Ivory Grip Help

[Dan M]

I recently picked up this set of Magna Ivory Stocks. Normally I wouldnt have a problem installing Medallions, but these have the thinnest set of Horns? on them and I dont want to take a chance. Can anyone recommend a place to send them to have the medallions installed?

Thanks

Dan

 

[Dan M]

I recently picked up this set of Magna Ivory Stocks. Normally I wouldnt have a problem installing Medallions, but these have the thinnest set of Horns? on them and I dont want to take a chance. Can anyone recommend a place to send them to have the medallions installed?

Thanks

Dan

 

[rburg]

Its going to be hard to find someone that will want to try it. There is always a chance that the grips will split and become nearly worthless. Depending on what vintage/era gun you want to install them on, you need to decide what size medallion you want to use. Large ones that would be correct for prewar Ns may represent a fairly bigger risk.

The best way to cut your hole is with a drill press using an end mill. I set mine to the very slowest speed. I lock my grip to a vise and just start eroding material. Its possible to dig too deep, so be very careful. I don't use water to cool the material, and that may be a mistake.

If you're afraid to do the work yourself, consider how someone else will feel if you plan on holding them liable if something goes wrong. Thats why its hard to get someone else to take the task on.

 

[Deacon KC]

Dan those are gorgeous as is. I wouldn't want to chance ruining them.

 

[mikepriwer]

Those grips don't fit the gun that well anyway. I would not bother
modifying them. If you want a pair of correct period ivory stocks, keep
looking - eventually you will find one.

Later, Mike Priwer

 

[Art Doc]

Ahhh.... Mike. Sometimes you demonstrate a positively towering ability to make someone feel worthless.

 

[VM]

 

[Doc44]

Dan...Jim Alaimo at Nutmeg Sports may be able to help you as no one knows more about ivory stocks than he does. You can call him at 860-872-7373 or email at www.nutmegsports.com

Let us know what he says.

Bill

 

[mikepriwer]

SP

Get yourself some new glasses - those stocks do not fit right ! They are too
small for the gun. The frame is exposed at the bottom corners, and along the
edges. There is a visible gap where the top of the grip meets the frame.

My commments have nothing to do with feeling worthless - it seems silly , to
me, to invest money in an ill-fitting pair of grips.

Reminds me of my graduate school days in Chicago. We went shopping on Saturdays,
at a small neighborhood general grocery. The store was run by three brothers -
long long time in the business. A woman was at the meat counter, wanting to buy
a chicken. She asked the butcher if he had a larger one. Without batting an
eye, he turns around to his brother, and say - "George - get me the chicken stretcher."

There is no grip-stretcher that will make these grips fit right.

Later, Mike Priwer

 

[smith17]

SP:
I liked you the way you were.
Ed

 

[cgt4570]

The trick here would be to thin down the medallions on the back side. I've done this for thin pearls. Then you only have to drill a shallow countersink hole. I use a forstner bit for this. If the medallion still has the stud on the back, you can chuck the stud in a drill and thin it down with a file as it spins.

(As for Mike's comments about fit, you could always fit these to a K frame. Looks like there's plenty of material for that.)

Chris Taylor

 

[rburg]

Wow, a battle!

Some points here. Yes, Mike, they can be fitted. The trick is used often by Don Collins when he's got a piece of undersized ivory. He just takes a thin blank of ivory and laminates them. That makes them wider at the underside and allows another shot at fitting them. Some look very nice, as in Bark ivory that just doesn't always come wide enough.

Its not uncommon for original, perfectly fitted ivories to shrink. Thats what it does over several decades. Some of it (I have no idea why it all doesn't, but its a natural material) just looks to be shrunk by maybe 1/128" all the way around.

As for the fitting of the medallion, I use the post to properly locate the thing. Its really hard to do that from the front side. But its easy to find the center of the stock circle and drill an appropriate diameter hole thru from the rear. Very carefully, I might add. Then you have the center on the front.

I use an end mill, very sharp. It will just shave ivory if run slow enough and almost no pressure used in the downstroke of the drill press (mills are too difficult for us country boys.) And end mills don't leave a shoulder at the bottom of the cut.

Doc, Jim won't work on S&Ws. Years ago I bought an engraved K22 from him and wanted ivories fitted. He wouldn't make them, nor would he fit any other makers to my gun. He kind of gets an attitude about working on fine guns, preferring instead to play with off brand Colts!

 

[Doc44]

Dick...I think it would be worthwhile for Dan to contact Jim as he has made two pairs of ivory grips and fitted them to two of my Ruger Blackhawk 44 Magnums. He also indicates on his website that he has been contacted by the S&W Custom Shop (engraving shop?) about doing ivory work for them and it was a pleasure to be associated with companies like this. Maybe things have changed.

Bill

 

[2152hq]

One trick is to use the gun itself as a 'jig' to hold the grips. The frame with the grips secured into place is held in a secure & padded vice on the mill or drill table and set up precisely to the spot. If the grips are fitted properly, the horn is supported from behind by the frame so it won't flex or crack it. The grip won't move, turn or spin on the frame. If the grips are not fitted properly on the frame, it should be done so now with epoxy(!) if not only for this operation but to preserve them in one piece once the shooting and handling starts.
An end mill is my choice to make the cut. I touch up the cutting edge to leave a very slight scoring edge on the outside edges to avoid any chipping. (Same idea as a forstner(sp) bit in wood) Slow feed, fairly high speed for the cut. Even with all that there is always the possibility of chipping. Like wood, it's a natural material and it has a grain and flaws and those things can happen.
A mill is best with the mechanical feed to control it but in the very least, set a depth control so you don't zoom right through it. Thinning the medallion is a good idea on thin grips,,, just looking at the face of it anyway. No real need for the post either, just glue it into place when done. With all that said, if the grips don't fit all that well to begin with, perhaps they could be used on another gun with better results, made into service style N frame grips, knocked down to K frame dimensions, or be refitted on another N frame that is being refinished and the frame can be filed to the grips for a perfect fit. The laminate idea is a good one too. These are all of course if the owner isn't happy with the fit in the first place!

 

[Dan M]

Thanks Guys,

While not a perfect Fit on my RM, they do fit my OD better, just a hair short on the butt on one panel. I won't be throwing them out Trust me

Doc44 thanks for the tip on Nutmeg I will give them a shout in the next couple days.

I have installed medallions in grips not to try and fake originals, but because I prefer the look to no medallions.

Dan M

 

[Art Doc]

Mike- I agree the stocks are less than perfect. But that's not what he asked about. He asked about medallions and you told him they weren't worth the effort. That's for him to decide, no?

 

[mikepriwer]

SP

Yes - he did ask about the medallions, but that's the beauty of free
information - it's worth what you pay for it !

Think about this in the context of taking it to its limit. Suppose, just for
the sake of discussion, that the gun was a complete wreck, and yet the same
question was asked. Don't you think it would be appropriate to suggest that
it would be a complete waste of time to think about the grips ? Or, would you
ignore the gun and tell him to be very careful soas not to crack the ivory ?

This situation is not at the limit, but I think the same idea applies.

Regards, Mike Priwer

 

[Art Doc]

I understand your point. But maybe a bit of diplomacy is in order in such situations. Perhaps asking "Do you feel this gun/grips is worth the expense and effort?" rather than declaring the item in question to be junk.

I've seen a couple of your guns. I can understand why you call most other examples junk.

 

[mikepriwer]

SP

I never said the gun was junk. I only said the grips do not fit right.

Later, Mike Priwer