Taurus Round Butt stocks on a square butt...

[jdgabbard]

Ok, guys. I've got a 85 Ultra-Lite. It came with the cheesie factory rubber grips. Leaving much to be desired in feel and looks.

Well, today while looking around the Gun Show in Tulsa I found a pair of factory wood grips for a round butt. They looked about the right size, and I figured that I could just do some trimming to get the frame to fit inside. Boy was I wrong!

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/picture.php?albumid=223&pictureid=1587

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/picture.php?albumid=223&pictureid=1588

As you can see, there are quite a few little spaces to be filled in. And the back side of the stocks near the back of the frame (or tang...whatever you call it) needs to be brought down a little.

So here is my question. The stocks seam solid. They don't wabble, or anything. And actually feel quite good in the hands. So should I mess with sanding down the back side, only to refinish it again? Should I do something the fill the void on the inside? Maybe bedding? I'm not a craftsman of wood. But for the $5 I paid for these grips it was a steal!!!

[Johnch]

Years back I did exactly what you are thinking of

I put several coats of wax on the frame and used bedding compound to fill in 1 side of the grips at a time

The fitted grips worked well ....till I needed cash and sold the pistol

John

[DLCTEX]

Definately fill the voids as any unsuported areas will hammer out when firing IMHO.

[jdgabbard]

How did you apply the wax? Any type in specific: Beeswax, Paraffin? I know absolutely NOTHING about bedding...

[Johnch]

I used Johnson's Paste wax
I warmed the wax till melted
Took a rag , wiped on a generous coat , did not buff
Allowed to cool a hour or so and repeated

But if you are using bedding compound , you can use the release that comes with it

John

[jdgabbard]

I looked on the Midway site at the bedding compounds. They look to be just plain ole' epoxy.... Since its such a small project can I just use the expoxy from the hardware store? Or is the makeup of bedding compound much different?

[jdgabbard]

Well, I ordered the Brown GlassBed Kit from Brownells. So hopefully I'll get it in after a few days. I'd like to hurry and get this done, as I'd like to try the grips out, but know that I need to go slow and do it right. Anyone know what the curing time is?

[Cactus Farmer]

Put the release agent on twice,that's the blue liquid. Let it dry,it's alcohol based. mix the bedding compound well acording to directions, apply compound to grip and only do one at a time or they will be stuck to the gun forever,unless you use a hammer. 4 hours later it will be moderatly hard. check it in 2 hours as YMMV. Take the grip off BEFORE it gets rock hard.......in case it is inside a place you don't see. Repeat for grip two,including a new coat of release agent! Some of the bedding will be above the "center line" and have to be dressed down for a good grip to grip fix. It CAN be carved before it gets rock hard. Remove the big high spots and sand the remainder off. The release agent is water soluble so any that does NOT come off with the grips/bedding compound will clean up with H2O.
This is NOT an easy two day job........go slow and you will get a great job,hurry and the grips will be less that good,maybe a do over if your not careful.[smilie=b:

PM me and I'll go over any details I left out.

[jdgabbard]

Wow. I just did the right side stock...

A few things to note to those who might attempt this in the future.

1) Just buy a pair of stocks that fit.

2) If you just must do this: Figure out a way to get the bedding epoxy down in the TINY CRACKS!!! A toothpick is to big. This is one of those projects that you just can't put the stuff in there and then rest the pistol down into it like on a rifle...

3) If you just must do this: Find a different compound then the GlassBed. It is a pain to guessimate the mixing of the hardener with the resin... It's not really that cheap either. $30 a kit delivered.

4) If you just must do this: Don't kneed the packages... The seal on them is the equivalent of the seal on a piece of bubble gum. Yes, the hardener did get all over the kitchen counter... A quick scraping and a bunch of mineral spirits later and its hopefully up. No promises...

5) If you just must do this: Find somebody with more know-how then myself to do it for you. Its really something I should have let somebody else take care of...

[jdgabbard]

Ok. Both sides of the stocks are done.

As stated in my last post, I learned a few things the hard way. And there has to be a better way to do this then the way I did it. But, I've got a good fit on the frame. So hopefully I'll get to test them out in about a week or two. I plan on letting them cure for at least 4-5 days before I try to use the revolver. Even then it mostly gets used with 358495s and 3.0g of Bullseye. So its not heavy by any means. But this is a Ultra-Lite...so it does have a bit more felt recoil then my 65 Smith.

Some tricks I figured out with this. After the bedding dries, go back with a new mix of the bedding, and fill in the places you missed with a toothpick. Scrape off the excess, and then reseat the stocks. It will help get a uniformed contour of the frame.

Second. Since this hasn't fully cured yet, I can be sure. But the Glassbed seems more like a hard rubber then a rock solid bedding. I'm sure this will be more than sufficient for the purpose it will serve. However it would seem to me that a harder surface might be a bit better. Just my thoughts.

And lastly, as stated above, find someone with the knowhow to help you along. A big thanks goes out to Cactus Farmer. Who shot me a couple of PMs to help me along. You were a big help, buddy.