Pistol Grips.

[western.flyer]

This is a very simple project and easy to do unless you are like me and can't touch the gun to see if anything fits right. It has become a very very hard process just to get the basic shape right. They also have to have recesses cut in the back for the clip release and I can't just measure the gun. Any suggestions on how I can get this measured to cut it?

[ray hampton]

lay the old grip on a piece of cardboard or stiff paper and trace the clip cut and trace all around the grip then place the new grip on the paper, good luck

[western.flyer]

That is kindda how I got the shape of them. I put them in the scanner and got a good copy for the basic shape but the original ones are molded plastic and the inside is hollow. I don't want to hollow out too much of the wood so it will keep it's strength.

[ray hampton]

I prefer not to hollow out a grip except to make the grip fit better

[evilbadger]

What is the make and model gun your trying to fit? Some of the gunsmith books have the dimensions. I'm sure if I dig deep enough I can find some 3D CAD drawings around here.

[western.flyer]

What is the make and model gun your trying to fit? Some of the gunsmith books have the dimensions. I'm sure if I dig deep enough I can find some 3D CAD drawings around here.

It's a Hi-Point 9mm luger. I would really appreciate any dimensions you have. A few years ago his wouldn't have been a problem, I would have just kept fitting it to the gun until I got a good fit. But now since I legally can't even be in the same room as a gun unless it's in a safe or completely locked away from me it makes it hard to do.

[ray hampton]

being in possessed of a complete assembler gun may be against the law but what if the gun are disassemble so that all you see is the frame, check with BATF before trying this approach

[western.flyer]

Ray, I had thought about that and checked but I was told that I could only have parts that are non-essential to the gun being able to fire. I'm not exactly sure what all that means but Virginia is very clear on what the penalty is for a gun violation, 5 years in prison. A set of grips is not worth that, their is got to be away, it's just a matter of finding it.

[ray hampton]

talking to a gunsmith that you can trust about your local ATF may help

[evilbadger]

I checked through everything I have around here and don't have any info on Hi-Point. So I did some web searches and found a Hi-Point forum there was a guy on there that makes carbon fiber grips for the 9mm but he decided to quit making them because every gun seems to fit different and he kept getting complaints about the fit. I did see they recommend removing the slide to replace the grips, if the owner of the gun removes the slide I would think that would meet the requirements. One of the comments about the replacement grips was that when he used the 8 shot clip it worked fine but the 10 shot clip would not eject properly. I think since you are dealing with a plastic gun you really need to have hands on to fit the grip properly. The only other way I can think of would be to make a mold of both sides. I'll do more searching and keep you posted. Here is a link to the forum I found on the topic Custom made grips - Hipoint Firearms Forums
BTW western.flyer whats your first name?

[western.flyer]

Tim, thanks for all the help. I had actually e-mailed that guy and he told me the same thing, that the only way is to have the gun tofit it to. He used to get $45 for a set too. My probation officer said today that he didn't see a problem if the slide, barrel, firing pin, and trigger assembly were removed so I guess I'll try that. If the grips wasn't for the pastor of our church I would have told him I couldn't do it but he did alot for me and my family while I was locked up so I couldn't tell him no.
Oh yeah my name is Jim.

[evilbadger]

Jim

I can understand wanting to help the pastor.
I did a little more searching and ran across this site.Hi Point Pistol Grips I am guessing they probably hollow out the areas a little more than necessary in order for them to fit. I guess a $30 investment to give you something to copy isn't that bad compared to 5 years. From the looks of the forum in my previous post there seems to be a pretty good demand for the grips so you might be able to turn your $30 investment into a business.

According to the website they are located in Casselberry Fl which is about 25 minutes from me. I might pick up a set just to play around with on the CNC router. If I do get my hands on a set I'll let you know and then we can get dimensions from there.

[western.flyer]

Tim, I finally got them finished and the pastor was very happy with them. I asked him to take a pic of them and send it to me so I could post the finished project but he hasn't yet. He is going to post them on the Hi-Point forum too and I think I'll wait till I see the response before I make the investment. I did do some checking and out of the 4 main caliber guns Hi-Point makes they only use 2 different grips and they do seem to be in high demand. Might be a good opportunity.

Thanks again for all the help.

Jim