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Taurus 44 Revolver Grips (w/progress pics)

tocws2002

tocws2002

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-jason
Had an order for some custom revolver grips for a Taurus M44 revolver, so I got out of my comfort zone and decided to give them a try. These are full wrap-around made to fit the specific frame. Due to the size and thickness of the grips I finally found, after much looking, a suitable piece of dyed and stabilized curly maple on eBay. Sent pics to the customer and he decided that was the piece he wanted the grips made out of, which was one of the more expensive pieces of wood (per bdft) that I've purchased. After a fair amount of time deliberating on my process, I decided to just jump in and get to work. I originally planned on doing a prototype out of less expensive wood, but eventually opted not to. Below are progress pics and the finished grips, which are a little thicker than the original, which is want the customer requested. All in all, they weren't too bad, just took a little planning, some templates, and lots of sanding and filing to get them to their finished state.

Wood Blank ~6" x 6" x 7/8"
Screenshot 2026-04-29 135134.jpg

Templates for routing and fitting to frame, shaping, and sanding
IMG_20260430_57886.jpg

Inside Grip Routing Stepped Layers
IMG_20260430_054.jpg

Fitting to Frame
IMG_20260430_5912.jpg

IMG_20260430_58526.jpg

Cut to Rough Shape.
IMG_20260430_53990.jpg

IMG_20260430_54193.jpg

IMG_20260430_52855.jpg


Shaping, filing, sanding, fitting, sanding, filing, shaping, fitting, filing, sanding, shaping, fitting.....
IMG_20260430_13745.jpg

IMG_20260430_13399.jpg

To be continued....
 
tocws2002 said:
Had an order for some custom revolver grips for a Taurus M44 revolver, so I got out of my comfort zone and decided to give them a try. These are full wrap-around made to fit the specific frame. Due to the size and thickness of the grips I finally found, after much looking, a suitable piece of dyed and stabilized curly maple on eBay. Sent pics to the customer and he decided that was the piece he wanted the grips made out of, which was one of the more expensive pieces of wood (per bdft) that I've purchased. After a fair amount of time deliberating on my process, I decided to just jump in and get to work. I originally planned on doing a prototype out of less expensive wood, but eventually opted not to. Below are progress pics and the finished grips, which are a little thicker than the original, which is want the customer requested. All in all, they weren't too bad, just took a little planning, some templates, and lots of sanding and filing to get them to their finished state.

Wood Blank ~6" x 6" x 7/8"
View attachment 288023

Templates for routing and fitting to frame, shaping, and sanding
View attachment 288074

Inside Grip Routing Stepped Layers
View attachment 288076

Fitting to Frame
View attachment 288077

View attachment 288078

Cut to Rough Shape.
View attachment 288079

View attachment 288080

View attachment 288082


Shaping, filing, sanding, fitting, sanding, filing, shaping, fitting, filing, sanding, shaping, fitting.....
View attachment 288083

View attachment 288084

To be continued....
Click to expand...
Making handles is so satisfying. I do most of my carving tools handles myself because it saves money, has a better result and is an amazing project to do.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3
Getting closer...
IMG_20260430_1297.jpg

IMG_20260430_11639.jpg

IMG_20260430_12476.jpg

Comparison to the factory grip (new grip is a little thicker in the palm swell)
IMG_20260430_8411.jpg




Finished Grips - Mulitple Coats of Tru-Oil
IMG_20260430_11200.jpg

IMG_20260430_2518.jpg

IMG_20260430_2127.jpg

IMG_20260430_2920.jpg

IMG_20260430_2713.jpg
 
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Wow, quite a bit of work goes into a set like that. Nicely done. Two questions:
(1) in the 4th photo, it shows a spring tensioned rod running down into the grips, I guess it's for the cocking hammer. But in the last few photos it appears there's a rivet or screw passing through the grip. Is that below that spring tensioned rod?
(2) do you glue these together or are they held in place by a close fit and that single rivet / screw? I'm assuming the latter so one can remove the grips to access that spring tensioned rod. Which means the fit has to be pretty precise or the grips will wiggle and loosen over time.

Very cool.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #8
DLJeffs said:
Wow, quite a bit of work goes into a set like that. Nicely done. Two questions:
(1) in the 4th photo, it shows a spring tensioned rod running down into the grips, I guess it's for the cocking hammer. But in the last few photos it appears there's a rivet or screw passing through the grip. Is that below that spring tensioned rod?
(2) do you glue these together or are they held in place by a close fit and that single rivet / screw? I'm assuming the latter so one can remove the grips to access that spring tensioned rod. Which means the fit has to be pretty precise or the grips will wiggle and loosen over time.

Very cool.
Click to expand...
Thank you. It was a fair amount of work, but it was also the first time I tried this style of grip, so it took me longer than it would on another set.

To answer your questions:
1. The grip screw passes below the mainspring through the open circle/area of the frame.
2. The grips are not glued together. It's a pretty snug fit to the frame, but there is also a locating pin at the bottom front of the frame. The grips have a hole drilled in them that fit snugly over the locating pin. Brass escutcheons are installed in each grip (one is a through hole, the other is threaded) in which the screw goes through one grip, then the frame, and then gets screwed into the other grip.

Here's an example of a locating pin.
22587_DSC3709_7474-sm-1.jpg



Here is a stock internet photo of the grip screws and escutcheons.

s-l1200.jpg
 
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Thanks for explaining how those attach. That "snug fit" makes your work even more impressive in order for the grips not to be loose.
 
Jason, those came out great! I'm loving the green and reds(?) in there. Very cool man....
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #11
ripjack13 said:
Jason, those came out great! I'm loving the green and reds(?) in there. Very cool man....
Click to expand...

The "reds" are actually some bark inclusions and natural coloring (more brown in person), but definitely add to the overall look. I was happy how they turned out and fit well in the hand.

-jason
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #12
DLJeffs said:
Thanks for explaining how those attach. That "snug fit" makes your work even more impressive in order for the grips not to be loose.
Click to expand...

The grips are also held in position by the "step" that's routed into the grip and fits into the cutout of the frame, as shown below. There were several things that had to fit correctly, which is why I made the templates.

IMG_20260430_5912(1).jpg

IMG_20260430_054(1).jpg
 
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