Which wood to make my own grips?

This is the ultimate answer to that problem.

http://www.stabilizedwood.com/info.shtml

You can send your wood materials to this company. They impregnate materials with acrylic resin under extremely high pressure. The wood becomes, in essence, plastic. It is stable, hard, and dry. it will take fine checkering. it takes no finish. won't warp, shrink, stain, check, crack, etc.

People who insist on a fiberglass stock because of strength and stability are missing out on the ultimate answer: Wood stabilized by acrylic. beauty, and stability. a few ounces of wood removed from the barrel channel and a bit bored out of the butt will bring the weight back to normal.

both way shipping and treatment for a couple pounds of wood, enough for several sets of grips, will run maybe 35 bucks.
 
Many thanks, Briandg, I've been looking for a way to do that with some spalted maple that I've acquired. Rod
 
That company has been around for a long time. I read the article in wood magazine that they quote, they did some neat things with the wood that they had done. It did include spalted wood.

Since then, I've read about some knifemakers that use the same products, and seriously, everybody has seen the laminated wood here and there that uses a similar process and materials.

When you do this, come back with a write up of the results.
 
What a great thread. I've always wanted to make some grips but never tried it. I have a few guns that I'd like to see new grips on. I wonder if I can get some cool exotic wood for cheap at the woodshop here locally. The key is not to ask for exotic, but for scrap and hope to get lucky. :D
 
Good quality walnut with a dense grain is your best bet. It's relatively easy to work with and it's very durable. It's generally the most "original" looking as well.

I had to laugh when you mentioned juniper. It grows everywhere in northern Arizona, and is used extensively for firewood. I always get a kick out of crushing the berries and getting that gin smell.
 
Rosewood grips look fantastic. If you live in an area with lots of roses, try to find a large rose bush on abandoned property, or maybe in a wooded area.

The older the better. Dig the root out, trim as much as possible to remove runners and small roots from the largest part.

Put this away somewhere. On top of a water heater, in a warm part of your garage, under or beside a large chest type freezer, just anywhere it will stay dry or warm for at least six months. I once 'seasoned' one on my fireplace mantle.

After seasoning, carve/cut something very pretty.
 
Great info here... thanks to all!!

I've been thinking of trying this for my MK9, and didn't know whether it'd be worth the trouble.

Might turn out to be a neat test project for the summer
 
As mentioned Holly is an attractive wood for grips but it is a bit soft. I made this set for a Super Blackhawk.

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Just completed these for my Liberty Blackhawk...

Spalted Maple from my sugar-bush, 3 coats of BLO to 'warm' them up, and a couple of thin coats of Butcher's wax...Hardware store bright brass fixtures:

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You can buy some really fantastic small pieces of exotic wood from a woodworkers supply store relatively inexpensively. Many of the truly stunning woods are indeed exotic rainforest woods, but that does not mean they were harvested in an unsustainable manner. And besides, if unsustainability were to be applied as a selection criterion for everything, no one would eat corn, wheat, or rice, no one would wear cotton or polyester clothing, no one would use portable electronic devices because of the lithium batteries, and so forth. We are consumers.

Some of my favorites are walnut, maple, any of the many types of acacia, myrtle, zebra wood, ebony, cocobolo, rosewood, mesquite, and just about any of the fruit or nut woods like plum, almond, mulberry, quince, apple, or any of the citrus family.

Look online for sites that sell wood pieces, you will get an idea what options you have. But as many have said already, there are many relatively common commercially grown types of wood that are absolutely beautiful and locally available.
 
I did a stock for a black powder rifle in ash and it was real nice,Harder tha the hinges of hell though.Burned up my table saw ripping the stuff.
 
dry in microwave

When I want to speed drying of a carving done in 'green' wood, I put it in a plastic bag, then microwave for 2 minutes, remove & open bag and let sit 5 minutes (steam will pour out). Repeat until no steam escapes. You might experiment with that. You could weigh your piece of wood before, then you can determine the % moisture loss.
 
here's a quilted maple grip my husband was commissioned to carve. Finished with about 8 coats of tru oil
 

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Wow, Tood! Those look more like "mother of pearl", rather than something that once had roots: amazing!!

As for me, well, I've made my first set of grips.
I am pleased with them, although they are no sculptor's dream! And it is namely because of the grips above and other like them in this thread, that I will not embarrass myself by posting any pics!:o

However, the reason for new grips has been acoomplished: the 2" snubbie they are residing on came with full-hand grips with a wooden shroud for the web of the thumb.

Comfy, but made the gun much bulkier than it needed to be, especially as I have smaller than average hands. If I decide to carry this gun now, I can easily conceal it in a jean pocket, whereas before I could not so comfortably, but I can still get a good two handed grip on the gun.

I opted for plain old oak, in the end.
I was able to find some off-cuts that a wood merchant told me I could take, and I decided that was tough enough to make some stury grips from, yet cheap enough that messing up would not be a major tragedy! They are unstained at the moment, but I have some darker stains that should give them a bit more depth and character...
 
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