Make Your Own Wood Rifle Grips MikeManassas Text and Photographs 2017 by MikeManassas All rights reserved

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2 Make Your Own Wood Rifle Grips MikeManassas Text and Photographs 2017 by MikeManassas All rights reserved

3 Table of Contents Introduction Tools Need to Have Tools Good to Have Tools Nice to Have Tools Planning Your Work Preparing the Wood Tool Safety Cutting Grip Blanks Trigger Guard Cut Routing the Grip Blank Route Trigger Guard Notch Route Grip Nut Channel Drilling the Grip Blank The Drilling Jig Drilling the Grip Screw Holes Drilling the Grip Cavity Shaping the Grip Shaping With Sanders Finishing Tips Cherry, Teak, Walnut Matching Other Wood Ebonizing Advanced Techniques Grip Line Routing Jig Things to Consider

4 Introduction Many of the rifles sold in the United States today are either new rifles based on a military design or are built from a combination of new U.S. Parts and imported surplus parts. The front hand guards, stocks, and grips on these rifles were often made of plastic, composite material, or wood. These components were designed to be inexpensive and functional, but not always aesthetically pleasing. There are several reasons why you may want to replace your rifle grip with a new wood grip. Your grip may be damaged, or too small for your hand. You may want a grip that matches the other hardware on your rifle; or you just like the feel of wood better than plastic, polymer, or composite materials. Maybe you just like to work with wood! If you are looking for historical accuracy you may be able to find surplus (new old stock or NOS) wood grips and stocks that have been stored in warehouses for half a century and refinish them. You may also find reproduction wood grips that are modeled after the original grips installed on your rifle. This may be the best solution for you if you are not comfortable using power tools or don't want to invest in a workshop full of tools. I made replacement grips for each of my rifles using the tools and techniques described in this book. Each grip may look different, but the processes used to cut, route, drill, and sand all of these grips are identical. Figure 1 shows a Yugoslavian M70ABM rifle with surplus handguards that were refinished by the rifle manufacturer. The original grip was a surplus plastic M70 grip, which I replaced with a new wood grip made from yellow birch and stained to match the original handguards. Figure 1. Yugoslavian M70ABM rifle.

5 Figure 2 shows a new Serbian N-PAP made by Zastava and based on the Yugoslavian M70 rifle. The original grip was a new plastic grip which I replaced with a reproduction of an M76 sniper rifle grip that I made from teak. This grip was made using the same setup as the grip for the M70ABM, above. Figure 2. Zastava N-PAP with a teak M76 sniper style grip. Figure 3 shows my Hungarian AMD-65 which had surplus blue-green plastic grips when I bought it. I made the new wood grips from curly cherry. Figure 3. Hungarian AMD-65 with curly cherry wood grips. Figure 4 shows a Czech VZ58 rifle made from a parts kit. The original rifle had a folding metal stock and a reddish brown grip and handguards made from a wood and resin composite material. I made all of the replacement wood parts from the same piece of curly cherry wood. The grip was made using the instructions shown in this book.

6 Figure 4. Czech VZ58 with curly cherry furniture. The instructions in this book include measurements for making grips for three types of rifles: 1. Any of the Yugoslavian style AK rifle variants where the grip nut is riveted to the receiver; such as the Yugo/Serbian M70, O-PAP, N-PAP, and others that use the Yugoslavian Style measurements found later in this book. 2. Any Russian style AK rifle; such as the Bulgarian, Romanian, Polish, Hungarian, Chinese, and most other AK pattern rifles that use the Russian Style measurements. 3. The Czech VZ58, CZ858, VZ2008, or any VZ58 clone that uses the VZ58 trigger guard will use the VZ58 Style measurements. You can adapt these instructions to make a grip for any rifle where the grip is attached to the receiver by a long screw that runs through the length of the grip ( see Figure 5 ).

