How to make 1911 grips and dry cherry wood

[geologist]

I just had a cherry tree cut down and kept some of the wood. I would like to make some grips for my NP-29 out of this cherry wood.

Can anyone advise me on the correct way to dry this freshly cut wood so that it will be suitable for making grips?

Does anyone have a pattern or drawing of the correct size and shape I should cut these grips to? My NP-29 has those FUGLY wraparound rubber grips (that actually point and feel OK for me) so I'm not sure if I can just trace the dimensions off of them.

Any advice would be welcomed.

 

[scairns]

I have had good luck with drying fresh cut wood by liberally painting the cut log ends with parafin, this keeps them from drying to fast. After a year or two the moisture content will be low and pretty stable. There are products available from Lee Valley for getting green wood to stabalize quicker I think it is called PEG.

 

[ckc123]

Wrap them in newspaper, and put them in a plastic bag (open). I've doene this more burls which tend to warp a lot, and had lots of success keeping them from bending.. also leave the wood whole, don't cut it yet. depending on the size it may take 8-12-16 months to dry fully.