[Sean Flynt]

Those of you have made scabbards and grips using historical methods know how tedious it can be to properly hollow the halves.
I recently got one of these, thinking it could help:
http://www.amazon.com/Dremel-335-01-Plunge-Ro...mel+router
Most of you working on these kinds of projects have a Dremel. Do yourself a favor and get one of these and the appropriate bit. It radically reduces manufacture time on those projects.

You still have to set it up carefully, making sure you have the depth set properly, and you have to apply pressure appropriate to match the blade's distal taper, but you don't have to fuss over chisels. Just leave enough material that you can easily fine-tune the fit with sandpaper.

[Thomas R.]

HI Sean,

that's a good advice! I have such a plunge router thingy and it works very good for small pieces, like a grip. For bigger projects, like a scabbard, I find it too messy. The bit then gets hot really fast, especially if you try to do the whole depth in one go. After a third of one scabbard halve, I got back to using my chisel.

For safety use goggles and a breathing mask (and earplugs, if you like). It's really messy and loud, working with this thing.

Regards,
Thomas

[Tom King]

I've actually been thinking of buying one of the dremel dry wall cutting mounts for this purpose, but this is obviously much better. Cutting out crossbows and grips without access to a CNC machine can be a pain, and routers are expensive. This is a nice middle ground in price and functionality.

[Sean Flynt]

mine doesn't overheat, but I'm not using the full power of the Dremel (same result, better control).
i'll second the advice about the dust. do NOT use this without a good dust mask and eye protection. Good idea to shed your shirt and run your hair under the sink before removing mask, too. That dust can mess you up in a big way. if you have a Shopvac, you can tape the nozzle to your work table to cut down on the mess.

[Christopher Treichel]

I have both a dremel and the router attachment... but honestly I prefer using my paring chilsels and offset paring chisels.

[John Giles]

Great advice! I'm just starting to tinker with making my own grips, so this info is very timely!! Thanks!

[T.F. McCraken]

I have it down to an art. I can mark, core, glue and shape a wood core in about 2 hours. I've tried the plunge router avenue, but, I think if I made a jig it would work better. As it stands now, it's all done with a Dremel and a drum sanding bit. Then a palm sander to smooth.

Thanks for the tip Sean!

Murphy

[Sean Flynt]

I'm finding that this, a Stanley Surform tool and coarse/fine paper is really all I need. I'll occasionally use a chisel for rough shaping, but it's not strictly necessary. If I had fine chisels and could maintain them properly, I'd probably prefer those (assuming I could use them well, too). But it would still be hard to beat this little router for speed, and my time in the shop is extremely limited.

[Christopher Treichel]

That is probably the difference... I collect antique tools and use them. That includes very nice paring chisels which I keep honed with rouge. Comparing these to the ones you could buy these days at home depot is like comparing apples and oranges. A sharp chisel is well and capable of cutting through rock hard maple sideways. My dremel on the other hand starts to chatter and you have to make many passes. I also use inletting black and think a good fit should be really tight such that the peen on the end of the pommel is not the only thing holding the weight of the blade. So its all nice and snug.

[Matthew Bunker]

I just use a proper, grown-up Bosch plunge router (which is the scariest hand held power tool known to man) for mass clearance and then finish with a shallow scorp and a cabinet scraper.