7 Figure 5. Grip screw runs through center of the grip. Tools Since not everyone has a fully stocked woodworking shop I have divided the list of tools into three groups: need to have, good to have, and nice to have. If you have all of the tools listed below it will certainly make your grip making experience easier. Don't worry if you don't have all of the good to have and nice to have tools there are alternatives. Need to Have Tools Saw A power miter saw is the best choice for making the angle cut on the grip blank, but an inexpensive miter box with an adjustable angle setting will work well. You can even use a hand held circular saw with an adjustable guide fence. Router Table - You will need a router table and router bits to cut the grooves that fits against the trigger guard and around the grip nut. If you are careful and patient you may be able to cut these grooves with a Dremel tool, but there really isn't a good alternative to a router table for this operation. Drill Press - A drill press with a depth stop is the best choice for making the several drilling steps required by this project. Drill presses are available as large floor mounted models or as inexpensive bench top tools. Again, you may be able to substitute a hand held electric drill and a Dremel tool for the drill press, but that is definitely like trying to carve a turkey with a butter knife. These three need to have tools will let you turn a piece of wood into a grip blank a rough block that you can be test fit to your rifle ( see Figure 6 ).

8 Figure 6. An AK grip blank ready to test fit to your rifle. Good to Have Tools After you have completed the grip blank you will want to shape it to the grip design of your choice. The best way to do this is to remove as much of the unwanted wood as quickly and efficiently as possible. Here are the tools that make quick work of changing your grip blank into something that resembles your completed grip.

9 Band Saw A band saw with a 3/8 blade is the best choice for cutting out your grip pattern. Alternately you could use a scroll saw, sabre saw, or even a coping saw. Belt Sander A belt sander with an 80 grit sanding belt will help with rounding the edges of your grip. Spindle Sander If you haven't used one of these before you are in for a treat! The cylindrical sanding drum is mounted vertically on the sander base and spins rapidly while oscillating slowly up and down. Use it to shape contours and sand finger grooves. GRIPTIP: Buy extra sets of spindle sander rubber sanding drums for each sanding grit. It will save you a lot of time by not having to change your sandpaper cylinders each time you change to a different grit. Nice to Have Tools Planer The wood you use for your grip should be just a bit thicker than the thickness of your finished grip. A surface planer takes off a thin layer of wood from the surface of rough cut lumber. Repeated passes on each side of the board will smooth your wood and make it a uniform thickness throughout. It is a great tool, but most lumber suppliers will plane your wood for a modest charge. Table Saw A 10 table saw will rip your wide boards into the width you need for your grip blanks, usually somewhere between 3 and 4 wide. Again, your hardwood supplier can probably do this for you if you do not have a table saw. Orbital Palm Sander Used for finish sanding of your grip. The quarter sheet palm sander is my choice because it uses standard 9 by 11 sheets of sandpaper cut in fourths. The alternative is to hand sand your grip, which I do anyway after I have finished the 220 grit sanding with the palm sander. Miscellaneous Hand Tools Chisels, a tapered reamer, wood rasps. I use these to clean out the cavity inside the grip after drilling. This cavity does not show so this is more of an aesthetic consideration.

10 Planning Your Work There are only four critical measurements that constrain your grip design: The distance from the trigger guard to the center of the grip screw, measured at the receiver (3/4 on a Yugo N-PAP, M70, M92, etc. See Figure 7.) The length of the grip screw, not including the head (generally 100mm for AK style rifles) The acute angle between the grip screw and the receiver (65 degrees for Yugo rifles. See Figure 7.) The width of the rifle receiver is the maximum thickness of your finished grip. Figure 7. Yugo grip screw angle and trigger guard distance. Notice on Figure 8 that the grip screw angle for most AK style rifles is 70 degrees, not the 65 degree angle used on the Yugoslavian style rifles.

