weighting the insides of pistol grips

[UKairgunner]

Ok ,i like the simple stock look and all my mods have been  mostly inside,the new metal breech has a red dot and i use a large quality UK made moderator  which keeps the nuisance sound down.
But using a big moderator ,even with   with the stock 7" barrel, its front heavy  . 
Now i think a heavy pistol is better  for cutting down hand "shake" and im thinking of casting lead weights to fit in the recesses of the plastic grips. Ive made moulds/patterns  and cast aluminium before at college   and im thinking of using wax lost wax  into plaster of paris  then cast lead

anyone any thoughts of the idea of a heavier grip area  or the practical side of casting

[Brutuz]

Yep this is what I did in 2009 http://www.crosman-air-pistol-owners-forum.com/board/index.php/topic,351.0.html

And another pistol I used sanitary kit to fill the grip cavities

[RinCG]

I've used duct seal for more than just shooting at.

I've used it as a synthetic stock noise dampener also. Adds a good deal of weight also.
May check into it.

[UKairgunner]

well Brutz..thought id ask you what "  sanitary seal " is before i type it in my search engine......im sure the Missis checks my posts( she can kick off more than GCHQ on dodgy web searches i imagine )

[Brutuz]

Kit that seals showers and such

[UKairgunner]

so after thinking about it it seems a good idea
im gonna look at mixing fishing split lead shot with epoxy resin and setting it into cling film "in situ",when its set i can simply pop it into the cavity...this might be a lot simpler than melting lead and casting.

I might do this in 2 parts per side of grip  (one in the frame ,one in the grip) so its easy to fit

the question for Maths students might be what size of fishing split  shot gives the maximum density per volume..ignoring the film of epoxy holding all the balls of lead together ?

il post pics if ever i get it sorted along with weights

[quickster47 †]

I used a couple of tubes of 'Liquid Metal Filler' on a set of grips and that stuff worked pretty well.

Carl

[WyoMan]

Spheres of the same size will densify to about 2/3 of the "voidless" unit weight - meaning 1/3 of the total volume is air voids.


I used epoxy (slow setting and low modulus) with chilled lead shot #12
I painted the sides and bottom with the epoxy, poured in the shot, and then poured in the epoxy.

It really helped balance the gun 

[UKairgunner]

thanks for the 2/3 rds rule...it would be a lot of work casting to get an extra 1/3 weight
im gonna try using lead fishing shot but setting it first into the hollow cavities in the stock grips to give them a better less cheap feel and enabling me to put on wood grips later if i change my mind

[UKairgunner]

Done.

1 ,tested balance point of pistol which was just in front of the screw in front of the trigger{ balanced pistol on wooden dowelling)
2 decided i wanted new balance point on my finger when its on the trigger
3 tested small bags of lead shot taped on the grip till it balanced at my desired point
4 split this weight into 2 and mixed with a little epoxy to bind the small lead shot together and poured in insides of grip
5 pre checked that it wouldn't interfere with refitting  and tested refitting as the epoxy went"green" so if it didn't fit i could remould it quickly-
6 after it had set tested balance again....perfect

the total  weight of both my grips including the original grip plus epoxy and lead shot is now 275g,this suits my pistol as its fitted with a large UK moderator which ,whilst making it very quiet ,caused it to be nose heavy

also now the grips  dont feel so hollow with a nice solid clunky ring to em when i tap em!

total cost about £4

well chuffed with it now ,feels like im not trying to stop it drooping and surly less shake

[mudduck48]

Sounds like you got it figured out. How about some pics?

[Tater]

Sounds like you got it figured out. How about some pics?

Yeas, nice job. And we love pics.

[UKairgunner]

Ok a pic
not a very photogeneic pic,the thing was to steady my shaky hand and take the point of balance back to my trigger finger.

A and B mark before and after,i droppped of one grip but its only full of lead shot and epoxy sprayed up with black car paint.
luckily with the 2240 the usefull cavity is in the grips so if i ever want wood grips  its no problem

If the pic of the moderator is a problem moderartor please tell and ill remove it,also am i allowed to talk about the moderator? its an over the counter UK bought item on a UK legal airpistol

if pic dont load ill sort it soon

cheers

[UKairgunner]

pic at last

[mudduck48]

Looking good.