stockmaking

[Beekeeper]

Didn't know where else to put it as we do not have a section on stock work (hint,hint).
I am looking for something to make a couple of white inlays on a rifle pistol grip.
I saw one that was made of Ivory but don't know if it is leagal to use here in the states.
Was thinking some sort of high density white plastic.

Any ideas anyone?


beekeeper

[flounderman]

piano keys?

[Reg]

Once upon a time all inlays were done in wood. Correctly done, they still should be. Look around. Holly, if you can find it, is very light colored. Rock hard maple can really stand out.
If you don't want to go the wood route ( pity ) then most craft stores can supply a white plastic in various forms. A quick internet search will show up many sources.
Hope you give wood a try. In the 50's and through the mid 60's inlays were used quite a bit. Ya, some were gaudy and cheap looking to say the least , but tastefully done some really stood out and don't look out of place even by todays standards.

[waksupi]

Go to the butcher, and get a cow leg bone. Boil it out good, and let it fully dry before working. Real hard to tell from ivory with the project you are doing. I used a buffalo leg bone for an insert on a skeletonized grip cap, and it has not changed dimensions.

[Bren R.]

I second both the holly suggestion and the suggestion for bone.

You can also bleach bone before using it. At the farm here, the guys always just use a soak in chlorine bleach, but there are probably other ways.

Bren R.

[nhrifle]

I've built a number of acoustic guitars over the years and learned the frustrating world of inlay in the process. Check these guys out, should give you some ideas.

http://www.lmii.com/

[Reverend Recoil]

Look up any of the knife maker's supply web sites. They have all sorts of ivory, fossel ivory, and imitation Micarta ivory.

http://usaknifemaker.com/
http://www.texasknife.com/vcom/index.php
http://www.knifemaking.com/
http://www.sheffieldsupply.com/

[geargnasher]

Here's Rock Maple against Mesquite with a Rock Maple background, for perspective. It's white as rice until you finish it.

I second the cowbone recommendations.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=26688&d=1289282759

Gear

[Just Duke]

Here's Rock Maple against Mesquite with a Rock Maple background, for perspective. It's white as rice until you finish it.

I second the cowbone recommendations.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=26688&d=1289282759

Gear

That's cheatin. You made the grip bigger to accommodate a larger hand. Is that a Vaquero?
Nice work BTW.

[geargnasher]

New Vaquero. Life has enough compromise as it is without having to compromise with one's personal tools. I'm an odd size, and left-handed to boot, so I make things fit ME.

Gear

[starmac]

Nice job gear, just curious is the bottom piece just glued to one side, or have dowels in it, or what.

[Just Duke]

Nice job gear, just curious is the bottom piece just glued to one side, or have dowels in it, or what.
Maple, Lemonwood or Osage Orange?

[geargnasher]

Nice job gear, just curious is the bottom piece just glued to one side, or have dowels in it, or what.

The maple piece is just glued to the left stock with Titebond II, which when clamped properly for curing is stronger than the wood itself. I carefully drilled holes in the stocks for the roll pin in the grip frame to keep them from twisting, same as the factory stocks. I really don't remember for sure, but I think I installed an aluminum pin in between the maple extension and the right stock for added alignment security.

Duke, handmade Osage Orange dowels are some of the strongest you can have, I used to use them for rubber band pistol hammer, trigger, and sear pins when I was a kid.

Gear

[Bren R.]

Duke, handmade Osage Orange dowels are some of the strongest you can have, I used to use them for rubber band pistol hammer, trigger, and sear pins when I was a kid.

And you should be able to get a useable toothpick sized dowel out of a 1x4x8 piece of Osage Orange that is mostly free of checks and voids. I don't hate many woods. That one has it out for me.

Bren R.

[iomskp]

Have a search for vegetable Ivory, white and very hard.

[chsparkman]

geargnasher, that is beautiful work. If you don't mind the question, what is your source for mesquite?

[swamp]

Beekeeper,
I use bone for my arrow points. If you would like to try some bone let me know what size pieces you need and I should have something that you could try.

swamp

[geargnasher]

geargnasher, that is beautiful work. If you don't mind the question, what is your source for mesquite?

That was out of a piece of very old, seasoned root ball cut up by a friend making firewood out of some 10-15 year old brush/dirt piles pushed up by a dozer when some fences were built on a piece of land in Llano, TX right on the highway. He contacted the landowner after seeing the piles while driving and asked if he could cut up all the firewood from the various piles and take it if he left the place neat and smoothed out the dirt with his Bobcat. He not only got about 20 cords of Mesquite, but the landowner supplied all of his off-road diesel to do the work and make the place look better.

I saw some of the wood piles at his place and cherry-picked a few nice pieces before he split them to sell for barbeque wood.

Gear

[Ben]

Gear,

That is beautiful ! !

Ben

[PatMarlin]

Awesome work Gear...!

That would be the answer for ugly Hogue grips. You have any more photos at different angles?

[geargnasher]

Best I can do without taking more.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=26691&d=1289283005

Gear

[ken s]

I have some end pieces of elephant ivory that is very old. how big a piece do you need? Ken