11 Figure 8. Grip screw angle and trigger guard spacing for most AK rifles. As long as you obey the four critical measurements you can make the grip shape, length, width, and thickness any size you wish. If you are making a grip for a Yugoslavian, Russian, or VZ58 style rifle you can use the measurements found in Table 1. Measure Yugoslavian Style Russian Style VZ58 Style A-B 15/16 1 1/16 1 3/16 A-D 3 13/ /16 2 7/8 C Table 1. Critical grip measurements If the grip you want to make is not for one of the three rifle styles shown in Table 1 you will need to measure the A-B length, the A-D length, and the C angle on your rifle. Refer to Figure 9. A-B is the distance from the trigger guard to the centerline of the grip screw. Remove your old grip and thread the grip screw back into the grip nut. Make a mark on the grip nut where the centerline of the grip screw would meet the receiver. Measure from the trigger guard to that mark. If your grip has a notch where the grip meets the trigger guard add 3/16 to your measurement to compensate for the notch you will route in your new grip.

12 A-D is the length of the grip screw without the head of the screw included ( see Figure 10 ), minus the length of the screw that protrudes above point A. With the old grip removed from the rifle insert the grip screw through the grip and measure the length of the screw that extends beyond the top of the grip. This is the amount you subtract from the screw length to get length A-D. C is the angle between the grip screw and the receiver as shown in Figure 9. Thread the grip screw in to the grip nut as shown in Figure 7, earlier. Hold a piece of stiff poster board behind the grip screw and tight against the receiver. Hold a pencil against the grip screw and draw a line on the posterboard. Measure the angle between the line and the top edge of the poster board with a protractor. This will be your angle C. OK, enough with the heavy mathematics! It's time to start making your wood grip. Figure 9. Important measurements for your rifle grip Figure 10. Screw length does not include the screw head.

13 Preparing the Wood Select a piece of wood that is a bit thicker than your finished grip. Generally, 1 1/4 to 1 3/8 thick is sufficient. If you have access to a planer you can buy rough milled hardwood and plane it to the required thickness, or have the lumber supplier do the planing for you. The thickness of this wood is usually measured in quarter inches of thickness. A one and a quarter inch thick board is referred to as 5/4, two inch thick is 8/4, etc. GRIPTIP: There are quite a few cutting, routing, drilling, and sanding operations required to create a wood grip. You do not want to get to the last step and make a mistake that will ruin your grip after spending a lot of time and effort getting to that point. Plan on making a number of grips. It is far better to start with five grips and end up with four than to start with one and end with none. Tool Safety This might be a good time for a safety reminder. Some of the tools you are about to use can do some serious damage to your body. Above all, protect your eyes with safety glasses or a full face shield. Never use any tools that you are not confident operating... and never, ever let any of the moving parts come in contact with your body. Cutting Grip Blanks Your first cut is the edge of the grip blank that touches the receiver. Set your saw angle at 90 degrees minus the grip screw angle ( angle C ). For example, set your saw angle at 25 degrees for grips with a 65 degree grip screw angle or 20 degrees for grips with a 70 degree grip screw angle. Cut the blank to the length you want your finished grip to be. See Figure 11.

14 Figure 11. Angle cut on grip blank. To minimize waste, after the first cut, I then cut billets at that angle that are twice the grip length plus the blade thickness. Once I have cut as many billets as needed I reset the saw to 90 degrees and cut each billet into two grip blanks.

15 Figure 12. Cutting billets into grip blanks. GRIPTIP: Your new grip cannot be shorter than the original grip ( unless you get a shorter grip screw ) but it can be longer. The A-D length we calculated earlier will accommodate the longer grip. Trigger Guard Cut Make a 90 degree cut where the grip meets the trigger guard ( see Figure 13 ). If your grip blank is just wide enough for your grip you may want to trace the grip outline on the blank before making this cut. I use the same grip blanks for several grip designs so I wait to draw the outline until I am ready to complete the grip.

16 Figure 13. Making the trigger guard cut. Routing the Grip Blank Route Trigger Guard Notch The Yugoslavian style and Russian style grips have a notch cut in the front to fit the trigger guard (see Figure 14 ). VZ58 style grips do not have this notch.

