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Post by RDW on Dec 27, 2020 11:54:12 GMT -5
Ronnie.... fine work. Handsome barrel & top strap. I see the grip in your hand! David Bradshaw Thank You Super Dave! The Bradshaw Finger Groove small is cool. Everyone that has grabbed it loves it. Now when we say small, it is still the normal Bisley length, its just the BFG Large is really long and has a fat back. And is made for big Fingers. The BFG S is in Black and the L is in Red! The BFG Large in Black over an XR3 Red in Red.
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Post by bradshaw on Dec 27, 2020 12:05:19 GMT -5
Beautiful job on this .360, Ronnie. Especially dig the uninterrupted purposeful lines, the clean rib with Redhawk sight, the whole look.... David Bradshaw
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Post by RDW on Dec 27, 2020 12:18:16 GMT -5
I Really like The BFG L. I can get all of my Fingers on The Front Strap and still have some room for my Knuckle between the Trigger guard and the front strap. And i tend to Steer the Frame with my Pinky! The Extra Large Trigger guard is great to.
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rhino
.30 Stingray
Posts: 191
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Post by rhino on Dec 27, 2020 14:04:03 GMT -5
Beautiful job on this .360, Ronnie. Especially dig the uninterrupted purposeful lines, the clean rib with Redhawk sight, the whole look.... David Bradshaw Mr. Bradshaw/Ronnie, what exactly is a .360? A .357 with a fat ass or what?
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Post by bradshaw on Dec 27, 2020 14:21:39 GMT -5
Beautiful job building this Ronnie Wells Hunter .360. No, it did not start out as a Ruger SBH Hunter. I’m looking at Ronnie's contour of Cocobolo scales----photo #3 of five----modest palm swell, with a slight flare at the heel. Tasteful, practical accents to compliment meaty bone metal work on frame & barrel.
The .360 Dan Wesson is the .3587 Maximum (1.605” case) trimmed to 1.410”. The original experimental .357 Maximum case measures 1.490" and was built on a Super Blackhawk/Blackhawk frame with long cylinder. David Bradshaw
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Post by lshines on Dec 31, 2020 23:24:40 GMT -5
Please someone put some more pictures up of these wonderful grip frames. Fitted, not fitted, just more pics!!!! Hey Eagle I forgot all about this one. K monel, a copper nickel alloy. Very tough! XR3.5 Plus .300 Standard trigger Guard. Funky Monkey. 3 cylinder rig, 454 Casull, 45 long colt, 45 Acp. Shoots great!
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Post by lshines on Dec 31, 2020 23:26:39 GMT -5
Please someone put some more pictures up of these wonderful grip frames. Fitted, not fitted, just more pics!!!! Hey Eagle I forgot all about this one. K monel, a copper nickel alloy. Very tough! XR3.5 Plus .300 Standard trigger Guard. Funky Monkey. 3 cylinder rig, 454 Casull, 45 long colt, 45 Acp. Shoots great! OH MY GOSH! THE FRAMES ARE GREAT ENOUGH - BUT LOOK AT THOSE CYLINDERS!!! PURE SEX!
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Post by jamesautry on Jan 1, 2021 23:07:47 GMT -5
What are the best options for matching the aluminum grip frame to the blued finish of a Blackhawk?
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Post by RDW on Jan 3, 2021 12:13:46 GMT -5
What are the best options for matching the aluminum grip frame to the blued finish of a Blackhawk? My favorite on the aluminum is to just Anodize it to harden it a smidge and dye it black. Here is one of my favorite 50 specials that is very lightweight and a flat black dyed aluminum bisley. I have a dye that tends to look a little dark purplish blue that i mixed up to try and match the original blackhawk color. Took a whole bunch of red to get it there but it looks pretty good and you cant tell the difference between a blued steel and it! There are plenty of companies out there that can anodize a small part if you so desire! The trick is to get a good non polished finish. When i say non polished i mean no bright shiny luster because that closes up all the pores in the aluminum and the dye wont soak in evenly. 600 wet sand finish and then gray scotch brite is best! I will dig out a revolver with my brite shiny blue on aluminum for comparison.
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Post by RDW on Jan 3, 2021 12:31:48 GMT -5
What are the best options for matching the aluminum grip frame to the blued finish of a Blackhawk? Here ya go. 44 Ronnie Stupid 1.450" case length or 44 mag. It was a 41 at birth. Normally it would say super Blackhawk but a little fine tig work and careful engraving took care of that. Kind of a weird one off, half bisley half keith # five type grip frame shape in aluminum with my deep purple blue! Mid ninetys or so. .850" octagonal 1 in 16 with integral site base. Loves 320 truncated gas checked leads over a h110 packed shortened 445 Sm case. She was Hell on Wheels on Roadrunners in the ninetys! Hahaha. Dont know what it weighs but it is definately nose heavy!
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Post by bradshaw on Jan 3, 2021 18:22:59 GMT -5
Giving aluminum a degree of dignity through color which does not look like a coating. Fowler asked me about the strength of a Ronnie Wells aluminum grip frame and all I can say at this point is, I’m sure it greatly exceeds the shock absorbency of my arm. When I told Ronnie some time ago that screws hold a brass grip frame tight noticeably longer than a steel grip frame, Ronnie launched into a metallic explanation. Adding, aluminum also sponges shock better than steel.
