amount of backstrap showing, that it's already begun, when this shot was taken....
I've used a variety of finishes...rubbing poly, tung oil, boiled linseed, but for real toughness and no-$hit waterproofing, nothing beats truoil. Cary Chapman, of CLC Grips, who gave me some pointers when I was getting started, uses it, to my knowledge. To get rid of that glossy shine, a light rub down with 0000 steel wool or the nylon equivalent does the trick. HTH's Rod
I've used a variety of finishes...rubbing poly, tung oil, boiled linseed, but for real toughness and no-$hit waterproofing, nothing beats truoil. Cary Chapman, of CLC Grips, who gave me some pointers when I was getting started, uses it, to my knowledge. To get rid of that glossy shine, a light rub down with 0000 steel wool or the nylon equivalent does the trick. HTH's Rod