17 Figure 14. Trigger guard notch. Use a 1/2 straight router bit to route the notch for the trigger guard. Set the depth of cut to 3/16 ( see Figure 15 ). If you are making a grip for a rifle style not shown in this book then measure the width of the trigger guard and use a straight router bit that is as wide as, or slightly wider than, your trigger guard. Use a scrap piece of wood to check the depth and to make sure that the router table fence is set so the cut is centered on the grip blank. The trigger guard is one of our critical reference points so make sure you make this cut accurately. If your grip blanks are a uniform thickness, and you were careful to center your trigger guard notch accurately, you will not need to change the position of the router table fence for the next two cuts.

18 Figure 15. Routing trigger guard notch. Route Grip Nut Channel Next you will route the top of the grip. For Yugo and Russian style grips use a 1/2 router bit and set depth of cut to 5/16. Set a stop on the left side of your router fence 2 1/16 from the right edge of the router bit to limit the length of the cut ( see Figure 16 ). If you are making a VZ58 style grip use a 7/16 bit set 3/16 deep, and set the stop at 1 7/8. You may want to set up a feather board to hold the grip blank tight against the fence while you make this cut.

19 Figure 16. Route the grip nut channel. GRIPTIP: A foot switch makes it a lot easier to control your router for these cuts. Only for Yugoslavian Style Grips - This cut will widen part of the channel for the grip nut. Change to a 5/8 straight router bit set to a depth of 5/16. Set the stop on your router fence to 1 3/8 from the right edge of the router bit. You should end up with a grip blank that looks something like the one in Figure 17.

20 Figure 17. Wider grip nut channel for Yugo style rifles.

21 Drilling the Grip Blank The Drilling Jig To ensure accurate drilling of your grip you will want to make a drilling jig that holds your grip blank plumb with the drill bit on your drill press. I use scrap cabinet grade plywood for jigs but any warp free wood will work. The jig consists of a base, a fence that is perpendicular to the base, and a reinforcing brace to keep the fence at a 90 degree angle to the base ( see Figure 18 ). Figure 18. The drilling jig. Use the measurements from Table 1 and mark the fence of the drilling jig. Refer to Figure 19: 1. Draw a line A-D parallel to the drill bit (perpendicular to the drill press table). Extend line A-D to the top of the jig as a reference point for aligning the grip blank later. 2. From line A-D use a protractor to measure the grip screw angle C and draw line B-E extending both directions through point A. 3. The line A-B is the distance from the trigger guard to the center of the grip screw at the receiver plus the depth of the trigger guard notch that you routed earlier ( usually 3/16 ). Measure and mark point B. 4. At point B mark a line B-F that is perpendicular to line B-E. 5. Attach boards along lines B-E and B-F to hold the grip blank in the proper position when you drill.

22 Figure 19. Measurement points from Table 1. Drilling the Grip Screw Holes You will need to drill a counterbore hole in the bottom of the grip blank to recess the grip screw head using a Forstner bit. Then drill a smaller hole in the center of the counterbore hole for the grip screw shank. Use a brad point bit for this second hole. You will find the drill bit sizes in Table 2.

23 Yugoslavian Style Russian Style VZ58 Style Screw head counterbore 12mm or 7/16 Forstner 12mm or 7/16 Forstner 16mm or 5/8 Forstner Screw shank hole 6mm or 1/4 brad point 6mm or 1/4 brad point 6mm or 1/4 brad point Grip cavity bore 15mm or 5/8 Forstner 15mm or 5/8 Forstner 14mm or 9/16 Forstner Table 2. Drill bit types and sizes. Chuck the appropriate screw head counterbore bit from Table 2 in your drill press. Lower the Forstner bit until it lines up with point D on the drilling jig and set the depth stop on your drill press to this depth. This will prevent drilling the counterbore hole too deep. Put one of your grip blanks bottom up on the drilling jig and transfer the grip screw centerline (A-D) to the grip blank. Draw a perpendicular line through the transfer mark and mark the center of the grip blank as shown on Figure 20. Figure 20. Centering the grip blank on the drilling jig.

