Making replacement 1911 grips from scratch

[andremajic]

Hello,

I had an issue with my old llama subcompact ccw pistol grips stripping out where they screwed into the frame, so after pricing new grips I figured that since I had more time than money I'd try my hand at making them.

I started with a scrap of hardwood flooring. I'm guessing that it's maple, because of the color and hardness. I traced the old grips shape on cardboard and cut it out.


After tracing from the cardboard to the wood with a sharpie, I used a handsaw to rough cut the blanks, holding them still in the vise. All of the time until the final shaping, I made sure the blanks were oversize, so that I could clamp it in the vise without worrying about marring the final surface.

I then used a hand rasp, sandpaper, and the chisel to rough shape them into the desired curve. I noticed that I had plenty of wood left and it was really thick so I decided to split the piece into 2 pieces. After cutting it halfway through with the vise, I wedged some shims into the empty space that the saw made, so that when I reverse clamped it in the vise I wouldn't split the piece.

After rough shaping and sanding it into the shape that matched the originals, I measured and drilled some pilot holes to make sure that the holes lined up with the original holes in the frame. I used a needle file to correct any small differences with the actual thru holes to center them and then drilled them out with a larger drill bit. I then used a larger drill bid to countersink the holes so the screws would sit more flush with the surface.

I used the original grips and a sharpie to trace the cutouts for the magazine release and the slide release plunger tube and used the chisel to carve out the relief. Because the wood split easily I made sure to use hand tools because power tools take off materiel a lot faster and it's easier to compensate for mistakes early with hand tools. I'm sure you will realise when you start working on wood that you have to watch direction the grain runs, otherwise you can break off a chunk of wood easily.

After screwing the grips onto the frame I carefully used the chisel to sculpt and blend the grips into the contours of the frame, so that it would "look right". The only thing I haven't done yet is take them off, finish sand them, and stain and oil them. I'm thinking I might leave the wood "blonde" because I really don't see many grips this light and it would set it apart a little from the standard factory grips I see on most 1911s.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy118/bradybillsucks/pics2001-1.jpg

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy118/bradybillsucks/pics2003.jpg

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy118/bradybillsucks/pics2004.jpg

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy118/bradybillsucks/pics2005.jpg

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy118/bradybillsucks/pics2006.jpg

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy118/bradybillsucks/pics2007.jpg

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy118/bradybillsucks/pics2008.jpg

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy118/bradybillsucks/pics2009.jpg

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy118/bradybillsucks/pics2010.jpg

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy118/bradybillsucks/pics2011.jpg

[andremajic]

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy118/bradybillsucks/pics2011.jpg

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy118/bradybillsucks/pics2012.jpg

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy118/bradybillsucks/pics2013.jpg

As you have noticed, the epoxy coating on the pistol has come off on a lot of different places because the surface prep was sub-par. I plan on sandblasting off the old finish and using the homebrew parkerizing to refinish it. For now, the finish will be fine as I carry it, day to day.

[Taylor]

Good job! Looks great.I had just enough elk antler at one time to make one pair,while I was touching up on one ,the dog ate the other one.I have some persimmon that I think would make good handles too,but it is as hard as wood pecker lips.

[Just Duke]

Nice Job.
Looks like a Safari Arms Frame.

[fourarmed]

Kind of hard to tell from the pix - does the LLama use grip bushings like a 1911? From your description, I am guessing not.

[andremajic]

Kind of hard to tell from the pix - does the LLama use grip bushings like a 1911? From your description, I am guessing not.

Nope, they just screw directly into the frame. I don't know why they don't use the bushings, but it's probably to keep costs low.