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Ironwood Grips


Buckshot Sheridan

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I've been trying to locate some pieces of Ironwood large enough to make grips for 2 of my guns.  Been able to find pieces for knife handles, But not a reasonable size for pistol grips.  I tried contacting AZ Ironwood multiple times, but have not been able to get a response back by email or phone.  Any ideas?

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Ironwood is a common or colloquial name for several species of hardwoods, and the exact tree changes by geographical region.  Down south, Ironwood is the colloquial name for River Birch, or betula nigra .  Do you know exactly which species you are referring to by "Ironwood"?  I have access to the River Birch version if that's what you need.

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13 hours ago, Buckshot Sheridan said:

I've been trying to locate some pieces of Ironwood large enough to make grips for 2 of my guns.  Been able to find pieces for knife handles, But not a reasonable size for pistol grips.  I tried contacting AZ Ironwood multiple times, but have not been able to get a response back by email or phone.  Any ideas?

Pretty sure I have some of what you’re looking for. Why don’t you PM me and we’ll talk about it.

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4 hours ago, Marshal Hangtree said:

Do you know exactly which species you are referring to by "Ironwood"? 

 

OP said vendor he tried is

Quote

AZ Ironwood

 

Pretty sure that is what he wants - the Southwestern legume tree Olneya tesota (Desert ironwood, Arizona or Sonora Ironwood, Mexican ironwood)

 

Good luck, GJ

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14 minutes ago, Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 said:

 

OP said vendor he tried is

 

Pretty sure that is what he wants - the Southwestern legume tree Olneya tesota (Desert ironwood, Arizona or Sonora Ironwood, Mexican ironwood)

 

Good luck, GJ

Thanks, GJ.  That clarifies things.

 

MH

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6 hours ago, Warden Callaway said:

We have a tree here in Missouri that we call iron wood but I don't think it's what is used to make grips and knife scales.   I'm thinking the real iron wood is found in the south west desert region. 

 

One here in Indiana (Osage, or commonly known as Hedgeapple) and after cutting and drying is as hard as a rock.  When cutting it green it milks up a chainsaw quite a bit.  Polishes like Buffalo horn.

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I buy all my Desert Ironwood from these people. High Quality and wood is in excellent condition.

https://arizonaironwood.com/

They sell you the exact pieces you see online.

You will need EXTREMELY sharp tools to work. Carbide suggested.

 

 

 

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6 minutes ago, Ace_of_Hearts said:

I buy all my Desert Ironwood from these people. High Quality and wood is in excellent condition.

https://arizonaironwood.com/

They sell you the exact pieces you see online.

You will need EXTREMELY sharp tools to work. Carbide suggested.

 

 

 

These are the people I've tried to contact multiple times with no response.

 

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4 hours ago, Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 said:

 

OP said vendor he tried is

 

Pretty sure that is what he wants - the Southwestern legume tree Olneya tesota (Desert ironwood, Arizona or Sonora Ironwood, Mexican ironwood)

 

Good luck, GJ

That is the stuff.

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We ran a mom and pop sawmill business for over 20 years and sawed all kinds of products.  There happens to be a local company that makets pin,  duck call, etc wood and tools to make them.  For some reason their regular supplier couldn't come up with Osage Orange and they recommend us.  We happen onto an ad for hedge posts for sale.  Got there and they had an inventory that would fill a couple of rail cars.  We picked out 6 or more of the largest and straightest.  One foot in diameter and larger snd 10 to 12 feet long.  The order was for 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" by log length.   We made a good load on our ton flatbed.  They paid for each clear one foot length.  So if a 10 foot length had a bad place,  they would pay for 9 good pieces.  I'm sure the didn't expect us to bring in so much!  But they paid up. We made out well.  But they never placed another order from us. 

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2 hours ago, Buckshot Sheridan said:

These are the people I've tried to contact multiple times with no response.

 

They do almost all their business online and don't have an office staff.

They can only harvest trees when the land is being cleared for construction.

If you contact them by email they generally respond within 24 hours.

 

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Try Woodworker's Source. I used to frequent the store in Tucson when I lived there and have ordered online as well.

https://www.woodworkerssource.com/

or try www.cookwoods.com. They seem to have some in stock. Not cheap though.

If you're making pistol grips, ask for cut-offs or scraps. Woodworker's Source always had a nice selection of cut-offs.

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ive lived most of my life in the north - i think iron wood here is different than down south , but im not really a wood guy , so im learning a lot from this thread , i need to get better edumicated it seems , 

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On 11/10/2019 at 6:55 PM, Buckshot Sheridan said:

I've been trying to locate some pieces of Ironwood large enough to make grips for 2 of my guns.  Been able to find pieces for knife handles, But not a reasonable size for pistol grips.  I tried contacting AZ Ironwood multiple times, but have not been able to get a response back by email or phone.  Any ideas?

Here is another source that I use for good stable wood. I forgot they also had Desert Ironwood.

 

http://www.exoticwood.biz/desertironwood.htm

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What we call ironwood is musclewood.

 

https://nature.mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/american-hornbeam-musclewood

 

We've used it to make wedges as it's a strong hard wood.   

 

We have some on the farm.  I may cut one this winter just to see what's inside.

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Buckshot.

You should be aware that the beautiful figure in Desert Ironwood will eventually turn into an even dark brown when exposed to sunlight, not unlike the picture posted by Palewolf. Light takes its toll on many woods when it comes to beautiful color. Make sure to keep a good clear varnish coat on your grips to reduce this effect and you will have many years of people Oohing and Ahing your grips for several years.

 

 

Ace

 

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