Perhaps the longevity test for an aluminum grip frame must belong to the Ruges old model Blackhawk .44 Magnum. Somewherethere must be a Blackhawk .44 which has survived a few sets of masculine hand, wrist, and arm bones. My education came immediately on squeezing of the old Blackhawk with old time factory .44 Mags, so I skipped on self-destruction. The footnote here: Ronnie machines his grip frames from billet. The aluminum itself may be a strong alloy. Either way, the way he makes em is stronger. David Bradshaw
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Post by jamesautry on Jan 3, 2021 19:03:52 GMT -5
Thanks for the information. I have a plan to pickup a 4 5/8" Ruger 41 mag when I found one for a decent price and would like to get a +4 Bisley Grip Frame, just need to decide between brass and aluminum. The goal of the gun is a PPP so I was leaning toward aluminum.
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Post by RDW on Jan 4, 2021 10:18:43 GMT -5
The Ruger aluminum grip frame castings have been around since the 50s guys and have been pounded straight to Hill Billy Hell and back! They are still going strong. If you were to mount the revolver in a vise with the jaws clamped around the grip frame and held tight so that the gun could not roll and dissipate the shock thru movement, It would probably start beating the frames up, even steel would start to fatigue. But that's not the case. The gun rolls up and moves back during recoil and dissipates the shock over movement and into your hand. My aluminum frames are made out of T6 or 6061 billet. And a bit beefier than the Ruger original just to add strength as well as leaving more meat in the frame so that if you,(the end user) so desire, you can cut them down even more with out cutting thru the platen that the panels sit on. The steel and Brass are close in weight and will tend to balance the revolver better. But the aluminum will drop a half a pound off on average with a bisley style backstrap and a bit less on conventionals. That makes a difference for some as well as adding a bit of the cool factor to some projects. I handed an old model 5 and a 1/2 inch Super Blackhawk to a friend this weekend and he was exasperated that the original looking Super Blackhawk Dragoon trigger guard grip frame was anodized aluminum. And 6.8 ounces is significant. The super steel was 10.2 and the alum was 3.4. Just freaked him out man. I love making these dam things man, especially when i can procure a reaction like that from a customer! Makes you feel like you are making a difference in the world. Even if its just a small one. R
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edk
.375 Atomic
Posts: 1,104
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Post by edk on Jan 4, 2021 12:32:00 GMT -5
The steel and Brass are close in weight and will tend to balance the revolver better. R Ronnie I really appreciate the fact that you are able to relate to us the implications of brass/steel vs aluminum grip frames given you've tried so many combos. Now I always thought that a 45 Colt new model Blackhawk with 4-5/8" barrel balanced pretty well with the aluminum grip frame but I've only held one in a shop once or twice. Now maybe I'm wrong and everyone thinks otherwise. I attributed this to the barrel being short with a big hole in it preventing the muzzle-heavy effect while the bulk of the cyl/cyl frame were just above and in front of the hand not resulting in a lot of leverage(plus there are six big holes). In contrast it seems rather obvious the longer the barrel and the smaller the bore the aluminum gripframe would become a bad idea. SO I guess if there's a question in all this: in your opinion does the aluminum grip frame hurt the balance in a shorter barreled bigger bore blackhawk?
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Post by RDW on Jan 4, 2021 15:36:44 GMT -5
The steel and Brass are close in weight and will tend to balance the revolver better. R Ronnie I really appreciate the fact that you are able to relate to us the implications of brass/steel vs aluminum grip frames given you've tried so many combos. Now I always thought that a 45 Colt new model Blackhawk with 4-5/8" barrel balanced pretty well with the aluminum grip frame but I've only held one in a shop once or twice. Now maybe I'm wrong and everyone thinks otherwise. I attributed this to the barrel being short with a big hole in it preventing the muzzle-heavy effect while the bulk of the cyl/cyl frame were just above and in front of the hand not resulting in a lot of leverage(plus there are six big holes). In contrast it seems rather obvious the longer the barrel and the smaller the bore the aluminum gripframe would become a bad idea. SO I guess if there's a question in all this: in your opinion does the aluminum grip frame hurt the balance in a shorter barreled bigger bore blackhawk? No Sir EDK. Great observation and spot on. It feels really good Empty! But then you throw 6 Rounds of Starline with 310 grain leads in it which I'm seeing on my postage scale as over 6 oz ,and lay right over the front of the trigger guard and your back to square one. Hahaha. Just Sayin!!! Borderline i think. But livable! but a seven and a half incher and smaller holes and you really feel it. A stainless out to six inch in 45 with brass GF will literally sit on your middle finger. Stainless steel is roughly 4.56 ounces per square inch. Lead is 6.556 ounces per square inch. So if you consider .7854 X a hole diameter of .485(Bore Top) X .485(Bore Bottom) X 1.7" Chamber Length)like a factory Stainless cylinder in 45 colt, is .314 cubic inches per hole (Roughly not counting the short .451 -.454) X 6 holes = 1.884 cubic inches of material missing from the cylinder X 4.56 ounces per cubic inch = 8.593 ounces are missing from the cylinder for them big ole 45 holes! A stainless 357 cylinder is .060 thousandths shorter than the 45 and is mucho heavier than the 45. Lets do it. .7854 X .380 X .380 X 1.640 =.186 X 6 Holes =1.116 Cubic square thangies X 4.56 ounces per =5.089 A difference of 3.504 ounces. Im showing my ss 357 cylinder 12 oz and the 45 at 9oz but remember 357 is a bit shorter. But once again six ounces of Lead Boogie buttons and six ounces of less grip frame can definitely balance out as well for those that are packin it all day. I remember several ALL DAY hikes in my forty's with a four pounder in 500 max, full of 525ers on my hip lettin me know it was there and at the end of the day reminding me of an old jumpin accident where my right hip stopped me and a tree from becoming one! hahaha. So ya it can definitely be noticeable.
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