RW Gripframe fitting

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Late last year,, I received a RW grip frame of the Bradshaw Bisley design. I had hoped to get it in time to fit it & use it for deer hunting,, but alas that wasn't to be. I posted before that I'd be posting the final fitting of it to my Ruger .357 Maximum. Well, time being what it is,, I didn't get any time to work on it before now. So,, I'm going to walk through the process.

First picture. The grip frame prior to any work, and the gun it's going on.

 

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Ok, the second picture shows the grip frame attached to the Maxi, and ready for marking to see where I'll need to remove any brass to make it fit properly. Once I put it on,, I took a sharp metal scribe and marked the brass where it was "proud" of the frame. The sides weren't too proud,, but the back hump area was about 3/32nds high.

 

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Third picture,,, and it shows my scribe marks a bit. This is where the real work begins.

 

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This picture shows how much needs removal off the hump area.

 

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The 5th picture. It shows how I've polished off one side that was the one that had the least amount of work necessary. I used a 100 grit sandpaper,, and a hard flat marble stone. I carefully sanded away a little at a time,, carefully, and keeping it all flat,, checking constantly to see my progress. I would place the sandpaper on the marble,, and place the g/f on the sandpaper & with even pressure,, sand a bit, & check. Repeated often,, until I got a seamless finish on this side.

 

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This picture shows how I got a final smooth polished finish on the other side. This picture is clearer & better than the other one. Just getting these 2 sides done took me about 1-1/2 hours. I took my time,, and checked things often. Miss Penny says the fit is "perfect!"

Tomorrow,, I'll work on the hump area.

 

[Randyzzz]

I've fitted several of the factory stainless frames and the brass frames from Ronnie are so much easier to work- and so much more precise. Working the hammer area is the hardest- to try and make an appealing transition, a French curve. I enjoy watching your progress.

My Bradshaw Bisley. Getting the trigger guard contoured right was one of the more difficult portions for me.

 

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Looks good there!
I have started on the hump at the back,, but due to time & such,, haven't had time to get good pics yet. Maybe tomorrow if works doesn't get in my way!

 

[bisleyfan41]

Good work Tyrone.

That's the hard part. The hump on both sides of the hammer on older main frames dropped off at a sharper angle. At some point Ruger changed this angle and now those humps off the frame are more flat, less angle. As you can see, the ears on the grip frame come in at that more flatter angle.

If you were to continue the angle of the mainframe down the grip frame, you'd file away a significant portion of the grip frame. So much so that it would be a mess.

Getting the lines right is super hard when fitting a new grip frame to an older main frame. TBH, I have yet to see a really good one done. They all have some weird transition. It's almost impossible not to.

I know you don't have a choice as the Maxes were all on the older frame. Good luck with yours. I'll follow along.

 

[gnappi]

WOW! Great work! Your efforts were really worth it.

I bought a slightly oversize Ruger made Bisley frame and it was such a pain (or I ran out of patience) I left some of it imperfectly fit