U.S.A. –-(Ammoland.com)- In the spring of 2016 the team at Clark Armory had the idea to build an AR-15 and fit it with custom wood furniture. They had seen a few images of ARs with wood furniture and were inspired to build one of their own.
Nine months later, the project had grown beyond the reach of the ammo retailer, so www.BlackWoodUSA.com was created to shape the wood components and tell the rest of the build’s story. Here is the first part of the story of the creation of the wood furniture:
Selecting the wood for this build was something that had to take place in person. As we perused local wood shops we knew we needed a hardwood and wanted one with beautiful lines and color. It wasn’t long before we laid eyes on a piece of Brazilian Rosewood that fit the bill. It is truly a beautiful piece of wood and it is an understatement to call it hard.
Rosewood in hand, we headed back to the shop where we, measured, drew and made the first cuts turning a three-foot piece of lumber into rough grip panels. Once the cuts were made, we spent the rest of the day sanding the edges to get the grip panels to sit precisely inside our grip frame.
The task for the following day was shaping the contours into each side of the grip to make it fit smoothly into the frame and feel great in hand. We began this process with chisels but quickly switched to a Dremel for greater precision. At this point, it was all about steady hands and time.
We spent hours bent over the grips, Dremel in hand, forming the grip panels into the shape we wanted. After the cutting blade came more sanding until we arrived at the unstained/unsealed grips you see below. The next step will be shaping the finger grooves and then finishing and sealing each of the grip pieces.
To see more pictures and learn more about each step of the build check out the full story on Black Wood USA’s Blog or their Wood AR-15 Grip Page. Or just stay tuned to AmmoLand for the next installment of the build story.
Page Links:
- https://www.blackwoodusa.com/wood-grips-ar-15
- https://www.blackwoodusa.com/blog-wood-ar-15-furniture-black-woo
About Black Wood USA:
BlackWoodUSA.com was started as a platform to tell the story of building the wood furniture for our AR-15 project that began life with Clark Armory. Black Wood USA’s mission is to complete the Wood AR-15 Build, show how the furniture is made and explore the possibility of producing the components for sale.