A coworker of mine heard about my woodworking addiction and asked if I would be interested in creating a custom wooden handle for on of his pistols. When I started thinking about it, I thought that maybe it was a Colt 1911 and I could simply make some custom grips that screwed into the metal handle. Turns out he had a Taurus Judge designed to have a full wrap around handle that is screwed onto the metal tang. This was going to be a tough custom wood pistol handle.
I told him I would take on the challenge and came up with a game plan. When creating this custom wood pistol handle I knew that I will have to shape the wood to fit comfortably in either hand and also have a slot for the metal tang that would fit tightly. There was little room for error because the handle couldn’t rattle in the slightest. I picked up a piece of yellow-orange maple burl and set to work.
Using the original Taurus Judge handle, I cut the basic shape out on my bandsaw, routed the inside, then shaped the handle with my Dewalt Orbiting Sander.
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- Compared to the original Taurus Judge pistol handle
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- The handle was shaped for a smooth feel using a Dewalt Orbiting Sander
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- The light maple burl provides a nice contrast to the blued Taurus Judge
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- The handle fits snug and tight, and feels natural in either hand.
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- The original block of Maple Burl