Making AR-15 wood grips, mauser broomhandle style

[joegrizzy]

okay so i'm making one (maybe two) of the han solo inspired dl-44 blasters. there are plenty of people making parts for them now, including muzzle devices and dedicated .22lr barrels for ar's that make it a breeze.

buuuuuut, i have found that the few companies that sell a mauser style ar grip don't......really sell them? i saw this link on reddit's gundeals and thought "well that's just what i need!" but like all things....after a bit more research....

https://blackwoodtrading.co/shop/ols/products/solo

soooooo basically those aren't wood. they are 3d printed with some saw dust thrown into the mix. plus, you can't really get them. the website says lead times are 6-8 weeks (which means never in my world), and when you do they aren't what you are expecting. SO, i decided to make my own using those rough plans.

i was able to find a few 3d models that i could pull dimensions from, plus grabbing a few a2 style grips for cheap from the local pawn shop (thanks sooner state) for reference. so with a few spares grips, a few blocks of olive wood, some calipers, and some tools i set out.

i like to build by relative dimensioning. if i can maintain parallel, perpendicular, square, etc etc i will. if i can just lay something out and trace it, or using a template bit on a router i will. especially for repeated builds which i am now considering (i cut myself 4 blanks to test in case i messed up along the way, if taking the time to make one i might as well make a few).

SO, once i got to measuring and comparing the dimensions of the linked grip with an a2 grip, i noticed the thing IS ALL SORTS OF RETARDED. there's a reason why they don't show a picture of that mauser style grip from behind. and lo and behold, i found it:

https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/tool/c96-mauser-ar-grip
this is the model the company above likely purchased and is using to print their "wood" ar grips. you don't have to download the model (since it's not free) but there is a faux 3d model you can move around with mouse on that page. Notice that long elongated hole in the back of the grip?! THAT'S the screw hole. Why is sticking out the back of the grip?!

because 3d printers can't into making so they design things retarded (sorry, not sorry).


SO: all ar grips, and i mean ALL, are based off the magical angle of 30°. why? because if you look at ANY ar lower receiver, you will notice this 30° comes from the angle of pistol grip protrusion BUT ALSO is the angle of the THREADED pistol grip screw hole. see pic

you will ALSO find this angle inside the pistol grip, that is the angle of the routed groove in the pistol grip which fits into the pistol grip recess on the lower receiver. there is a 90° rounded angle here on the "ears" of the pistol grip. this is where the 3d model and the subsequent "wood" grips the site above is selling are painfully, PAINFULLY wrong.

first, they don't get the size correct to fit into the recess of the lower. i don't have one in my hands because i'm not buying one, but i promise you it's wrong. i know it's wrong because i can obviously see it's wrong.

BUT

even worse than this, THEY COMPLETELY IGNORE THE 30° ANGLE OF THE GRIP ITSELF. THIS IS THE GRIP ANGLE OF THE AR; BASED AROUND THE FACT THE LOWER BUILDS THIS ANGLE INTO THE GRIP; SO IT SITS AT THE PROPER ANGLE.

but these 'tards must have just made that model to an actual mauser grip or something, and said "well hmmm, it's fine the GRIP SCREW JUST RANDOMLY JUTS OUT THE BACK OF THE GRIP".

long story short, i took a reference pic of their piss poorly designed version and altered it to the correct dimensions AND angle. now the hole from the grip screw is drilled straight thru at 30°, coming out the bottom of the grip like it should. there's NO WAY i would drill a hole at an angle like that, hell i don't even know how i would support the piece on the drill press to drill a hole COMING OUT THE BACK OF THE GRIPS AT A HORRIBLE ANGLE LOOK HOW TERRIBLE THAT LOOKS YOU KNOW IT LOOKS LIKE CRAP THAT'S WHY THEY DON'T SHOW IT IN THE PICTURES.

here's their crappy version next to my revision that shows the angle of the grip screw:

 

[joegrizzy]

SO! then came the fun part of actually making the darn things. and currently i'm still in this phase! the first thing was to cut the 90° angle for the corner of the "ears" to fit up into the lower. that was easy enough on the miter saw, and gave me a nice square angle to reference from. i cut the bottom of the blank parallel to the top, so that when drilling the grip screw hole i can just angle my drill press table at 30° and it's right on.

