Homemade micarta slabs on my BK2!!! Woot!!!

B

Blackhawk45hunter

Joined
Nov 14, 2013
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119
Well, I just finished up making new scales for my beloved BK2.

I have lusted after a pair for over a year now and couldn't get myself to spend $40 on a pair when I had 1/2" thick pieces of it laying around.

After some research I learned about the hot-plunge technique for cutting the hex holes. Once I was confident in my ability to do so, I went about making myself a pair.

They are brown micarta, sanded to only to 220 grit because I wanted some grip.


I think they came out pretty nice.

25c7db73718bae8ea8f7a4abadacc224_zpsfc528806.jpg


2ad492b649a794250a3f271b5d3478d2_zpsb8d5d583.jpg


879295ebeb47b488389e7d8f21f5902f_zps396f4c16.jpg


If/when I get a BK4 or BK9, I'm gonna make a second set in green micarta.

Thanks for looking guys!
 
The Warrior said:
Looks like the factory ones.
Click to expand...

Thanks man! I was trying to make an exact copy of the stock grivory scales.

I used a caliper to match the thickness on the low and high spots with a belt sander and then used a sanding drum chucked in a corded drill to get the contours freehand.


morgaj1 said:
Looks really good. Tell us more about the hot plunge method.
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It's pretty simple and MUCH easier than trying to carve them.
Note: micarta is IMPOSSIBLE to carve with woodworking tools.

All you do is, drill your holes with a 3/8" Forstner bit to the depth you need.
Then, chuck a bolt (with the head cut off) in your drill press and thread on a nut that is the same size as the holes you need.

Using a propane torch, heat the nut till I glows red and then plunge it into the hole to burn out the corners.

You'll have to reheat the nut for each hole.


That's all there is to it, it's so easy a caveman with an average woodworking shop could do it!
 
I think you did a magnificent job. An inspiration to try it myself. Really nice clean looking handles. Bravo!!!!
 
It's pretty simple and MUCH easier than trying to carve them.
Note: micarta is IMPOSSIBLE to carve with woodworking tools.

All you do is, drill your holes with a 3/8" Forstner bit to the depth you need.
Then, chuck a bolt (with the head cut off) in your drill press and thread on a nut that is the same size as the holes you need.

Using a propane torch, heat the nut till I glows red and then plunge it into the hole to burn out the corners.

You'll have to reheat the nut for each hole.


That's all there is to it, it's so easy a caveman with an average woodworking shop could do it![/QUOTE]

Why do you have to cut the head off the bolt?.... Do you leave the nut in there?
 
double7 said:
Why do you have to cut the head off the bolt?.... Do you leave the nut in there?
Click to expand...

Because the bolt head will keep you from bottoming out the hex nut while you're burning the holes out and your nuts won't seat far enough.

By cutting the head off, you can seat the nut completely flat against the bottom of your holes.
 
Those look really nice! What did you use for the micarta?

Also, thanks for the idea on the hot plunge method. Never woulda thought of that... But all of those instructions there are oh-so-sigworthy...
 
hawaiianhawk said:
Those look really nice! What did you use for the micarta?

Also, thanks for the idea on the hot plunge method. Never woulda thought of that... But all of those instructions there are oh-so-sigworthy...
Click to expand...

Thanks man!

I used store-bought micarta, bown canvas to be exact.

I have made homemade micarta but since I already had production micarta I figured I might as well.
 
Dude, you did a great job on those! Those look identical to the factory ones.

You have skills...
 
Very good looking scales. And nice job of getting the hexes all lined up nice and parallel, my AR friend ;). I'm wondering if rather than cutting off the head of a 10/24 bolt you could just use a hex head 10/24 and mount it head down in the drill press. It'd save you a little trouble, at any rate. Thanks for the pics. How long do you estimate you spent getting these done from start to finish?
 
granitestateofmind said:
Very good looking scales. And nice job of getting the hexes all lined up nice and parallel, my AR friend ;). I'm wondering if rather than cutting off the head of a 10/24 bolt you could just use a hex head 10/24 and mount it head down in the drill press. It'd save you a little trouble, at any rate. Thanks for the pics. How long do you estimate you spent getting these done from start to finish?
Click to expand...

That's a great idea! I can't believe I haven't thought of doing that haha.

Well, I would say that it took me around 3 hours, but the scales came out about 3/32 too thick each which made them too bulky on the knife so I had to regrind them for thickness using a caliper to match the thickness of the stock ones.

The funny think about full size becker scales is hey are 7/16" thick and micarta comes in 3/8 and 1/2 so there's some stock removal to get the right thickness if you want solid micarta handles.

My next set I may buy 3/8" stock and add 1/16" liner material in a contrasting color. It'd beat grinding off 1/16", that stuff kills belts like nothing I've ever seen.


I've heard G10 is even tougher...
 
Blackhawk45hunter said:
That's a great idea! I can't believe I haven't thought of doing that haha.

Well, I would say that it took me around 3 hours, but the scales came out about 3/32 too thick each which made them too bulky on the knife so I had to regrind them for thickness using a caliper to match the thickness of the stock ones.

The funny think about full size becker scales is hey are 7/16" thick and micarta comes in 3/8 and 1/2 so there's some stock removal to get the right thickness if you want solid micarta handles.

My next set I may buy 3/8" stock and add 1/16" liner material in a contrasting color. It'd beat grinding off 1/16", that stuff kills belts like nothing I've ever seen.


I've heard G10 is even tougher...
Click to expand...

What belts do you use? I've worked with a fair amount of G-10 and micarta and it has hardly worn down the belts I'm using which are just ordinary aluminium oxide ones...
 
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