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S&W-Smithing Maintenance, Repair, and Enhancement of Smith & Wesson and Other Firearms.


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Old 04-12-2024, 03:09 PM
delta-419 delta-419 is offline
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Red face Ill Fitting Elk Grips

I have acquired a set of elk stag grips for a S&W K frame that have an ill fitting right grip. Left grip fits OK but right grip has a gap at the top. I think too much material was removed from the top causing the "daylight" gap around the upper frame. The 3rd side plate screw is fully visible when looking from close up on the back edge. Question? is there a material or ground bone that mixed with glue will facilitate an inside patch to correct the gap. Anybody know of a fix? Or have an extra right hand elk stag grip?
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Old 04-12-2024, 03:16 PM
walter o walter o is offline
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A picture might help ,Are they service grips ?
Most epoxies when mixed ivory dust turn GREY from my experiances
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Old 04-12-2024, 03:31 PM
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Ask bgmntmn on this Forum.
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Old 04-12-2024, 03:57 PM
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You could always convert them to service stocks.
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Old 04-12-2024, 11:02 PM
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Your gun is an early model that has been refinished. The grips were fitted to a much more recent revolver that was not buffed and re nickeled. Not surprising the fit is not perfect as is. Could probably be fixed with a bit of work.
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Old 04-12-2024, 11:08 PM
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how do the grips fit the grip frame do they over hang the front & back strap
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Old 04-13-2024, 12:27 AM
delta-419 delta-419 is offline
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Default Grips Hangover

Along the butt (bottom) there is a hangover on each side with minor hangover on backstrap edge with sharp corners. These are issues that I can address, the difficult one is the gap around the top left grip. This gun was once a blue gun and I plan to re-blue via slow rust bluing. The current finish is BAD, to say the least.
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Old 04-13-2024, 02:10 AM
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Looks like you could ‘thin’ the grip enough to make the grip ear snug up to the frame. Lay a sheet of sandpaper on a flat surface and go slow. May put a little extra pressure on the top half of the grip so you don’t have to remove as much from the entire inside surface of the right grip. Just how a cheap redneck might do it
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Old 04-13-2024, 07:28 AM
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I would go with what Mr. Edward said above to fix the gap. Then for the fit on back edge at bottom of backstrap I would cover the backstrap with a cut strip of packing tape and slowly sand grips down to meet the frame.
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Old 04-13-2024, 09:31 AM
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The issue you’re having is with the 3rd screw. Prior to magna grips that screw head is domed and proud of the frame. On later models the screw is flush. Mark the screw with a sharpie and tap the grip panel over the screw to transfer the marker. Then take a drill bit the size of the screw and remove some of the material. With a new bit you can do this by hand. That will close the top gap.
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Old 04-13-2024, 10:04 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dwh View Post
The issue you’re having is with the 3rd screw. Prior to magna grips that screw head is domed and proud of the frame. On later models the screw is flush. Mark the screw with a sharpie and tap the grip panel over the screw to transfer the marker. Then take a drill bit the size of the screw and remove some of the material. With a new bit you can do this by hand. That will close the top gap.
See that’s why this forum is great - I had no clue about the domed screw. Makes total sense. And now it figures why the 3rd screw is now flat and flush.
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Old 04-13-2024, 10:27 AM
delta-419 delta-419 is offline
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Smile Flat Screw

dwh, BRAVO, you called it! The flat screw was the issue. I removed the bubble head screw and placed the grips back on the gun and the gap was almost gone. I think that the light sanding on a flat surface will enhance the fit, along with taping the back strap and taking the bite out of the edges. Outstanding guys! Thank you all for your input. I love this forum!
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Old 04-13-2024, 10:43 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by delta-419 View Post
dwh, BRAVO, you called it! The flat screw was the issue. I removed the bubble head screw and placed the grips back on the gun and the gap was almost gone. I think that the light sanding on a flat surface will enhance the fit, along with taping the back strap and taking the bite out of the edges. Outstanding guys! Thank you all for your input. I love this forum!
To keep back of grip flat ...
Find a piece of Plate Glass and lay a new sheet of 400 or 600 grit black wet-or-dry abrasive paper ... go slow and check often .

I would never had thought about the screw ...

Awesome set of grips ... SWEET !!!... color me green .

Common problem , guns were finished by hand back in the day ...
so you see variations . Even Ruger has variations in old Blackhawks .

When you get them fitted ... post "After" photos !
Gary
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