I started by jigging up my router to cut the groove that fits into the lower. i accomplished this by clamping my blank to the skirt of my work table, as well as some scrap pieces at a 30° angle. i used this file, as well as taking dimensions from several grips i had on hand to determine the dimensions of the cut.

after measuring several of the cheapie a2 grips i had, i found that groove was anywhere from .366 to .400 on any given grip at any given point in the groove. a MASSIVE variance, which makes me LAUGH when i read the reddit comments that got me making this whole project (people were saying "oh you can 3d print them a lot faster than make them by hand, they are more accurate, blah blah" absolute NONSENSE).


so i grabbed a 3/8'' x 1 straight bit and made sure everything was lined up. since the only cuts i've made at this point are the 90° cuts for the top "corner", this groove is somewhat inconsequential in terms of where i put it in the blank. i don't have to put it exactly halfway or anything, since i haven't cut the width down yet. this is where relative dimensioning pays off in dividends. making this groove perfectly straight, perfectly centered is hard. putting it *somewhere pretty dang close* and referencing from there is INCREDIBLY simple. and quick. i routed the grooves in less than a minute each into my 4 blanks. just need to square off the round corners with a 3/8'' chisel at the back of the groove where the shoulder of the lower receiver squares off. hard to describe but you'll know if you try lol.

after routing the groove, i was ready to drill the holes. now, the length of the pistol grip screw is made by the length from where the shoulder rests to where the threads in the lower end. since the hole must go all the way thru, i *could* use a 4 1/2'' screw and just have a screw running the entire length. the hole must drilled all the way thru regardless. so i just used 5/16 spade bit and bore a hole with my table set at 30° and a proper fence to hold the piece at the correct position. i then turned the piece over and drilled using a hand drill and a larger bit a recess for the screw head. i *could* drill this larger hole as deep as i wanted, and the deeper this hole is drilled the shorter required screw. but i don't really care, so i'll probably just leave it the way it is. (molded plastic grips are obviously hollowed out, so they set the shoulder of the screw right at the top of the grip. this enables the use of a short screw at the trade off of a long tool to fit into the hollow grip; not sure i want to hollow out these solid wood ones LOL)


the hole for the safety retainer spring is drilled by hand. just put the bit in the hole of already drilled a2 grip for reference, flag the drill bit with some blue tape, then drill down to that depth. easy peasy.


and that's where i am now. i've got the shape traced out on the blanks with all the appropriate holes drilled. i've also rounded off the corner of the "ears" of the grip so it fits snug up onto the receiver. all four blanks fit great, the holes align at least by eye test, and i'm ready to start shaping the broomhandle on the sander after rough cutting on the bandsaw. i'll probably have them finished by the weekend HOPEFULLY.

if anyone else is interested in making wood AR grips, i have the workflow down pretty pat at this point. i think i could crank out about 30 in a day if i were really motivated and had enough wood LOL.

 

[swampratt]

You did your research and made a home run with this one.
So hard to make one with an angle grinder and drill and chain saw.

I did find if you get just a degree or so off on that 30 degree screw hole it will pull the grip so it does not fit flush against the lower and get what you noticed in their grip.
A bad fit.

Thanks for posting this. Worth the read.

 

[adamsredlines]

There are plenty of grips for ARs that aren't standard angle, generally adapted to different shooting styles with CQB type setups with a choked up LOP.

 

[joegrizzy]

i found this video online, and have copied a bit of his setup. he doesn't mention cutting the bottom of his blank so they can drill "straight" down with his press, but he clearly uses that method and you can see the cut he's made in his piece between the 9:00 and 9:30 mark.

EDIT: oh loool i just realized he's using a 1/4'' bit for the 3/8'' groove that's why he keeps moving his piece. well don't do that.....just use a 3/8'' bit...LOL

i'm also not sure his method of routing was the best choice. i did use a similar setup with how i have mine set (i can snap a pic of my super simple jig), but i just routed ONE pass and hogged out everything going real slow. not sure why routing one way then turning the piece 90° and routing again until they meet, then repeated until the desired depth makes much sense. i set all my dimensions, mark the lines of my piece of where to stop, set up router bit at the desired depth, and cut. one pass it's done; then just square the stopped rounded end with the 3/8's chisel. usually one or two taps, my chisels are *sharp*.