24 Move the jig on the drill press table until the center of the Forstner bit lines up with the center mark on the grip blank. Clamp the jig securely to the drill press table. Drill the counterbore hole in all of your grip blanks then replace the Forstner bit with the screw shank hole brad point bit shown in Table 2. Release the drill press depth stop but do not move the jig on the drill press table. Drill each of your grip blanks as deep as the bit will go. You may have to back the bit out of the grip several times to clear wood chips from the grip screw hole and drill bit. See Figure 21. GRIPTIP: Make sure that the screw shank hole starts in the center of the larger screw head counterbore hole. Hold the grip blank against the point of the brad point bit. You will feel when the drill bit point is seated in the center of the first hole. Hold the grip blank in that position and lower the drill press handle and grip blank together into the drilling position on the jig. You will get a perfect center every time! Figure 21. A completed grip screw hole.

25 Drilling the Grip Cavity Use the appropriate grip cavity Forstner bit shown in Table 2 to lighten the grip cavity. You can reuse your drilling jig by making an insert that will hold the grip blank in the upright position as shown in Figure 22. Figure 22. Jig insert for drilling grip cavity. I drill two overlapping holes in the top of the grip centered on the grip nut channel that we routed out earlier, see Figure 23.

26 Figure 23. Drilling the grip cavity. Be careful not to drill too deep here. You only want to drill to within about 1/2 of the grip screw head counterbore hole. Stop frequently to clear wood chips from your grip and drill bit. When you are finished drilling you may want to use a hand reamer on the inside of the grip to deburr the grip screw hole you drilled in the previous step, see Figure 24. Be careful not to do anything to damage the hole where the grip screw head is recessed on the underside of the grip. Your grip blank is now (technically) a grip! You should be able to attach it to your rifle at this point if you care to test it.

27 Figure 24. Cleaning out the grip cavity with a hand reamer.

28 Shaping the Grip At this point you should be able to shape your grip any way you wish. STOP HERE and go to Advanced Techniques later in this book if you want to add grip lines or fluting to your grip. Then return to this section. Draw the grip outline on the grip blank, making sure to align your pattern along the trigger guard notch and top of the grip blank as shown in Figure 25. Notice that the same grip blank is used to make four different grip styles. Figure 25. Tracing a grip pattern. Cut out the grip along the pattern lines. A bandsaw with a 3/8 fine tooth blade is the best choice for rough cutting the grips to shape ( about 1 minute), but you could also use a sabre saw ( 10 minutes ), scroll saw ( 20 minutes ), or coping saw ( 30 minutes ). You will greatly reduce the amount of sanding you have to do if you remove as much of the excess wood as possible using the router table. A 1/2 radius round over route bit equipped with a bearing works well. Do not try to remove all of the wood in one pass. Start with the bit set low and raise it a little with each pass. Depending on the type of wood you use three or four passes will suffice. You can buy a special small part holder, but a 6 Quick-Grip clamp works well. Notice the clamping

29 adapter that makes both ends of the grip parallel for clamping. Cut it from scrap wood a little thinner than the grip. I added a dowel that goes into the grip cavity to prevent slipping. See Figures 26, 27, and 28. Figure 26. Commercial small parts holder.

30 Figure 27. Quick-Grip clamp used as small part holder.

31 Figure 28. Clamp adapter. You can put the saws, router, and drill press away. From here on everything is done with sanders.

32 Shaping With Sanders Mark the top and bottom profile on the grip ( see Figure 29 ) and sand just outside the lines with the belt sander, making sure you sand with the grain. Be very conservative here. It is very easy to take off too much wood with a belt sander. Figure 29. Mark the top and bottom grip profile. Sand the contours with an oscillating spindle sander ( Figure 30 ). These sanders have six interchangeable spindle sizes ranging from 1/2 to 3 diameter so you should be able to match every contour on your grip. The 1 spindle is great for cutting finger grooves. Start with grit spindles for the first pass. Then use a random orbital sander with 120 grit paper to sand the grip smooth. Go back to the spindle sander and sand all contours using 150 grit spindles. Sand the grip again using the orbital sander. This time using first 150 grit sandpaper then 180 grit. For the final pass with the spindle sander use 220 grit spindles, followed by 220 grit with the orbital sander. Give the grip a final hand sanding using 220 grit sandpaper. You are now ready to finish your grip with

33 the wood finish of your choice. Figure 30. Shaping the grip with a spindle sander.

