Before I buy Probe Question

[myxpykalix]

You could also do a google search for gun handles models. There are tons out there free and pay and you could get them and alter them to suit your needs.

[AJMag]

Just thought I'd update you guys..... I dropped the hammer last Thursday. Desktop model with spindle, probe, and aspire with the wildlife scene bundle. Got a lot of things in mind geared around the outdoors and a sportsman's life. I appreciate the advice y'all had given me, and I'll probably be asking for lots more in the very near future. Brady, I may have to also take you up on the scanning service here soon. I'll be in touch looking for info.

[wayne fussell]

Andy,
I too thought that probing would be the way to go. Found out really fast or slow, depending on how your looking at it, that probing a part takes a very long time.
Example, One part i probed was 2.5" wide and about 13" long and it took well over 16 hours.
I have since felt the force and Brady's laser scanning service. Top notch and the only way to go, at least for me.

[tlempicke]

The few paltry dollars that you spend getting Brady to do scans for you will come back many times in saved time and frustration.

Notice that many (Most) of the posts tell you to buy Aspire. When you get the machine from SB they will cut you a good deal on Aspire. In fact they will do that even after you have bought.

Here is how I would start doing a gun grip

Take the old grip and put it on a scanner just like the one you have attached to your computer.

Scan it and save it to a BMP if you can, but pretty much any file size works

Open Aspire and enter the specs or your wood blank. Personally I would have zero X andY in the center of the work

Bring it in to aspire as an image

Use the trace function to get the outline

Once you have the outline locate the holes and place them. Remember that you can move them a couple of thousandths whenever you need to.

Copy the holes and outline to a new layer.

GO NUTS! What do you want - Cowboys and Indians? Faces, an extended middle finger, lettering, eagles, maybe the grillwork from a car. If you can think it up, you can carve it.

Material cost isn't going to be a big thing on a handgrip so get it as good as you can and test carve it. If it is a bit too big, literally three mouse licks will make it smaller.

The one thing I wouldn't do is try to make the screw holes. Holes are never truly round, but rather a set of moves strung together to make a hole. Put a "pit" where the hole should be and use a drill press to drill an undersize hole and then ream it properly to size.

[jerry_stanek]

I would talk to Shopbot and see if I could drop the probe and maybe get the starter bit and some other bits.

[AJMag]

I appreciate the inputs. We'll see how things start to go once I get familiar with the tool. I had previously thought about what might be easier, as far as making holes in grips, and cutting the small notches on the back side, and I'm fine with having to drill those with a press. I've already got a decent jig made from making them by hand.

As far as dropping the probe, I'm going to roll with it find out for myself how it works. It's not that much compared to the whole cost I just forked over, and maybe it'll come in handy, who knows...