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Post by RDW on Jun 28, 2020 18:04:09 GMT -5
Allright How about California Buckeye. Its more or less a Big Bush rather than a tree, Hahaha, But the natives would mash up the fruit or nuts and stupifie fish with it to slow em down and make them grogy so they were easier to catch. It is poisonous obviously. They say not to make bowls or eating utensils but it makes a great looking and very durable gun grip. I have it in yellow all the way down to darn near Black. And it burls very nice! I like to heavy resin pressure stabilize Buckeye.  Here are a few examples of what it can look like!  Upper left. SBH Dragoon! Upper Right Wells # 9 Lower Left standard Keith # 5, Lower middle XR3 Red Plus .300, Lower Right Kaytod. Very Durable. |
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Post by RDW on Jun 28, 2020 18:27:21 GMT -5
Well either way it was a great Education in Walnuts. I was just totally amazed at the variations and i know i am missing a bunch! I would betcha their is a lot of Gentlemen on this forum that could dispute or straighten me up on any falsehoods here. and as usual i would welcome it! This is how we learn. yep. Ive got a couple of Hippo teeth (Legal of course) I havent cut any of it into grips yet but i did cut it in half and part it into pieces sizable for a grip, thats next! It wasn't terrible to cut but it wasn't real happy either. Seems pretty tough so far. It is an Ivory from what i understand so it should be close to texture enough for me to duplicate some i have done before. I inherited a tusk from my dads uncle in the eighties. He brought it back from Africa in 1945 when he was flying transport ops in the Army. I remember it in the sixties at his house in the dragoons cuz it was taller than me. Hahaha. I went to whittlin on it later. I like it but im always afraid its going to crack in half. some that i have left is just darn near yellow. I just made some K#5 panels for a gentleman on this forum out of similated ivory and it cut real nice. So we will see. This is a cut in half piece of the front of the tooth on top of the remnants of the simulated ivory.  Heres the whole thing after i cut it in half. Its about a foot and a half long across and about two foot around the outside. Sure wouldnt want one of those boogers coming at me with twins in a mouth that will open up about 5 foot wide huh?  Ive got some antique white micarta to try. It might look good to. Will keep ya posted. |
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Post by Rimfire69 on Jun 29, 2020 7:59:56 GMT -5
Excellent, thanks for the walnut education and all the pictures of your fantastic grip material.
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Post by bradshaw on Jun 29, 2020 8:14:28 GMT -5
Leave to the insatiable curiosity of Ronnie Wells to graphically explain the diverse WALNUT family. When I told an artist in Louisiana that pecan is a great wood for cooking, he said, “Pecan is in the hickory family.” Now Ronnie tells us walnut shares genealogy with hickory. Always wondered if many of the woods described as walnut actually were not. Now to learn the walnut adapted to extremes of soil and moisture, filling a pallet for grip makers.
Exact in his adaptation of Computer Numeric Controlled shaping to wood as well as metal, it looks like Ronnie Wells is about to kick open the door for tactile connection between a shooter and his or her revolver. Grip frame AND grip scales. Both will need to be finished. His preparation is revolutionary, made possible by Bill Ruger's precise planing of Ruger’s frame to receive the grip frame, and equally precise locating of the 5 screw holes in the frame. This allows Ronnie to repeat that precision...
... with this exception----the RW Grip Frame is more precise than a Ruger grip frame, the RWGF hole location mating exactly to Bill Ruger’s frame preparation. This is why, when you place the RWGF against a Blackhawk/SBH frame, the screws drop right in. My practice----always----is to counter rotate the screw until it clicks, to align threads and prevent any chance of cross-threading. Redundant on RW grip frames I have tried, I counter-rotate anyway. It’s a good practice with fine threads and small threads.
Now, given Ronnie’s fascination with walnut, looks like he will be able to supply scales which fit his grip frames like a suction cup----because he performs the headache of scale-to-gripframe via his own CNC program.
Folks with a modicum of skill cannot precisely fit scales too gripframe. Folks with a modicum of skill----and patience!----should be able to finish scales to his or her hand. Near as I can tell, Ronnie has done the dirty work.
Same with hand loading and trigger work, nothing is settled until the Firing Line says it is: Breathe , Squeeze, Shoot.