34 Figure 31. Final hand sanding is complete.

35 Finishing Tips Instruction on wood finishing is outside of the scope of this book. How you finish your grip may depend on the finish you already have on other components on your rifle, the type of wood you are using, your finishing skills... and your patience. What I can do is give you some wood finishing tips that have worked well on my own grip finishing projects. Cherry, Teak, Walnut... and any other hardwoods that have a highly figured grain, or have a naturally beautiful color, and do not require staining. Tung oil is my hands down favorite finish for these wood types. Do not confuse products labeled as tung oil finish with tung oil. They are not the same, not even close! In fact, some tung oil finishes contain no tung oil at all. Look for a product that is labeled as 100% tung oil, such as Hope's 100% Pure Tung Oil. A little of this goes a very long way. GRIPTIP: If you want to see an approximation of what your grip will look like if finished with 100% tung oil just wipe the grip with mineral spirits using a clean cloth. The mineral spirits will evaporate quickly and will not raise the wood grain. How to Finish Pour a small amount of 100% tung oil into a container and dilute with 25% mineral spirits. Apply liberally to the grip and let it soak into the wood for one hour. Wipe off any tung oil that was not absorbed with a clean cloth. After 24 hours buff the grip lightly with 0000 steel wool and reapply the diluted tung oil as above. Repeat this process until it appear that very little of the tung oil is being absorbed. For additional depth use undiluted tung oil. Touch your index finger to the surface of the tung oil so that you pick up just a small drop. Rub this drop into the grip until no oil appears to be on the surface. Wait 24 hours and buff with 0000 steel wool. Repeat this process until you are satisfied with the finish. I often apply between 6 and 12 coats using this method.

36 Figure 32. Curly cherry finished with 100% tung oil. GRIPTIP: Unfinished cherry darkens quickly when exposed to sunlight. Before applying tung oil to cherry grips leave then outside in strong sunlight was a day.

37 Figure 33. Teak grips finished with 100% tung oil Matching Other Wood Staining a new grip to match an existing stock or handguard can be a real challenge. When you cut blanks for your grip also cut a few scrap pieces. Sand the scrap pieces the same as the grip. Use the scraps for color matching your stain. I had the idea to make a complete furniture set for a rifle out of a single piece of wood. I laid the pieces out so that each piece was in the same position on the wood as it would be on the rifle. Even the grain pattern on the lower handguard continued into the upper handguard. Was it a perfect color match? When I installed the pieces on the rifle everything looked perfect... except for the grip. I removed the grip and held it next to the stock so that the grain on both pieces ran the same direction. The color match was perfect. When I rotated the grip 70 degrees, like it would be when installed, the color was a bit different. The lesson: manage your expectations! I have had good results matching grip finishes to existing wood using a Danish oil finish. Watco Danish Oil is available in nine colors that can be mixed to get a wide range of colors. How to Finish Assemble the following: several colors of Danish oil, a 4 ounce canning jar (with lid), measuring spoons, small paint brush, clean rags, your scrap wood pieces, note paper and pencil. Shake all of the Danish oil cans thoroughly. Measure a small quantity of each Danish oil color you think will match the color you want into the canning jar. Write down the colors and amounts you used. Shake the canning jar well to mix the colors test color on a scrap wood piece. Need more red? Measure in some red mahogany Danish oil. More yellow? Add golden oak. Continue mixing and testing until you get the right color. Write everything down so you can duplicate the recipe.

