Making Ruger Revolver Stocks or Grips:

I have this slab of white plastic that I've used as a 'bread board' for decades .. well lately I have begun to screw-up my eyes and started to plan saw cuts ..

And then (- too late now eh) I marked-out and drilled holes ..

- and started filing, grinding and sanding away lots of material .. Getting those holes in the right place was a game for sure.

Ahh - don't worry about the mess - there's no females in the house (other than the cat) and a quick shake of the dust over her food bowl will make it all as good as new.

- Coming along nicely so far .. and the cat looks only a little annoyed.

 - I had planned to heat-up a 'dummy' insert and melt-it into the position for the tiki 'medallion' - but it lost heat too quickly even when heated red hot - so I ended-up trying to drill / mill out the cavity to locate the badges - and carelessly cut oversize in places ..

Here we go - nearly finished after lots more sanding, drilling & counter-boring - but I did a really poor "pigs ear" job of fitting the inset Maori tikis into the grips - a fairly rough result that lets the project down.

I made that old knifes bolsters from a piece of stag antler years ago - they are rough-enough too.

- Actually I had fun building the project - as our television here is such rubbish - and the result is OK(ish) for a 'bush carpenters' first effort - and making the grips has saved a bit of hassle applying for an Import Permit and then paying too much to get a set ordered and sent from overseas. - It kept me busy and out of trouble for a while eh.

I've made my 'Ivory' (acrylic plastic) stocks oversize to the originals and they seem to fit my hands better - but I may reduce them with further sanding after shooting on range.

- And I bet you didn't know that the NZ 10 cent copper coins are actually made of steel - Nor did I 'till I started grinding on an emery wheel and saw the dull orange/yellow sparks. (You can test it yourself with a magnet.)

Life is good - and getting better every day ..

Marty K.