What was I thinking?

[notsofast]

I know I made a mistake. So I thought it would be better if my wood grips would pull off easily when the screw was removed instead of needing to apply a little force to get them off. Anyone want to guess what I did? Yes I enlarged the dowel pin hole in the grips and they jump on and off now when I want to expose for cleaning the frame butt. What I also found out is when shooting with my “improved” grips I can feel them move some, not much but I can tell that they are not an absolutely solid piece of the gun anymore, I’m pretty sure I made a mistake.

 

[Model29-26.5]

Next time you think about doing something like that, ask first, and folks will say “Not so fast.. “

 

[jbtrucker]

Maybe use wood filler or glue ?

 

[Zoner]

Maybe glue some kind of bushing in the hole and re-bore it the right size

 

[stansdds]

I used to have a saying, just because you can do something doesn't necessarily mean you should do it. I came by this bit of wisdom the hard way, so don't feel too bad.

 

[toad67]

I used to have a saying, just because you can do something doesn't necessarily mean you should do it. I came by this bit of wisdom the hard way, so don't feel too bad.

Yep, we all come to that point in the learning curve, where, either we make it around the curve, or crash into the wall. Eventually we learn how to make it around the track. I always liked this saying:

Good judgement comes from experience. And experience? Well, that comes from bad judgement...

 

[6string]

Not a big problem.
-Drill the hole to the next larger size for which you can get a piece of walnut dowel.
-Plug the hole and glue with wood glue.
-To re-drill the hole you'll need to remove the pin in the frame.
-Place the grip panel in position and use a center punch that exactly fits the pin hole to mark where to drill the new hole.
-Drill the new hole (not too deep! Ha!) and you're done.

 

[.38SuperMan]

Maybe use wood filler or glue ?

I bought a used set of unknown brand Target grips for my model 63. They’re beautiful wood but have some play in them when I shoot. I stuffed some cotton cleaning patches between the frame and wood to take up slack temporarily but that’s not a long term solution. I was thinking about trying some wood filler but hesitated pending some research to see if that’s the best solution. There’s not much play but just enough to annoy.

I’d also thought about gluing a strip of very thin wood in there. Both could be sanded for a perfect fit.

Any thoughts from someone that has experience?

 

[K Frame Keith]

I’ve done this: fill the enlarged hole with JB Weld. After it’s dry, drill a proper sized hole. Use an awl or sharp punch to establish a good center. That stud is hard. Carefully drill the hole to be sure it’s straight. Good luck!

 

[toad67]

If you don't want to fill and try to re-drill the hole in the correct location, maybe you could try drilling it out larger, so you could put an adequate amount of barrel bedding compound in there to get the job done. Just don't forget to put the release agent on the frame and pin.

 

[mikerjf]

Do NOT fix this by getting a bigger pin and drilling the frame hole bigger! =:O

 

[WR Moore]

There's another thread on this. When I had an issue with an enlarged hole I used Acra-Glas to resolve the issue. Can't recall if dyed gel or the original liquid stuff. USE LOTS OF RELEASE AGENT! Installed stocks where I wanted them, tightened the screw and let set for a couple of days.

 

[madmikeb]

If you run into this again, loosen the screw completely, then use a screwdriver handle to tap on the screw and it will push the opposite side grip panel off.

 

[Protocall_Design]

I would drill the grip holes bigger and glue a hardwood plug in them, and sand flush with the original wood. Then drive out the pin in the grip frame and use the frame hole as a drill jig, aligning the wood grip half with the backstrap of the metal grip frame. Then you are not guessing or measuring anything, but can't miss. Put the pin back in the frame and go.

 

[lkabug]

And here I was under the impression that only I ever learned the hard way.
Join the club, there's many member!

 

[Lou_NC]

If you decide to use the barrel bedding compound to fill the gap in the hole, do one side at a time! That way you can push the grip off through the frame when the filler is dry. Just in case the release agent doesn't work as well as you hope it does.

 

[notsofast]

Lots of good ideas here, thanks for the responses.

 

[Nesmith]

Brass tubing

When I encountered this problem with an otherwise very nice set of diamond targets, I used a bit of brass tubing of the required inside diameter to fit the stock pin and cut it to the proper lengths. I drilled the pins’ holes in the stocks so that the short lengths of brass tubing would be a press fit into the stocks. A bonus is that walnut goes well with brass!

 

[max503]

With a pencil and straightedge, draw an x and y axis through the hole center. Then, after you plug the hole that you enlarged, you can re-drill the new hole using the axes to find the hole location. That will save you having to removed the pin from the frame.

 

[raljr1]

If you don't want to fill and try to re-drill the hole in the correct location, maybe you could try drilling it out larger, so you could put an adequate amount of barrel bedding compound in there to get the job done. Just don't forget to put the release agent on the frame and pin.

This sounds like the best idea to me. Redrilling the hole after you fill it with wood putty seems like it would be hard to get the hole in the correct locationn.