 

[Perplexed]

There are plenty of grips for ARs that aren't standard angle, generally adapted to different shooting styles with CQB type setups with a choked up LOP.

This. I use the Magpul K2 grip with a reduced grip angle on my AR pistols.

But the OP has a great idea going! I hope you get it perfected. Do you plan to include a stylized “9” as an option?

 

[joegrizzy]

There are plenty of grips for ARs that aren't standard angle, generally adapted to different shooting styles with CQB type setups with a choked up LOP.

yeah i get that, but i'm not sure they have elongated egg shaped holes because they didn't consider how the hole would be made since it was all "pulled" out of printed extrusion anyway?

 

[joegrizzy]

This. I use the Magpul K2 grip with a reduced grip angle on my AR pistols.

But the OP has a great idea going! I hope you get it perfected. Do you plan to include a stylized “9” as an option?

View attachment 280067

yeah i understand the mauser itself uses this shallower angle, but the threaded hole in the receiver is what it is. i don't want an ugly hole that takes up like half the length of the rear of the grip instead of being hidden at the bottom. you *could* get a biscuit or some of the kreg hole plugs that might be able to shape and fit inside there, but dang, like i said i'm not even sure if drilling that hole like that would be a safe option in an expensive piece of wood.

i have thought about how the actual mauser grip is like all pistol grips; that is wood side panels fastened thru on a metal frame. i have thought about finding a skeletonized metal frame that would fit some panels i could just screw together on either side, but those skeletonized frame grips are *expensive* already so that kinda defeats the purpose lol.

BUT that would look the best and you could then easily use whatever angle without having to worry about boring thru ~4'' of wood.

 

[DavidMcmillan]

I really like the concept, and the complexity of your project is pretty darn amazing. Looking forward to the finished product!

 

[joegrizzy]

here's my fancy router setup. spinning a 3/8'' bit with a 1/4'' shank on the 1.25 hp trim router is more than enough if you control feed rate. most people use power tools way too fast. gotta go real slow and just trust you're actually getting somewhere lol. going slow is still fast; you'll be amazed at a "slow" cut that still only takes about 60-70 seconds AT MOST. these grooves probably took ~30 seconds to hog it all out in one go. sharp bit will do it easy, no need for the big router.

the router only needs to travel about ~1 1/2 inches on that 30° path, so the jig doesn't need to be big. you aren't moving much. a well placed clamp not only holds your jig, but also is a stop for your workpiece (i use this trick ALL THE TIME). you can kinda see my lines a bit here. i'm not sure how this became a meme with the zoomer generation, but i assure you careful lines with a .5mm mech pencil (by careful i mean drawing on one side of the mark, cutting on that side, knowing which side of your mark is the cut side, etc etc, far more than just "cut on the line" being ACCURATE), can accomplish FAR MORE than most zoomers seem to understand.

i've hand chiseled thru mortices into 4x4's for bridal joints that were so tight no screws or glue would ever be needed to hold them true. i've jigsawed and scrollsawed within 1/64th of an inch plenty of times. i wish more zoomers would look past 3d printing and get more into "traditional" building because power tools make things easy and even traditional things with proper tools can be done with little energy and devotion. just takes practice. heck wood turning is FAST. i've been thinking of several ways i could mount these on the lathe because turning the broomhandle would be really quick with a curved tool rest and a round cutter.

router goes in

router stops
just square that off BEFORE the line with your chisel, flat back to the line and straight down. easy peasy.

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a few blanks before holes were drilled. cut these from square turning blanks that were ~3.5'' x 3.5'' x 12'' nominally. so cutting 5" crosscuts gave me two blanks that i could resaw into two bookmatched blanks each. so 4 blanks from a full 12'' piece, 5 if i run one from the remaining piece the other way (just enough for the width of one more but would have different grain direction).

pretty sure i could knock out several dozen in a week. we'll see how long the shaping takes. like i said, chucking them (i'd probably have to use the screw hole) on the lathe would make the broomhandle shaping quick. i'm gonna rough cut on the bandsaw and shape on the sander. maybe the oscillating spindle but probably just the belt boi.