TT-33 grips

[Bren R.]

This is the sort of thing that happens when you walk by a gun show table and see a chunk of 1x2x8" hardwood for $2.

I figured it was big enough for a set of grips and I just couldn't leave it behind, so I made a set of thicker grips for my Tokarev TT-33, since the stock grips are so thin I find it's like trying to shoot one of those Archie Comic Digests you get at the grocery store checkout.

The wood is Louro Preto, and it's unfinished at this point... some final fitting, the finish (after a lot of test staining, they'll look best in natural danish oil) and then rivetting in the stock retainers to do yet.

This should probably go in Special Projects, but I don't read that forum regularly.

Bren R.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_219884fcf84a101138.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=5512)

[Clark]

Wow.
Did you program CNC to cut that?

I called up Numrich [Gun parts corp] 15 years ago and asked about Tokarev grips.
The lady quoted a price and I said, "I can buy another Tokarev with grips cheaper than that."
She yelled at me, "THEN DO IT!"
Numrich has got a lot nicer on the phone and Tokarevs have a lot more expensive since then.

I have fantasized about making some Tokarev grips out of thin sheet metal.

[Bren R.]

The inletting on the back of the grips was done traditionally with progressively smaller end mills... and being that the TT-33 grips act as grips and also a shelf for the hammer stirrup, that was a chore.

Unlike the Marschall aftermarket grips, mine use the same lever-style retainers. The Marschalls use a piece of flat that gets screwed in from the outer grip.

The shaping was done on a bandsaw, sander, etc... and the checkering was a test run - one of my clients has a laser cutter, and we ran some tests on whether or not you could run it fast enough to get a good depth of cut and solid edges without burning or scorching.

A few scraps of walnut gave their lives for the testing, but it actually works very well. Like anything, it has its limitations. The piece has to be relatively flat, you can do slab grips or flats on a buttstock or foreend, but nothing too rounded since the laser has to focus on a single plane. Also, the laser need perpendicular line-of-sight, it couldn't checker the thumbrest or backstrap on a set of Herretts or something.

Ended up as about 25 hours of work in my spare time... just in the process of finishing them now.

Bren R.

[Bren R.]

I have fantasized about making some Tokarev grips out of thin sheet metal.

I find the gun way too thin to shoot comfortably with the stock furniture, but I'm an ISSF Competitor - I'm used to competition/"Bullseye" grips.

Bren R.

[Bren R.]

Here's what the raw blank looked like when I was done cutting it in half (and wetted with alcohol to show grain):
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_219884fd8dfe82bd53.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=5597)

And the preliminary fitting of the milled out blank (note a small slip on the top right under the hammer stirrup - that got epoxy bedded to ensure a perfect fit)
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_219884fd8dffe1d990.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=5598)

Bren R.

[mtnman31]

Nice work, very cool. I was thinking of doing something similar to replace some broken grip panels on my 1903 Colt .32 Hammerless.

[Bren R.]

Here they are with the finish on (natural Danish oil and lacquer) and the retainers rivetted in.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_219884fe8173085504.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=5673)

Bren R.

[Bored1]

Those look awersome!!! Nice personal touch to a lovely gun. I really like the TT33's

[Bren R.]

Thanks for the compliment. They fit much better than the stock grips, too.

Bren R.

[Red River Rick]

Bren:

Nice work! Now if you only had a 3-D Pantograph..............................

RRR

[Tokarev]

Anything less slippery than the factory grips works better on TT :)

[Bren R.]

Thanks, Rick...

We'll see what we can do.

Bren R.

[Clark]

That is home made, but does not look home made.

That is some very careful detailed work.

Must have been a labor of love.

[Bren R.]

It was a labour of "I'm single right now and the house is too quiet" - at least the shop has some action going on in it.

Bren R.