David Bradshaw
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Post by 470evans on Jun 29, 2020 9:25:50 GMT -5
Ronnie's Hippo Tusk experiments have me wondering what to do with mine!  |
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Joe S.
.401 Bobcat
Posts: 2,517
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Post by Joe S. on Jun 29, 2020 9:39:31 GMT -5
I didn’t even know hippos had tusks until yall’s posts.
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Post by bradshaw on Jun 29, 2020 10:02:09 GMT -5
Ronnie's Hippo Tusk experiments have me wondering what to do with mine! ***** 470evans.... I’d opt for a pair of walnut scales for a Ronnie Wells grip frame with RW walnut scales. Conserve your hippo choppers as beautiful objet d’art. David Bradshaw |
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Post by 470evans on Jun 29, 2020 10:10:08 GMT -5
David,
I wasn't too serious about using the Hippo, I think they are too brittle. Makes a hell of a conversation piece though....
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Post by potatojudge on Jun 29, 2020 10:11:59 GMT -5
I picked this pair up in an antique shop in Louisiana a few years ago with all the appropriate paperwork. Sometimes I mentally measure them out for grips: 1911 scales, knife scales, SA grips, the thick stuff for DA grips- preferably on a 3 inch Python. It'll never happen. They're too cool as is. The animal, the mount, and the scrimshaw are art, and they'll stay that way.  |
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Post by RDW on Jun 29, 2020 17:33:11 GMT -5
David, I wasn't too serious about using the Hippo, I think they are too brittle. Makes a hell of a conversation piece though.... I dont know 470 E. i have cut into it and the enamel is brutal on blades but the inside is pretty sweet. Not gummy and not hard. I will let you know. And by the way nice peices there bud. So as you look at one in your hand you know what i meant when i said. Sure wouldnt want one of those boogers coming at me with twins in a mouth that will open up about 5 foot wide huh? R |
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Post by RDW on Jun 29, 2020 17:34:31 GMT -5
Excellent, thanks for the walnut education and all the pictures of your fantastic grip material. My Pleasure RimFire. Like is said i was flabbergasted! Very Surprised. R |
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Post by RDW on Jun 29, 2020 17:36:16 GMT -5
I picked this pair up in an antique shop in Louisiana a few years ago with all the appropriate paperwork. Sometimes I mentally measure them out for grips: 1911 scales, knife scales, SA grips, the thick stuff for DA grips- preferably on a 3 inch Python. It'll never happen. They're too cool as is. The animal, the mount, and the scrimshaw are art, and they'll stay that way. Awsome Possum with Extra Blossum there Bud! How kewl is that. No way in HELL i would even scratch them. Those are fabulous to look at. |
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Post by RDW on Jun 29, 2020 17:41:55 GMT -5
I didn’t even know hippos had tusks until yall’s posts. Oh Ya. And a bunch of them. And they are attached to a very Aggressive and very territorial 3 to 4000 pound, easy to piss off aquatic dwelling Monster that can hold its breath for 5 minutes and open there mouth five or so feet wide and bite your boat and your butt IN HALF. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. They say they are the leading cause of human fatality in africa. Bad Monkey Sauruses i do believe! |
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Post by 470evans on Jun 29, 2020 18:11:54 GMT -5
David, I wasn't too serious about using the Hippo, I think they are too brittle. Makes a hell of a conversation piece though.... I dont know 470 E. i have cut into it and the enamel is brutal on blades but the inside is pretty sweet. Not gummy and not hard. I will let you know. And by the way nice peices there bud. So as you look at one in your hand you know what i meant when i said. Sure wouldnt want one of those boogers coming at me with twins in a mouth that will open up about 5 foot wide huh? R Ronnie, I'm curious how you find them. I had a nice set of the tusks made up to display all the ivory and one night I heard a crack and damn if they weren't split right down the middle, a little while later the other one split.
Here's what the set looked like.
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Post by RDW on Jun 29, 2020 18:20:14 GMT -5
Man that looks to cool bud.
I have a place here in town called Texas Knifemakers supply. And they get all kinds of neat stuff.
That is a good question. Im going to ask them how they get them.
R
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