I've come up with some really nicely grained wood that I want to make some pistol grips from. My question is:How do I saw the blanks, across the grain,with the grain, quartering with the grain??? I also have some redbud coming for the same purpose, I can hardly wait!!! Thanks.





bowhuntr

If the wood is well dried it really won't matter which way it's sawn in terms of strength as long as it's well finished on both sides, inside as well as outside. I would saw it in the way that gives me the best figure. Wood moves because of moisture, so equal finishing will minimize splitting.

I've seldom seen a Redbud that's big enough to provide blanks, even for a pistol. Where'd you get it and what's it look like? Here in Virginia it's native and a beautiful spring plant, but doesn't get very big in the coastal areas.

I made wood grips for my Para Ordnance. Grips might be very thin because frame is thick. So, I sawed in logitudinal direction for maximizing strength. ( First and second intents failed because I used pine wood which brakes following vein direction when shaping )

A Technical Article; How to make wooden grips for your 1911.. of the following List helps me a lot;

http://www.m1911.org/full_technic.htm

Be patient, wood does not forgive , if you cut short or too deep, no way to fix it.
But all efforts are compensated for the proud of using nice grips made by oneself.

Hope this helps

BA Shooter

Redbud grows pretty big in Kalifornia, never thought about it being good for gun wood. Thanks for the tip!

Redbud is a member of the legume [bean]family which have their seeds in a bean pod.They include a number of important furniture woods; koa, mesquite,coffee tree. If you have any doubts about stability you could have it stabilized which is done by vacuum impregnating it with acrylic.Do computer search for 'stabilized wood' for sources....Take your time inletting the wood to fit the gun, shaping the outside is the easy part.