Polymer clay has conditioners in it to make it softer and more workable. The more you handle it the more conditioned it gets, making it warn and VERY hard to work with. Next time you are working with it, and it gets too conditioned just throw it in the freezer for about 5 minutes and you will be good to go.

I have been in contact with both of those suppliers, and they do not offer giraffe bone that is unstabilized and undyed.

I could also do with some camel bone too, if anyone has any of that.

You just gotta love giraffe bone.. Sexy grips there.

I would love to see them if you dont mind.

I appreciate the offer, but unfortunately the style of grip I am going for will require more than 1.5" in width at the widest point.

Does anyone have any giraffe bone that is natural, by that I mean undyed and not yet stabilized? I am looking for some to make a few grips, but I can not find any natural bone for sale (only the actual bone leg itself, which I am unable to turn into workable slabs). If you have any you could sell me, or know where I can find some, please let me know. Thanks.

Ok, so my good buddy just acquired 10,000 rounds of .40SW and today he came over and said here, and gave me 5,000 rounds for free!!

So, not owning a single .40 cal firearm, what do you suggest I get? 

Quote from: OV-1D on October-21-13 17:10
  Never thought of olive oil (virgin of course) less acid . You never had any problems with it in that manner of acid content on metal ? Be careful of paper towels they do micro scratch surfaces best to use terrycloth or eyeglass cleaning type of cloths . Happy trails .

Well when you make holsters (or when holsters are made) to form the leather you have to get it wet (wet-forming, or casing) and when leather gets wet it pulls a lot of the natural oils out, so most of the time oiling is required. When the oil mixes with the tannins in the leather, the acidity levels are so insignificant, there will be no harm done to the metal.

Leather workers have been using evoo to oil their work for the majority of its lifetime with no problems, if it helps ease some people.

That being said, while a final finish is not "necessary", it is good practice to put a finish of your choice after oiling. I use mop and glo (50/50 to water).

Sorry for the thread hijack... Back on to topic, is there really any added performance to the porting with such a small barrel? Or is it more for "show".

Quote from: uncle_lee on October-21-13 16:10

Quote from: phil7153 on October-21-13 13:10
Of course proper gun care will reduce, if not eliminate a rusting problem. But it is just good practice to take the gun out of the leather holster and wipe it down before going to bed. Here in Texas where the humidity is like a dog breathing on you, I have seen guns left in a leather holster for just one night that has starting spotting with rust (not mine of course). I have been working with leather, making sheaths and various holsters for awhile, and have seen all sort of mishaps from a lack of care.

For the inside of my holsters, I apply EVOO(extra virgin olive oil) then I seal that with a homemade waterproofing finish. It prevents (or extremely limits) moisture from contacting the firearm, while also making for a smooth draw.

Just my two cents, everyone has their own way of maintaining their guns. Happy shooting.

Hey Phil,
They are your guns & it is your leather.
Do with it as you wish.

Your way sounds good to me.
I am going to try the Olive Oil.

Just make sure to put on a very light coat and rub it in with a paper towel of sorts, let that dry and follow up with repeated coats if needed.

Also if you want to go for a commercial route, you can get neatsfoot oil. It works great, but will darken your leather. EVOO doesn't change color all that much (barely noticeable, if any).

Of course proper gun care will reduce, if not eliminate a rusting problem. But it is just good practice to take the gun out of the leather holster and wipe it down before going to bed. Here in Texas where the humidity is like a dog breathing on you, I have seen guns left in a leather holster for just one night that has starting spotting with rust (not mine of course). I have been working with leather, making sheaths and various holsters for awhile, and have seen all sort of mishaps from a lack of care.

For the inside of my holsters, I apply EVOO(extra virgin olive oil) then I seal that with a homemade waterproofing finish. It prevents (or extremely limits) moisture from contacting the firearm, while also making for a smooth draw.

Just my two cents, everyone has their own way of maintaining their guns. Happy shooting.

