Lacking the patience or artistic eye that Kolt clearly possesses (see KJFLYFISH's post on custom handles), I went about the problem a little differently. I have, however, come up with a very simple process that ends up looking like this:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w32/Jeffs_network_pics/MoldableHandle005.jpg
http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w32/Jeffs_network_pics/MoldableHandle003.jpg
http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w32/Jeffs_network_pics/MoldableHandle002.jpg
http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w32/Jeffs_network_pics/MoldableHandle001.jpg

The aluminm piece in the photos was just a dummy for experimentation purposes, but you can see how the handle is intended to be pinned just like Kolt's design. Griswold and I were thinking that this is something that we might include as an option on our custom guns, especially the Euro. The process is simple enough that we were also considering offering handle "kits", if there is any interest.

Tin Man
(Jeff DeRocher)

Hey Tin Man, interesting idea - I assume the moldable plastic sets up to a hard solid?

You're right. The plastic is fully hardened in just a few minutes. Once hard, it looks, feels, and machines just like nylon or polypropylene.

Jeff

What about colors?

I haven't tried to color the material yet, but the specifications say that it can be dyed. I have to get some more material first, but I'll post some pictures and let you know how the coloring experiments go.

I haven't tried to dye any of the plastic material, but I thought I would post some additional information in the hopes that others will get creative and post for our collective benefit.

The plastic that I used is called "Shapelock" and is available at www.shapelock.com. It is $15 for 250 grams (about half a pound) or $25 for 500 grams. 250 grams is more than enough to do a handle like the one in my pictures. The same material is also available under the names "Friendly Plastic" and "Polymorph". I have seen Friendly Plastic offered in colors, but I have not tried any yet.

A little more about the material. The chemical name is polycaprolactone, and one of my concerns is that the Dow Chemicals website says that it is biodegradable. Of course, so is teak, but we use it on guns anyway. What really matters is how quickly, and under what conditions it degrades. I don't have any specifics on that yet, so some testing is needed.

It is extremely easy to work. Just pour the supplied pellets into water heated to about 150°F. They immediately turn from opaque to clear as they heat up and stick together. Take the mass out of the hot water with metal tongs, and dip in cold water until it is just cool enough to touch. The material remains like a putty for 5-10 minutes depending on the size of the lump, while you work it into the desired shape. When you get it where you want it, just dip in ice water to cool it down and it solidifies as hard as nylon or polypropylene.

The kicker, and the advantage to this material over dental acrylics, is that you can re-mold it at any time, and as often as needed, by just reheating it. If you sell your right handed gun to your left handed buddy, he needs only to heat up the handle and re-mold it to fit his hand. I also like that the material changes from opaque white to clear when it gets hot enough to mold, so you know when to remove it from the hot water.

That's pretty much everything that I know about it so far. If it holds up long term, the material might be usefull for all kinds of dive related stuff. Knife handles, gun muzzles, etc.

I know that somebody out there will run right out and try this. Please share!

TinMan, guys in europe have been using the same thing for years on their handles, and it seems to be working just fine, it goes under another name in Europe, but the "pellets...melting...and being able to reform" sounds like the same thing- thanks for sharing:thumbup:

Jeff, thanks for sharing.

Can it be filed/ground and sanded?

SpearEasy - It feels a little slippery under the file, but it cuts well enough with a sharp and relatively coarse metal file. A good wood rasp might work better if you need to remove more material. Sandpaper doesn't seem to work as well and leaves the abraded surface looking dirty. It can be cut (like nylon) with a good sharp blade, and drills well. Overall, I would say that cutting tools (drill bits, milling cutters, routers, files, or knives) will probably work better than abrading tools, but I am basing that on a quick two-minute trial and not on extensive experience. Let me know if you experiment.

If i wanted to mold it around my existing handle just to form it to my grip, will it adhere to the plastic?

The literature warns to use only glass or metal pots and tongs, because the stuff is supposed to adhere very quickly and strongly to most plastics. But I haven't tried it. I do know that various flavors of similar caprolactone compounds are used in hot glue gun sticks, so I suppose that you might expect similar results.

It does stick almost instantly and inseparably to itself. Could you wrap it all the way around the existing handle without making the grip too large?

I was just going to say make sure it goes all the way around. If I could conceive plasti dipping a handle then this should work beautifully by comparison.

If you could roll it out in a sheet and then wrap it aroung the handle it might work? Maybe covering your hand with it then pressing it on to form it to the handle that way you don't use any more than you have to. I would have to test it a couple of ways before i put my handle in danger. In theory though, if you could come up with a way to evenly coat the handle without making it too thick, it would work beautifully i think.

Standard disclaimer here, because you guys are getting way ahead of what I've actually tried. I think that you could put a lump of the heated plastic between two non-stick sheets (like wax paper, or maybe tin foil) and roll it down to a sheet of whatever thickness you want.

Standard disclaimer here, because you guys are getting way ahead of what I've actually tried. I think that you could put a lump of the heated plastic between two non-stick sheets (like wax paper, or maybe tin foil) and roll it down to a sheet of whatever thickness you want.

beat my fingers to it TinMan,...then I was also thinking-Wrapping it around a piece of 1/2" thick teak (or other wood, hmmm maybe Ipe to add some wt.), dropping it in boiling water, forming the grip, then ripping it down the middle of the teak, and attaching to a 1/8" thick plate of S.S. or alum.-what's:scratchhead: your take on this

If I understood you correctly, I think that you may be overcomplicating it a bit. I don't think I understand why you would want the wood inside? If the aluminum or stainless that forms the frame for your handel can be removed from the gun, then why not form the plastic directly onto it?

When I attached it to the aluminum piece in my pictures, I tried to insure that it would stay attached by doing two things. First, the plastic wraps all the way around the aluminum "tang" that is inside the handle. And second, the tang had two 3/8" holes in it, so the hot plastic on either side of the aluminum could meet in the middle. I don't think that I could beat the plastic off without destroying the aluminum in the process.

If you wanted to add some weight, then certainly you could attach a piece of lead or stainless steel to the tang and then mold the plastic around both.

Very interesting stuff here...Looks like I may have a product to build my own Commerial muzzle for my Hornet for about 5 times cheaper and no woodwork!!!

[QUOTE=Tin Man;27869]If I understood you correctly, I think that you may be overcomplicating it a bit. I don't think I understand why you would want the wood inside? If the aluminum or stainless that forms the frame for your handel can be removed from the gun, then why not form the plastic directly onto it?

When I attached it to the aluminum piece in my pictures, I tried to insure that it would stay attached by doing two things. First, the plastic wraps all the way around the aluminum "tang" that is inside the handle. And second, the tang had two 3/8" holes in it, so the hot plastic on either side of the aluminum could meet in the middle. I don't think that I could beat the plastic off without destroying the aluminum in the process.

:slap: yes indeed, just thought the plastic might not bond well to the material, hence the wood fastened to the other piece like some handguns, I think the idea of meeting the plastic in the middle of the grip is GREAT! and much more efficient:beer:

Just a follow-up. I tried a few different approaches to coloring the Shapelock plastic, and found that it takes dye (of the type used for coloring epoxy) pretty well. Here's what seemed to work best:

Drop the pellets into the hot water
When they turn clear and stick together, remove the spongy mass
Add a BB sized drop of dye paste in the center
Knead it until the color is uniform.
If necessary, reheat it and knead it some more.

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w32/Jeffs_network_pics/BlackGrip001.jpg

It's a little hard to tell from the pictures, but the color is a uniform flat black similar to annodized aluminum.