Custom resin grips

[Cassadilla]

I recently got into mold making and resin casting for another hobby of mine(cosplay and other geekiness), and as an experiment decided to make myself a set of grips for my Davis Industries 22lr Derringer.
All my guns have zombie green on them (with the exception of one, which will soon be remedied), so I had to make it match. I made a mold of the original grips and cast some new resin ones with bright green glitter mixed in.

When I bought it, it looked like this (this is not mine but I forgot to take a before picture!)

and now, after having it cerakoted in graphite black and making my own set of grips, it looks like this:

I've also made a few other sets, cause a gal's gotta accessorize (or experiment, whatever). Check em out!

I'll be making more and posting them here, and once I test them to make sure they are safe to use I will probably take requests or orders. I've got some funky designs in mind, some of which will probably fail, but if they work they'll be awesome and funny.
I can also show people how, if there is any interest in that. I've been asked to make a few 1911 grips and a set for a Sig P238, so those will be coming soon.

 

[11_fingers]

Nice work

 

[warwickben]

I'd be interested in 1911 grips.

Also need advice on cosplay. I want a gizmo costume lol . No I'm not a furry just want it for shoots and Halloween .

 

[dnepro-mike]

wow, very good. did you use epoxy?
what did you get for fillers.
very good work.

 

[Cassadilla]

Ben, start thinking of colors and if you'd want something embedded. Some ideas I am kicking around are shredded money, scorpions, etc. We can discuss that on fb or next time you come in to the shop. Same with gizmo and the needle files.

Mike, I used a polyester resin. For the molds, I used silicone. The stuff I mixed in was just stuff I had in my craft supply... some glitter, iridescent confetti, and some pearlex pigment powders along with some resin dyes in a few cases. I've played around with some makeup pigments as well but they looked crappy. Saturday after work I am going to grab a few other things to mix in, and by then should have a mold of some smooth 1911 grips to experiment with.

 

[Spike it!]

I love it. I did an inlay on my 1911 grip of skulls with rubies for eyes and was thinking about a resin grip at the time but lack the know how.
I was thinking of (safely) slicing a 45 bullet in half, case and all and putting it in a clear resin mold of the grip for each side

 

[Cassadilla]

I love it. I did an inlay on my 1911 grip of skulls with rubies for eyes and was thinking about a resin grip at the time but lack the know how.
I was thinking of (safely) slicing a 45 bullet in half, case and all and putting it in a clear resin mold of the grip for each side

I am planning on making half bullet molds in various calibers for some projects, and was thinking of something similar to that idea... great minds! I need to make a trip to the good art store for some real supplies before I start crankin out the fancy stuff, I think.

 

[warwickben]

If u can do molds ..... Ice cubes and candy molds ?

 

[browncoat]

Wow, these look awesome. How strong is that resin once it is cured?

 

[Gator9329]

That's some nice stuff . Look into the metal solids they make . If you buff the resin after you put the metal powder in it looks like real metal.

The weirdest one we did was putting the ashes of a friend in the resin. To each his own.

 

[Cassadilla]

Ben, yessir, I'm using a skull ice cube tray to make color samples. Silicone works best, but some of the candy mold that are not too elaborate will work too. Unfortunately, the AK47 mag ice cube tray I have is made of very rigid plastic and I do not think it would end well. The molds I use for resin can only be used for resin, too, because of the mold release and other not-yummy stuff... and until I get duplicates for my favorite candy molds, I'm not usin em... but if theres something you want, ask if I have it. I have a lot of them squirreled away.

- - - Updated - - -

Wow, these look awesome. How strong is that resin once it is cured?

Not sure yet, need to do some testing and make sure it'll stand up to some abuse. The hardness depends on the amount of catalyst, but if you put in a lot it makes it brittle instead of strong

Gator, I definitely want to... this was just the result of playing around after work 2 nights in a row. I am having a lot of fun with this and am looking forward to making some unique things. The ashes thing is a nice sentiment, if morbid.. (which I like). My mom snagged a tiny piece of crumbled skull from the catacombs in Paris for me, and I am thinking of making both a pendant and a set of grips out of the pieces. Creepy-cool, I think!

 

[Cassadilla]

Also, I want to say thanks to all of you for being positive and supportive! Thanks for the compliments and the interest. I will keep posting stuff as I make it, if you'll keep humoring my wacky sense of humor/design.
I am just getting started with this and there is a ton that I still need to learn, but I will try to hurry so I can make some awesome stuff for you guys!

 

[atilla]

sparkle sparkle. love them! nice work.

 

[wcmachine]

That is very cool, nice work!

 

[inerlogic]

excuse my ignorance of derringer and 1911 grips, but are the back sides of those grips flat?
i might want to send you some CZ-82 grips

 

[Cassadilla]

excuse my ignorance of derringer and 1911 grips, but are the back sides of those grips flat?
i might want to send you some CZ-82 grips

yes, they are flat! relatively, anyways... the ones with confetti are a little bumpy but another layer of resin would fix that. i am going to experiment with some beretta jetfire grips that have little register sections on the back, and soon i hope to be doing 3d molds of revolver grips.
but as of right now, flat back grips are all i've done

 

[RoterTeufel]

are you degassing the resin prior to pouring into the mold or once it is in the mold?

how are you avoiding bubbles in the finished product?

are you using a vacuum chamber?

 

[Cassadilla]

are you degassing the resin prior to pouring into the mold or once it is in the mold?

how are you avoiding bubbles in the finished product?

are you using a vacuum chamber?

no vacuum chamber at this point, might do one in the future if i can afford it. so far bubbles have not been a major issue, but i have found some tips on getting rid of bubbles that i will employ in the future, but if i turn this into an actual side business i will invest in the professional equipment. i really have only been doing this for a few days, and i am still not 100% sure that the grips will withstand going to the range yet... so until i know that i'm just playing around, ya know?

 

[Sweeney]

It's not my style but your craftsmanship looks great! Good job! It's always cool to see someone actually making something from scratch.

 

[MAGG]

some cool stuff.....depending what you keep coming up with I may be in for a set of grips down the line . good luck man

 

[warwickben]

For a cheap vac set up you'll need.

Fish tank pump..(some burn out just sucking on air, I forget how to check)
Coffee can or some type of a jar with a sealable lid.
Charcoal.
Some tubbing.


More or less you put charcoal in the can as to act as a filter. One tube goes to the mold one to the pump.
I made some intake tubeing molds for a inter cooler setup like this out of carbon fiber.

 

[MikeInMA]

If you could figure out how to use an AC vacuum pump for this it may prove more reliable than a fish pump. They are inexpensive at Harbor Freight.

 

[Cassadilla]

Ha, ok guys, I'll get a vacuum chamber goin. I already figured out what I'll do. (Really, the bf is gonna build it for me)
Just gotta pick up the right strength pump. We are talking to a resin pro, trying to find out how much suck is needed for degassing resin. I guess if its worth doing it's worth doing right.

If my plan works, you'll probably all get a kick out of the setup we build.

 

[RoterTeufel]

Just a tip on degassing - don't over fill your container.

A lesson I learned the hard way when I did it the first time.

[video=youtube_share;QnVYqH1LWng]http://youtu.be/QnVYqH1LWng[/video]