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Gun Grips - cnc update!

I was wondering if pressure vs. vacuum would work instead. Got to looking and found an post on stabilizing wood. The guy in the post uses one of the vacuums that you hook your compressor to. It uses air pressure instead of having it's own motor. Looks like they are only about $15, might be a cheaper rebuild/replace than what you're using Frank. He also uses white wood glue and a water mixture, but says it works with the plexi/acetone soup.

The post:
http://www.rodbuildingforum.com/index.php?showtopic=22478&hl=stabilizing

The vacuum unit:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=96677
 
Alright Frank, here are some clearer pics. Still have another coat to do on the grips, will let them dry for a few days before installing them.

I'm going to do a write-up on the process (with pics) if anyone is interested on the next set using Lacewood.
 

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When I've had to vacuum small pieces, I've found that my Food Saver vacuum storage system works pretty well, and the glue didn't stick to the plastic bag.
 
Darren, I actually have a Phenix 22 lr pistol. That is something I may try someday. That is a great project, be interested in hearing how they hold up. What the heck, they break, make another set!
 
Jonathan Shively said:
Darren, I actually have a Phenix 22 lr pistol. That is something I may try someday. That is a great project, be interested in hearing how they hold up. What the heck, they break, make another set!
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I'll send you the drawings and notes if you want once I get them scanned into my laptop. I plan to make another set, will post a few more detailed pics on the write-up.
 
I decided to see if I could produce these grips on my CNC router. So spent some time importing the drawings and creating the cnc operations. So here is last nights test run, as you can see the scale was just a bit off for this little mouse gun, but was happy with how they came out and figured out that I was taking too much in a single pass for the final cut-out.

2013-05-08 20.04.58.jpg

With the scale being off I had to go back and re-do all of the files, but that wasn't a bad thing. I had originally planned to do both grips at time. However unless I'm using a very uniform grain patterned wood, they wouldn't match. So I split the files to left and right. This way I can take a 1/2" thick piece of stock and cut the inside pockets for each grip on the front and back sides of the stock, then re-saw it down the middle to get a book matched set. Will take a little longer, but the results should be much nicer.

I still need to work on the contour drawings for where the thumb and fingers rest on the outer side. Tonight I'll run the new files through some dry runs, but may be the weekend before I get any actually cut out. It took about 15 minutes to cut/mill a full set out, I suspect the contour cuts will add another 5 - 7 minutes. I plan to have them just slightly over-sized so that I can do the final fit/finish by hand.

EDIT: BTW Garry, I forgot to come back and post the how-to I did on this. It's on my blog page: http://darrensshop.com/?p=50
 
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Very cool, Darren. :thumb: I wonder if you can get CAD drawings of standard 1911 grips somewhere. Seems that might be something you could make a bit of money with. ;)
 
Vaughn McMillan said:
Very cool, Darren. :thumb: I wonder if you can get CAD drawings of standard 1911 grips somewhere. Seems that might be something you could make a bit of money with. ;)
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Not so long ago one of the gun makers up here went all bean counter and ditched the guy who had been making there grips for years. He made them mostly with a copying type jig system. The bean counting leaders found they could get more grips faster and cheaper by switching to a CNC company. In mine and many others opinion the guns just don't feel right any more. The grips just don't fit like they used to. So much so that the gun company asked the guy to start making them again. He refused and sold off all his stuff. I had a chance to buy it lock stock and barrel but just couldn't take the chance on corporate America to put food on my table.
 
Vaughn McMillan said:
Very cool, Darren. :thumb: I wonder if you can get CAD drawings of standard 1911 grips somewhere. Seems that might be something you could make a bit of money with. ;)
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I dunno, I may just have to "acquire" one to take the measurements myself. :D

I did find the full drawings for the 1911, see page 57 for the grips... http://brlcad.org/design/drafting/M1911-A1_REDUX.pdf

larry merlau said:
darren to me to get better figure pop on your maple would be to use some dye then top coat after a lite sanding the rays will show up better.
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I'll give that a try. :thumb:
 
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Too bad, Chuck. There is always a good market for custom made gun accessories. Just like the stuff we wood guys make. People will pay premium prices for premium work. Same as they pay $50.00 for a nice pen when a pen that writes can be bought at Wal-Mart for 99 cents.
 
Tonight I did a test run of my latest files. I was surprised how much quickly the cnc is moving with the new power supply.
2013-05-10 21.09.34.jpg2013-05-10 21.34.25.jpg

I do need to work on my hold-downs. I had one of the pieces come loose during the cut-out, so will be working on that before running anymore.
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After cutting each out. I think can make some changes to the direction of some of the cuts. I was getting climb cuts on the face contour cuts as it was taking multiple short cuts from right to left rather than smooth longer cuts.
2013-05-10 22.04.22.jpg

After cutting the two grips out I did some comparisons to the originals. I found the holes were about 5/64" off on one set and the rear recesses were off on both. I was able to adjust accordingly so will run another test this weekend once I get the contour paths adjusted.
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