Happiness is a new gun 2

[Bawanna]

Same as skip line checkering in wood which I do a lot. It's basically just leaving a double wide space on a regular pattern. I usually do 3 regular lines and then a skip which is twice the width of the single. I do 20 LPI so the skip is 10 LPI.

Some like it (I do) others not so much. It's generally not quite as aggressive for grip but looks great.

[dao]

I like it. I believe I've liked all the checkering I've seen and a good bit of the stippling. About the only stuff I haven't liked are the amateurish stippling jobs.

The checkering I've seen of yours Colonel looks like it came from a factory where a skilled craftsman turned it out. You and Bird have much more patience than I'll ever have.

[Bawanna]

Not many factories hand checker any more. They have power checkering machines. I'd love to play with one just to see how it works. I know they just cut one pass and could probably checker a set of grips in minutes. Not to take away from the folks that do it, they still need to know how to checker and I'm sure it takes some patience and practice to get good at it.
The ones I don't care for are the pressed in checkering where they just use pressure and heat and steam. That is a good way to learn though, turn that pressed into cut, great learning experience.

[dao]

Completely stripped my Colt today down to a bare slide and frame, cleaned it, replaced all the springs and firing pin and put it all back together. With a new pair of shoes. I learned some things as this is the first time I've torn into a 1911. It's clean!!!
Bent the new sear spring to get the trigger to a bit over 5lbs. Once I get it to the range and confirm it shoots reliably and well I can start carrying it.

[BirdsThaWord]

Completely stripped my Colt today down to a bare slide and frame, cleaned it, replaced all the springs and firing pin and put it all back together. With a new pair of shoes. I learned some things as this is the first time I've torn into a 1911. It's clean!!!
Bent the new sear spring to get the trigger to a bit over 5lbs. Once I get it to the range and confirm it shoots reliably and well I can start carrying it.

I like the peanut butter, honey comp grips with the honeycomb leather holster. Nice pairing! It’s got tha flava! You are probably like me. I’ll look at hundreds of pics, websites, etc before “pulling the trigger” on a purchase. If spending the dough, why not make it look just as good as possible?

[BirdsThaWord]

[QUOTE=dao;429973The checkering I've seen of yours Colonel looks like it came from a factory where a skilled craftsman turned it out. You and Bird have much more patience than I'll ever have.[/QUOTE]
Thanks Dao, I think what I do takes patience while what Bawanna does takes both skill and patience. I can mess up on metal and compensate. Once you f that wood or bone, it goes into a scrap pile. If I could take his skills and add to my patience I would feel like a king!!!

[dao]

I was hoping the color of the grips would match the holster but he didn't have pictures of these or the tan ones he sells so I took a chance on these in coyote. I'd like to get a set in brown that match if I could find some. Especially if I could find a pair for this Colt and my bobtails.
I'm looking forward to getting this Commander to the range and try it out.

[Bawanna]

Try a little oil in a tiny spot someplace and you might darken that holster up a bit. It's pretty and close enough for me, not sure I'd risk taking the chance.

Nice thing about grips is they fit in the wood stove easy if I screw up. I used to do quite a few rifles for friends and always my first question was if I screw up, how much is this going to cost me.
It is painful to spend days making a set of grips, especially hard ones like a kahr and then have them crack or get a hole in the wrong spot. Cracks are usually on like a 1911 or something, there's enough wood on a Kahr grip they usually don't crack.

[King Rat]

Completely stripped my Colt today down to a bare slide and frame, cleaned it, replaced all the springs and firing pin and put it all back together. With a new pair of shoes. I learned some things as this is the first time I've torn into a 1911. It's clean!!!
Bent the new sear spring to get the trigger to a bit over 5lbs. Once I get it to the range and confirm it shoots reliably and well I can start carrying it.

Beautiful! What holster is that?

[dao]

No, I won't be messing with the holster to try to match a set of $20 grips. I had the holster custom made and like it a lot. I'll eventually find grips to match it. These Wasp grips, and Hive grips like them seem to be catching on. More variations will come.