I'm looking for ideas on how to dress up a plastic grip cap. I've been on the prowl for something decorative to shape and inlay into the recessed area to cover up the screw hole. My hope was to find a pewter pendant of some sort with a military crest, (eagle globe and anchor) and cut to fit, but this far I haven't come across anything that is sized properly to do it and look good.

last summer I came across this sterling silver pendant at a Scottish Highland Games, and it looked like it might work. It is a woven Celtic knot design. My first thought was to build up a mound of black Acraglass gel and press the pendant down into the glob, after curing I would then file, sand, and polish the whole thing down so that the silver was flush and looked inlayed. I am concerned though that the sticky consistency would just make a big ole mess, plus I'm not sure how the epoxy would finish up.

My next though was to get some sort of craft clay that hardens when you bake it, shape it to fit, carefully remove and bake, then glue it all together. I'm just not sure how durable this stuff is.

I also considered carving a small piece of ebony to act as the filler between the grip cap and pendant. (it is slightly dished in on the back side.)

Any thought on techniques or materials for this?

Is this pendant to "gay" for a rifle?!

Thanks, and sorry for the picture quality/size...

Interesting and different. I assume it is filigree and not solid. What may work is using a metal cap and overlaying this by silver solder. The metal grip would have to be shaped and thinned, I believe, to work. Interesting approach and please share the finished results.

It is not solid, filigree I guess is the right term. I thought it would look nice with a darker contrasting color underneath, one that comes up almost flush with the top of the silver so that it appears embedded or inlaid.

Do you possibly remember the vendor?

Here is how I would approach this: Press the face of the pendant into some modelling clay, soft wax, Play-Doh or other soft medium. Using a clay modelling tool, remove the clay that oozed though the filigree off the back of the filigree. The idea is to fill with clay, from the front of the pendant, the open areas of the design. You want to end up with the pendant sitting in a "bowl" of clay, back side up, back side cleaned, clay encasing every part of the pendant you do NOT want epoxy on. Once you have it cleaned, mix up your epoxy, dyed as you like). I would use regular Acra-glas or other thin, runny product, stirred for at least 2 minutes. Then let the mix set for a fre minutes to allow the air bubbles to rise. A heat gun on low or a hair dryer will help raise the bubbles. Also, using something that vibrates will speed up the air removal. Pour the epoxy into the "bowl", cover and let set overnight. Next day, break off the clay, sand the backside flat, put some small holes all over the flattened back to give the epoxy some mechanical grip, clean up the perimeter to rough size of the grip, epoxy to the grip, and finish sand.

btw, There is nothing "gay" about a Celtic design. We were proud warriors and wore them with pride.

Mike, excellent suggestion! That is just the sort of thing I was looking for. I think I will give that a try.

BTW, the "gay" question was a bit of an inside joke for anybody that also goes to the African hunting forum. There is a guy stirring things up over there with posts like: "How old is too old to hunt Africa?" and "How fat is too fat to hunt Africa?" Somebody else jokingly posted "How gay is too gay to hunt Africa?" Absolutely no offense intended. I did have a short moment of hesitation becuse it is a woman's brooch that I was going to put on a working rifle, but the Celtic knot is gender neutral and I think would look pretty cool. No more "gay" than any engraving you would see on a fancy rifle.

Doug, I don't remember the vendor. It was a tent in a field mixed in with all the other vendors, clan tents, etc. I am British by heritage, but have been involved in Scottish and Irish cultural events for the last 5 years because of the kids. It started with an adopted border collie mix, we took the kids to watch some sheepdog trials, and they were entranced with the highland dancers. They have been dancing and competing ever since. They recently branched into Irish dancing and competed in their first Feis just yesterday.

montea6b,

Hello,

I am really new to this site. I could duplicate the broach with my duplicator. It could be done in ebony or walnut like you mentioned.

PM me if you are interested.

My name is Doug Carpenter My company is Carpenter's Custom gunstocks LLC

Thanks, Doug

Thanks Doug, but I think I am going to try Mike's suggestion.