Dressing up S&W model 18

[MfK]

Not sure if it qualifies as a “build” but I’ll post it here.
So long story short:
S&W model 18-3 square bottom stock grips are not really comfortable for me, so I decided to make a new set.

 

[MfK]

Started with milling a (what I think is) walnut board.

 

[MfK]

Milled the other side of the board to bring the thickness down

 

[MfK]

Cut them out and start shaping

 

[MfK]

Continue shaping using belt sander

 

[MfK]

Test fit

 

[MfK]

Final sanding and first coat of oil

 

[MfK]

And his little brother I dressed up last year

 

[Stryker]

Final sanding and first coat of oilView attachment 642793View attachment 642794View attachment 642796

Great job!

 

[MfK]

Thank you

 

[Rockrivr1]

Cool grips. Very nice job.

 

[Picton]

Nice work. I like the darker ones.

What are those, mahogany for the square butt and maple for the other?

 

[greencobra]

nice!

 

[LakeTrout]

You did an amazing job. I'm impressed.

 

[MfK]

I’m not sure about the dark ones. I picked up the board on road for free. It feels and machines like walnut, but I could be wrong.
The light one is olive wood. That I’m pretty sure

 

[jayhitek]

Great job. Love it.

 

[38ExtraSpecial]

Beautiful. Did you use a jig or template for the underside mill work?

 

[whalerman69]

Very nice...

 

[MfK]

Beautiful. Did you use a jig or template for the underside mill work?

No. I used the gun frame as a template.

 

[Chris M.]

Excellent! What type of oil?

 

[38ExtraSpecial]

No. I used the gun frame as a template.

Ok now I really want to see pics of that. Any way you can do that?

I’ve done some knife work in my past and always thought making some S&W grips would be fun.

 

[413dan]

nice work, how does it feel in your hand? will you be texturing/knurling it at all?

 

[MfK]

I’ve made some knife handles too

 

[MfK]

Boiled linseed. Takes longer to dry but can always re-apply in case if need to fix a spot.

 

[MfK]

It feels good in my hand. Texturing not much needed to 22 in my opinion. And I suck at checkering, so probably this one will stay as is

 

[MfK]

Here is one of my texturing attempts that I regret doing. It feels ok and does the job but doesn’t look as expected

 

[38ExtraSpecial]

I’ve made some knife handles tooView attachment 643879

Beautiful work

 

[PATRON]

That's some nice work.