Off-the-wall grip copying question for bowyers

[olddogrib]

I know that some bowyers are leery about trying to copy a grip and it's not a "slam dunk" even if it's one of theirs and they have the riser to go by (unless it's a CNC thing) But for the sake of argument, let's assume a bowyer is willing to try.  The problem is I no longer own the riser with "the best grip in the world"....duhhh, I know, never shoulda sold it!  But, what would be most helpful? A diagram with the critical dimensions at the throat and base side/side face/belly.  I think the guy that has it now might be willing to provide that info for me. The wild card is the radius of the "palm swell" that I assume you really need the real thing to feel in order to approximate.  I was wondering, back in my wheelie bow days they used to make a foam sheet that you could heat and wrap around your riser to make a mold that would cool to fit the shape of your individual hand.  I they still make it, has anybody ever tried to make a mold of their grip and then fill it up with spray foam insulation or something to make a reasonable facsimile of the real thing.  Would it even be useful if it worked?

[ozy clint]

here's a link to a thread that you'll find very helpfull
  http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=128665;p=1

your problem is that you no longer have the riser that you want to copy however you could use this method on a bow you have access to that might be similar then modify the final casting to what you want. if you have to remove material simply sand or file it off. if you need to add material use apoxie sculpt and build up the cast where needed and sand to shape after curing.

[McDave]

My experience is that a bowyer will try to match a grip, so long as it is consistent with his bow design.  Or, if you have a standard grip from the bowyer, he will generally be amenable to making modifications to it based on your instructions.  I had forgotten about the posts where Clint described how he made his model, but that's pretty cool!

[olddogrib]

Thanks Clint, now if I can just convince the owner to let me "borrow" it back.  In the mean time I think you just found a profitable second job if you you want to start churning these out...when do you want to go in production, lol?  sounds like most of these folks would pay the shipping both ways and make it worth your time.  I'd probably botch the job and owe the guy a new riser... and then it wouldn't match the old grip and I'd be in bigger trouble, lol!

[legends1]

We try and match any requested grip style desired. We have had a lot of our top shooters come to the shop and we adjust the grip for them on sight. Another is to ship us a riser that you are comfortable with. Grip is one of the most important issues in being accurate.