Looks like it works for you! I like that you use your pants to open it up fully. With some practice, I can see how it would be a decent draw that works for you.

Just an FYI, you should never leave your gun in a leather holster (minus when you are carrying it, obviously). Leather acts like a wick for all moisture, especially humidity and sweat, so when you leave it in the leather holster for a long period of time it can and will ruin a gun... quickly.

Quote from: OV-1D on October-19-13 15:10
  Someone could make a million designing a bent hot dog bun .

You mean like this?

If you have an extra set of cvang magnum grips that you are willing to sell, send me a pm. Thanks

They can be had here:

http://www.revisioncv.com/catalog/1

Interesting... So you attach them magnet to magnet, instead of to the frame? I see you have carved out space for the mainspring, no problems yet?

Sorry to bring back and old thread, but if you really wanted to make some, you could just use glow in the dark polymer clay. As you can see they glow pretty bright (albeit, the clay has to be exposed to light before it will glow, but still fun).

Quote from: TwoGunJayne on October-10-13 06:10

Quote from: OV-1D on October-09-13 03:10

Quote from: phil7153 on October-08-13 18:10
First time poster and new NAA owner. I have a question for those here who have made their own grips, where do you get the hardware from (the escutcheons/ferrules)? I can not find any for a reasonable price. I made some grips out of polymer clay (which can be quite interesting) but cant find any hardware. Thanks

Making your own out of existing hardware from Ace hardware and a Dremel machine , really quick and easy . More or less a high speed hand lathe , works for me also check with your FFL guy for direction .

With a bench vise on a wood table, cordless drill, some wood screws/wood scrap, and a few small metal plates, you can make your own lathe. Ding a metal plate with a punch and begin to drill a hole, but don't go all the way through. Screw wood brackets onto the table to hold the cordless drill and some string with a sliding knot is your "on switch," unless you've got a locking switch cordless drill. The depression in the metal plate is an improvised version of something called a "dead center," as opposed to a "live center" with bearings. You could also tap a screw through the plate if you would prefer the pointy version of a dead center.

Cost? Free, if you already have the stuff. It's mostly scrap. The main thing is the drill, everything else could literally come from the garbage.

Another fun tip is that you don't need a full band saw. A hand-electric bandsaw can be chucked horizontally or vertically in a bench vise. It's just the thing for roughing out shapes before fitting and combos great with an adjustable speed belt sander.

A real lathe is a luxury that a clever person can work around.

You are much more ingenious than I. If I were to attempt this, I would end up with a drill spinning deathly sharp pieces of scrap metal at me.

I found some hardware at tombstone grips, hopefully they come before the 3-4 month time frame.

Just so I can contribute something to this thread, here is a mockup of a simple 10 minute polymer clay grip:

The only metal grips I have seen are made of aluminum, and are designed for the belt buckles. The back-side grip has a notch in it to seat into the belt buckle. Here is a picture from google.

Quote from: I on October-08-13 19:10
You can get them storebought, but specialty one-off catalogs that carry everything have huge prices for a small number of pieces. An example would be the supplier McMaster-Carr. Yeah, they have it all. Bring your checkbook, because those guys don't play nice if you're ordering less than 5 figures of pieces at a time on a contract. MSC Industrial supply is another example as well as Applied Industrial.

People with a lathe and a tap/die set turn their own no problem, no sweat, all day. That's actually what I think a custom fitting person should be doing. Their $65/hr or whatever seems cheaper than getting one-offs from the companies that cater to it. It's even cheaper if you're doing it for you (once you manage to pay off the lathe and the tap and die set.)

I have found a few like you said from large companies that prefer to sell in bulk, but of the few that I have found they don't fit the purpose of grips on a NAA, as most are too big.

Maybe I will just have to buy a lathe...

First time poster and new NAA owner. I have a question for those here who have made their own grips, where do you get the hardware from (the escutcheons/ferrules)? I can not find any for a reasonable price. I made some grips out of polymer clay (which can be quite interesting) but cant find any hardware. Thanks