MAKING HAND GRIPS FOR PISTOL

[diver dan]

Have any of you made your own handgun grips, I want to try this, and was looking for any help or experiences you have had trying this, thanks. I am trying to make hand gun grips for ENCORE PISTOL.I was wondering about adhesives also,THANKS to glue wood to plastic,is epoxy the best, or is there something else I should use.

 

[PGRChaplain]

Epoxy is Good To Go for Wood/Plastic. I've made 1911 Grips and a set for a .380.

 

[gmcttr]

I've never handled an Encore but looking online it appears a grip would be one piece with the center routed out to except the tang/grip stud or whatever it's called. That will be a difficult job to get it right. Hope that you are an experienced wood worker with a good set of chisels and/or a square hole drill setup the right size. The outside of the grip is the "easy part"...band saw, sanding drums on a drill press, table type belt sander and a dremel should do the job.

 

[Leadeye]

Walt O. makes this look easy, I've never done well making grips my self.

 

[stocknup]

Don`t make them out of Poison Ivy stalks !
I knew a guy that made a set of grips for his old Blackhawk out of some large Poison Ivy stalks .
End result was some of the most awesome grips I have seen .....But he did not fair too well with reactions to the sanding dust .

 

[patience0830]

I've made Contender grips. You'll need to cut the mortise between the "ears" and drill the bolt and tenon holes while the sides are still flat. Then shape the outside. Drill press and a table saw with a good dado blade are helpful.

 

[russc2542]

Don`t make them out of Poison Ivy stalks !
I knew a guy that made a set of grips for his old Blackhawk out of some large Poison Ivy stalks .
End result was some of the most awesome grips I have seen .....But he did not fair too well with reactions to the sanding dust .

having been around wood and several kinds of plastic dust, sweet jesus I don't even want to imagine that! That's a trip to the ICU.

 

[BluedSteel]

Making your own grips is definitely doable and can be fun.
But an Encore would be one of the worst examples to try for a first project. Besides being a one piece grip with a single through bolt attachment; the inletting around the receiver would be extremely difficult -- requiring either patient and skilled hand fitting or multiple tedious and precise measurements and machine set-ups. [or CNC programing; which still might require multiple set-ups]

Unless you expect to be snowed in for weeks with nothing else to do I suggest trying something easier first.

 

[patience0830]

Making your own grips is definitely doable and can be fun.
But an Encore would be one of the worst examples to try for a first project. Besides being a one piece grip with a single through bolt attachment; the inletting around the receiver would be extremely difficult -- requiring either patient and skilled hand fitting or multiple tedious and precise measurements and machine set-ups. [or CNC programing; which still might require multiple set-ups]

Unless you expect to be snowed in for weeks with nothing else to do I suggest trying something easier first.

Not as tough as it looks if you can figure the angles and machining order. Inletting first, shaping second.