Used two coats of Varathane American Walnut.
Producing this.
Got out the Dasco Pro scratch awl and sharpened the tip.
Let the stippling begin. There are plenty of ways to texture the wood using punches or a Dremel tool. For whatever reason, I gravitate toward doing this the hard way.
tap, tap, tap.... It's a laborious process.
Left side done.
Finished up the sanding on the right grip and stained it.
Just need to stipple the right grip panel.
There's a lot more surface to stipple on this side.
A couple evenings after work while watching late night TV got the grips to this point.
I liked the look, but I'd missed the mark. After 50 or so shots, it was apparent that the palm shelf needed to adjust upward a bit more. I was slightly less than thrilled considering how much time I had into the project at this point. Felt kinda stupid. I should have shot the gun more after getting the shelf fitted--before staining and all the stippling. After thinking about it for a while, I thought there might be an easy fix.
I decided to make the shelf taller rather than make a completely new one . Cut an outline of the shelf from a piece of 1/4" walnut scrap--always looking for the best part of grain.
I was thinking that if I dress it up enough, maybe it won't be so bad.
Cut a sliver of thin maple.
For, uh, contrast. (or maybe height)
Sanded off the wood stain from the top of the shelf and went looking for the Gorilla Glue.
About four hours later in the clamps. Together (hopefully) forever.
Sanded and re-stained. Made every effort to not get walnut stain on the maple.
Success! Got the needed height and I like the added visual appeal of the spacer.
Nice burl to complement the left side. The height problem turned out to be a rather fortuitous mistake.
Well, these certainly beat the old plastic grips. I'm calling it on this one. Took 3 posts and a couple weeks of working here and there. I need a different project next that doesn't involve so much sawdust.
What a difference in the look by just a few pieces of wood. Had to scroll up and down for a before and after shot
ReplyDeleteWow, looks great! Very good result.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Joe & Ryan very nice. On a lighter note :) what ever happened with the touch probe you were experimeting with on your blog Oct 14 '09 on the 1377 grips just curious.
ReplyDeleteI just haven't had the time to play with the touch probe again, it's a really slow process. I've been trying to figure out a better method, perhaps with lasers & a cam like the David project scanner.
ReplyDeleteNick
Derrick
ReplyDeleteYou really lucked out by making the palm shelf too short initially. The maple spacer is a very sharp detail, and it totally makes the grips in my opinion.
Excellent work, both the grips and the blog. Keep it up fellas.
Thanks for all the kind words guys. The problem wasn't in making the shelf too short--it was shaping too much at the bottom of the grip and not leaving enough of a flat for adjustment slots. The maple spacer and sliver of walnut is really just a nice looking band-aid.
ReplyDeleteFelice,
ReplyDeleteI have seen David's laser I also would like to learn how to use that because I'm in the middle of building me a CNC router machine. And it would be kind of fun to learn and make stocks and grips. So if you try it please post.
BTW Great Blogs and beautiful jewelry.
Thanks Bret
These are beautiful, I wish I could buy a pair of them for my 717. It definitely looks quite a time consuming project to build.
ReplyDeleteanonymous,
ReplyDeleteHow about making them yourself? Patience and self-criticism are helpful traits. Besides, winter is here, what else are you gonna do at 10PM on a Wednesday?
Well, I cut quite a large bit of my thumb off woodworking when I was younger, it has been hard to try my, ahem, hand at it since. But perhaps I will sooner or later:)
ReplyDelete