Grip Reduction Surgery

[Jonesy814]

A couple years ago I got this set of Thai grips off EBay. The cricketing is well done and the guy my guns snug with no gaps. The 2 problems I have with them are they are too orange colored ( more so than picture shows) and they are way too big for my had. The panels are thicker than factory targets and these are also longer and wider front to back. Shown here in my 686.


I only have $40 invested in them, and have some woodworking skills so I decided to see what I could do to address the issues.
First off I cut almost an eighth of an inch off the bottom and cut a bevel on the toe of the grip, then stripped the finish with acetone

Did a lot of sanding to reshape that front edge and eliminate glare at back/ bottom of grip. I sanded them to 400 grit then stained with mines special walnut which is dark. Didn't quite like the shade so 2nd cost was red oak stain. I steel wooled then applied polyurethane. They feel pretty good to me now. Not thrilled with the poly finish and my strip it then use Danish Oil



Red outline on paper shows original size and they are actually not quite as dark as this picture, but not as light as they look on the gun

 

[Slamfire]

Great job! I like the orange, I have purchased a couple of Thai grips for my M41's, the wood is beautiful, and the grip shape was slightly different and felt good. I think Thai's have small hands like I do.

 

[Tallball]

Nice work. They look great!

 

[Jonesy814]

Great job! I like the orange, I have purchased a couple of Thai grips for my M41's, the wood is beautiful, and the grip shape was slightly different and felt good. I think Thai's have small hands like I do.

I have 5 or 6 different sets of Thai grips. Medium sized hands but short fingers. All have been fine except these. I would put them at a 20% greater diameter at the base than factory target grips, before my reduction.They still are fatter because each panel is almost an eighth of an inch thicker than factory panels, but reducing the front to back distance really helped me. If you think S&W factory target grips are too small, these would be the answer
Here is a " Before" picture of the inside of the grip showing how far below frame they extended

 

[Alaskan Ironworker]

I like that alot! They look really good on that dark blue velvet. Ever notice how guns turn us all into professional photographers? I always thought that was funny how women go overboard with pictures and we roll our eyes and deal with it, but when we start taking pictures of our guns we do the same thing. Nice job!

 

[bannockburn]

Jonesy814

Great job on the grips! I did kind of the same thing reshaping a mismatched pair of N frame grips.