Here's what I do with tools

[Caryc]

Before I quit due to health reasons, I used to make Ruger grips for a living. Here's a link to how I made those grips. I thought you guys might like to see this.

http://www.clccustomgrips.com/RamBuild.html

 

[Dingo3]

Very nice!
You by chance don’t have any laying around that will fit the old style Vaquero? I would be mighty interested.

 

[Jack345]

You do super good work a real craftsman . I made a set of my Super Blackhawk out of walnut and it took forever to get it right. Thanks for posting

 

[Caryc]

Very nice!
You by chance don’t have any laying around that will fit the old style Vaquero? I would be mighty interested.

Sorry, but in the last few years in business, I never made a set that wasn't already sold. I started selling grip blanks so people could order their grips made out of the particular blanks that they saw by picture. That kept me very busy.

 

[MarkB_MI]

Beautiful work.

 

[caterpillar guy]

Great attention to detail there.

 

[Mike(NEOhio)]

Nice work. As a former T&D guy I like the fixturing.

 

[Tgrasher]

Nice, it's one thing to have the tools but the real artistry comes from the mind and the hands. Having made a couple sets of grips and stocks for rifles, I can appreciate your work. Thanks for sharing.

 

[drsportster]

Looks super fun and you got skills

 

[Caryc]

Nice work. As a former T&D guy I like the fixturing.

I worked in a couple aircraft job shops where I learned a lot. My Dad was also a tool designer. He worked in some of the big ones, Lockheed, Convair, Rohr Corp.

With all the tooling I made, I could actually make a set of grips in about three hours. The external finish was a different thing. I used Tru Oil and drying and hardening time took a total of 3 days before the final bench buffing. Horn was the easiest, it took a couple hours to polish them.

 

[Tony in SD]

Before I quit due to health reasons, I used to make Ruger grips for a living. Here's a link to how I made those grips. I thought you guys might like to see this.

http://www.clccustomgrips.com/RamBuild.html

Very nice work. You are a true master of your craft. I do not have the patience to sand to your exactness.

 

[randyrenfro7]

There are some that still loves the artistry of quality gunsmithing including me. Great work. Lots of people are happy with molded plastic these days.

 

[Dave Westlund]

An artist at work.

 

[Jerry9N]

Thanks Caryc, I really enjoyed seeing that!

 

[Caryc]

I will add one thing here for anyone attempting to make their first set of grips. The first thing I did was to make the Lexan template. I fitted that thing right to one of my Vaqueros. It's easy to mark where the holes are because you can see through the template. You can mark the grip screw hole with a sharp pointed felt pen. I would mark the grip pin hole next, the same way. Once I had those two holes adjacent to each other where they are supposed to be, I then worked on the top of the template, getting it to lay down flat on the grip frame and fitting correctly at the top. Once the template sits flat on the grip frame, I drew the front and back lines with a pen and started working on them. Once you have that template made so it fits the gun correctly, you can use it to make the wooden template and to locate the holes for the drill bushings. Give it a try. You have nothing to lose.

I made the wooden drill template because I planned on making a lot of grips from it. It was easy to install the hardened steel drill bushings in it. You don't want to repeatedly drill holes using a plastic template to drill though. You'll just wind up wallowing out the hole in the template, hence, the steel drill bushings.

Good luck guys.