Jay Scott Faux-Stag Grips

[ithacaartist]

I'm revisiting a pair of Jay Scott grips in the faux stag-horn version. I scored them over a year ago from an eBay auction, and they were quite low in price. My intention, established after I found out how thick they were, was to take down the plastic "stag" part in dimension to something more reasonable, and apply a checkered pattern to them. I addressed the right grip first, but encountered a couple of problems with my plan. I'm continuing, mostly to eliminate this from my TD list, but think I might wind up with some decent shooter grips after all. I thought I'd take any interested forum-ites along on this little journey...

These grips are constructed of a wood base against the frame, and a layer of whitish composite bonded to the top surface of the wood. The plastic part is heavily textured and quite thick. In the pics, I'm comparing the thickness of a Jay Scott grip right out of the box to an original grip's. The original measures about 5/16", the Scott, about 9/16"--a difference very close to 1/4". This means that a Luger with the Scott grips installed as-is will have a handle that is 1 3/4" thick, total--which is quite a wad when held in the hand!

The plastic part of the right grip I worked on last year had a crack in it already, and was losing its bond with the wood base underneath. It broke again during the process of removing it for the purpose of re-bonding to the base. This accounts for the hairline cracks visible, though I may be able to dress or color them somehow to minimize, if not eliminate, their visual presence.

My next activity will include belt sanding the horny protrusions from the molded plastic portion, which will result in about 1/16" of plastic remaining, which I will checker. The pattern will fade out at the edges of the white, leaving a smooth wood "border". I'll update progress when it happens with more pics.

[Lugerdoc]

Lifer, You must have too much time on your hands. You might want to donate some time to the Antique aircraft assoc. in your area. TH

[ithacaartist]

Maybe I'll just see about that, Tom...! A friend's friend once told him he had to go to Ohio and bring his newly purchased Mustang home. What year did he get? Hard top or convertible or fastback? Nuh-uh, a P-51! ... Been meaning to see if the guy is still alive and has the aircraft. More Iconic metal! This craft touches me in the same way the Luger always did/does.

I'm sensitive about the "lifer" biz. I've traditionally made two donations every year. One to the JREF, and the other to the Lugerforum. It's a brutal winter overall, so far, which accounts for the ability to spend time doodling around at the work bench. But it also means the enterprises by which I supplement my retirement check have been kinda frozen to the ground for the duration. Consequently, I cut my gift to the JREF in half. I was holding off on the Lugerforum endowment because I really didn't want to reduce it. Then it dawned on me that if I divided the usual amount by 12, and rounded up, I could PayPal J.D., our fearless leader, that amount every month! The forum makes out a tad better, due to the rounding, and it eliminates the anxiety involved with scraping together the $ lump all at once. As I told John, I'll simply do it every month from now on, and it all works out great. And then this Lifer stuff appears under my mug on every post...

I find it a little embarrassing to be called a Lifer, because, to me, the connotations bring to mind a guy who has been drooling over Lugers since waaay before the internet--back when it was done with phone calls and Kodak prints and handshakes and conversations at gun shows. So, I am a relative novice as a Luger sleuth, and there is always a tinge of humility in regarding the heavy hitters (You know who you are. You've done amazing work to help the interest bloom over the decades, a flower to be passed on to the next wave/generation.). Nonetheless, those I recognize in this category have always made me feel welcome and supported on the forum, despite the occasional (?) whacky idea I may have, or if my posts are long-winded. Anyway, thanks, all.

When one considers the arrangement, I am indeed a Lifetime Lugerforum Patron. And how could I not be? This forum provides so much opportunity for learning about you-know-what, and provides the occasional chance to help someone out by sharing observations and knowledge--though my contributions to most discussions are more centered on materials, processes, and crafts than specific, right-on scoops of Luger expertise. And I guess I am a Lifer in that discovering this community was like being born: They both share the same end point!

[Lugerdoc]

Sir, Sorry it did not occur to me that you were a life time Forum member; as I am at NAPCA (national automatic pistol collectors assoc). I took "Lifer" as 20+ years retired military. Keep us updated on your interesting projects. TH

[ithacaartist]

Tom,
Absolutely no offense taken; this boils down to semantics and definitions, in context. BTW, I am about as far from the 20+ retirement military as I could be, save for growing up near Fort Drum (Camp Drum, formerly--and Pine Camp before that) and subsequent freshman year in Army ROTC at Clarkson. I was 19, in the first lottery for the draft, and my birthday came up #327. Since the Selective Service was no longer breathing down the back of my neck at that point, I let go of college for a few years before resuming. Yes, I escaped being cannon fodder, but I consider that I also might have missed a lot of potentially positive experiences by not being conscripted. Vietnam messed with the heads of many that I know, changed their lives, at least, and not necessarily in a good way. I'm curious as to how I might have been a different person having followed another path. And I think the first time I heard the term Lifer was in context of people who would never get out of prison. Or factory work.

[singleshotman]

you should thank your lucky star you did not end up in Vietnam. My cousin did and it ruined his whole life, he could not work and spent the rest of his life at home. He finally died of cancer related to Agent Orange which the US Gov;t throught could deplant all of southeast asia . I was lucky, I got a 4F-no go.

[John Sabato]

David, The short version...( yes really! )

I was drafted in October of 1967 a couple of years before people got "lottery" numbers. And I served for 20 years.

Only by the grace of God, did I not go to Vietnam as many of my friends and peers did. As such, I also feel that I missed that experience.

After completing both Basic Combat Training (BCT), and Advanced Individual Training (AIT), I was stationed stateside until November of 1972. Many that I know that arrived at my first station with me, were shipped to VN within a year, and some even came back to the same place, and I WAS STILL THERE! ...and I have no idea why... the DOD was just starting to heavily computerize operations and pay, and I guess my personal assignment 80-column IBM card got folded, mutilated or spindled at the military personnel center.

Suddenly in the summer of 1972, over 300 people at that assignment received orders and most all of them went to VN... a handful were sent elsewhere... I got sent to East Africa! and spent a year at a place called Kagnew Station (you can google it to find out what that mission was all about). It was the ONLY U.S. Military base on the African continent at the time.

I experienced the early years of the bloody struggle that Eritrea had in their fight for independence from Ethiopia first hand (the US was Ethiopia's ally at the time), but I know it was nothing like VN. Americans were never targeted, only the Ethiopian forces.

When I returned to the USA in November of 1973, I was sent back to the location where I received my AIT as an instructor in my military occupational specialty (MOS). By the time that assignment was over, The war in VN began what was called "vietnamization" where the local forces took over most of the combat roles... and then in 1976, well after the US withdrawal from VN, I was sent to Italy and spent almost 5 years there.

I had led a charmed life during my career IMHO. I was honorably retired in February of 1988... and then watched us prepare for, and fight the Iraq war...

Though prepared to serve anywhere, and having been present at a few "hot spots" during my career, I never fired a shot that wasn't practice. Lucky? maybe... maybe not... Blessed is more like it.

Now, every time I see someone in uniform, or an older person wearing a ball cap that indicates that they served, I take the time to walk up to them, shake their hands if feasible, and thank them for their service. I encourage you all to do the same.