Wrangler5,
I think your project is absolutely great. I'm glad to see somebody who decides to just do it. I've got
a couple suggestions. Maybe you've already thought of them.
From what I have seen of a lot of older Smiths, up through the postwar period, the grip frame profiles don't always seem to be perfectly uniform from run to run. But maybe that was only in pre-CNC days. I wonder if your molds could be made to
cast a more concave inner surface, so only the sprue has to be cut/trimmed/ground out? I'm talking much more concave than fitting right against the rounded revolver frame. Leave a slight empty space in the middle, maybe 1/16" deep, with only the edges fitting closely to the pistol frame. They'll be more easy to fit, but also...
For the following reason...
Installation could then involve laying
a thin bead of G.E. clear silicone or the equivalent into the concave area, attaching the adapter, tightening the grip screw, and wiping away the oozed silicone with a clean soft cloth. It cures overnight. And the adapters would be a perfect, non-moving fit to any frame within a series. Those thin mounting tabs would do an even better job of holding the thing in place, as there would be no tendency to move laterally or horizontally. It would be rock solid, even under considerable recoil. But it would still pop right off when you want it to remove it. Then peel away and discard the silicone, before mounting on another gun. It's wonderful, trouble free, non-toxic stuff to work with.
A tiny throw-away tube of silicone could be included with the adapter. Other people package it besides G.E.
The stuff would not damage bluing or aluminum and it comes right off anytime. A new bead of silicone would perfect-fit it to another gun which might have a slightly different frame profile. So no adapter has to be permanently modified to fit only one particular gun. The silicone custom fits it, if the adapter's mating surface is kept slightly concave, to hold silicone.
Another suggestion: Experimentation should show what proportion of
powdered aluminum or metallic pigment mixed into the resin would make the adapters a dead ringer for metal. And with good molds, they ought to look almost like they are polished.
By the way, you can mix various pigments with the clear silicone also, if you want even the hairline frame/adapter joint to be the "right" color.
I've played around with pigments in molded synthetics in bygone years, and it doesn't take much to get some pretty nice effects. And with most epoxies, you would have to use far too much of it before coming close to interfering with strength or setting/curing characteristics.
And another one: A Dremel tool with a 1/2" sanding drum and an AMERICAN MADE coarse slip-on sanding insert will take care of all your removal of material from the inner area which fits against the frame. Just don't run it too fast, or it will heat and soften your part, and the sanding surface will permanently load up. Then you'll have to spend $.30 on another one.
There is little danger of slipping and ruining the part, or your anatomy, and one insert would do many, many pieces. I have not yet found a Chinese insert that lasts more than a few seconds. The good ones are great for wood, plastic, even steel. I use them for shaping custom wood grips, where I may need to remove a lot or just a little wood in the easiest, quickest way.
Good luck. Great project. You must be having a lot of fun with this.