38 Shake your Danish oil mix before each application. Flood the grip with the mixture, add more to areas that absorb quickly, wait 30 minutes and reapply. After 15 minutes wipe the grip completely dry. Wait 12 hours before using the grip. If you want a more durable finish wait 72 hours before applying polyurethane or tung oil finish. I have had very good results using Formby's Low Gloss Tung oil Finish. Apply a thin coat with a lint free soft cloth. Let dry 12 hours and buff lightly with 0000 steel wool and wipe with a soft cloth. Repeat the application one or more times. GRIPTIP: Is the low gloss finish still too glossy? Apply another coat and wait 24 hours. Buff with 0000 steel wool until the finish has a satin sheen. Figure 34. Grip finished with Danish oil to match factory refinished handguards.

39 Figure 35. Grip finished with Danish oil to match new factory installed stock. Ebonizing This is a great finish for your grip if your rifle has a black polymer stock or black handguards. Minwax Wood Finish Ebony 2718 is a good choice. How to Finish Stir well and apply with the grain using a cloth. Wait 5 to 15 minutes then wipe off any stain that has not penetrated the wood before it dries on the surface. Repeat at 4 to 6 hour intervals until the color is dark enough. Wait at least 24 hours for the stain to thoroughly dry before applying polyurethane or low gloss tung oil finish.

40 Figure 36. Czech VZ58 and AK grips ebonized.

41 Advanced Techniques You may have noticed that some of the grips pictured in this book have grip lines or fluting cut into them to emulate the look of the original rifle grips ( see Figure 37 ). To create these lines you need to make repeated cuts on both sides of the grip with a small V groove route bit, sometimes referred to as a point cutting round over router bit. After each cut you need to reposition the routing jig for the next cut. You will need to make two routing jigs for each grip design, one for each side of the grip. Want to make a checkered grip? That will require four jigs and twice the number of cuts. Maybe that is why you don't see any checkered grips in this book! Figure 37. Chinese Type 56 S-3 and Yugo M70 style grips with lines. Grip Line Routing Jig You will need to construct a jig to hold your grip in place while you route lines, see Figure 38. The jig slides along the router fence as you cut each line. After the first cut place a thin spacer between the jig and the router fence to advance the grip position for the second cut. Continue to cut lines and insert additional spacers until you have cut the last line, see Figure 39.

42 Figure 38. Left side grip line jig set to make first cut.

43 Figure 39. Left side grip line jig after several cuts have been made. Notice in Figure 39 that we have already made several cuts. The router jig rides against the stack of acrylic spacers that advance the cut to the next line. The stop block is set in place to keep the spacers from sliding off the router table. After the last line is cut on the left side of the grip all of the spacers are removed. The left side jig is replaced with the right side jig, see Figure 40. The right side jig is set in position to cut the first line and the process of making cuts and adding spacers is repeated until you cut the last line.

44 Figure 40. Right side grip line routing jig in place to cut first line.

45 Figure 41. Right side grip line routing jig after several cuts have been made. Things to Consider Routing grip lines is very labor intensive. In the example I described in this chapter we made 25 cuts per side, 50 cuts total. That is 50 chances to make a mis-cut and ruin an otherwise beautiful grip. If you decide to cut lines on your grip practice on scrap pieces first, and work patiently. Wood cutting lines across the wood grain is more difficult than cutting with the grain. Choose a wood species that is close grained with a uniform density. I have found that yellow birch, cherry, and hard maple work well. Router Bits In our example I used 1/8 spacing between cuts using a V groove bit with a 1/16 radius from MLCS Router Bits & Woodworking Products ( Point cutting roundover router bit #6429 ). For 1/4 spacing use a bit with a 1/8 radius ( #6431 ). Spacers To adjust the jig position for the next cut I use spacers cut from a sheet of acrylic. I use acrylic because the thickness is very consistent and the surface is smooth so that the jig slides easily. You could use hardboard ( Masonite ) instead of acrylic. So, did you decide to route lines in your grip? If so return to the chapter on Shaping the Grip to cut out your grip pattern and complete your grip. If you decided not to use grip lines then, guess what? Congratulations, your grip is finished. Take the rest of the day off and go to the range!