Tula ToZ-35

Just won an auction for one of these Russian pistols. New, in box, with a wood block for a grip.

Anybody know how one begins to mill down the wood block to get it to fit my hand? Is there a specific procedure, or does one simply start grinding away?

John

A video showing making an anatomical grip from scratch. Attached is a guide for grip fitting.

Thanks! I needed a summer project! 

Some more guides.

John,
I HIGHLY  suggest you do not put finishing cuts in one seating. Hand size, feel, lubricity etc changes a lot throughout the day and on daily basis.  It depends on your sleep, hydration, season, the list goes on.  I suggest you cut to approximately where you want it to be and then keep coming back to it every few hours over nest week or two to put more cuts. You will find that every time you toucb it you will find more ways to make a more comfy cut. And then one day a week or two later it will be perfect glove for your hand. Never in one seating though.

If I did that again I would make a temporary /working model out of putty or something maliable and then transfer those dimensions into wood. That way I could easily make changes in the draft stage and later make the most of power tools before switching to hand work.

Also I'd make a set of slab grips so other people could shoot it as I try to convince them to get a free pistol too.

For the faint-hearted: order one from Rink!
I did that and it fits my hand great. By the same token, all Rink grips that I have fit me very well. YMMV.

I would second buying a grip and then making some mods to make it fit better.

Being a wood worker and also a free pistol shooter for 30 yrs I still have not attempted to carve on the the 2 blocks I have to convert them to a functional grip.

My current grip will not win any beauty contests but the fit is perfect.

Making small modifications to existing grip without turning it into a shitshow is a skill. Carving it from zero takes a lot of skill. That said, that block of wood is useless if it sits on the shelf. Try it and if you F up then buy one.

Tripscape wrote:Making small modifications to existing grip without turning it into a shitshow is a skill. Carving it from zero takes a lot of skill. That said, that block of wood is useless if it sits on the shelf. Try it and if you F up then buy one.

My practice is to buy a Rink grip and whack 1mm or so off AFTER a match (or equivalent practice session) of the areas that bothered me near the end of the match. This may take a while but has given a good result.

I'd suggest also to hold off on stippling and oiling until the fit is correct. Looking at pictures of Soviet Union pistol team grips they would go a long time before putting a finish on and they were known to be artists in grip fitting.

SportShootingDepot.com has TOZ Rink Grips in stock right now. Pretty much the same price as you would pay by ordering directly from Rink but the wait will be just 3-5 days while it gets delivered to you instead of 8 weeks of waiting for the grip to be made and shipped and 2 more weeks of delivery time from Germany.

There is also a fore-ends in stock from Rink (wooden) and Lottes (metallic)

After thinking about this some more.  I would buy a grip and work to make it fit so you can start shooting as soon as possible. This will give you a better idea what the end state should look like.

I suppose this would depend on how excited you are to shoot a great pistol.

For a really fast and relatively inexpensive first step why not try a 3D printed grip from Precision Grips www.precisiontargetpistolgrips.com

At least it will be a start - you can always sell it on and recoup some of the cost later if you decide to go for a full custom wood grip.

I love Rink's and have several, but if you have never tried one before and have no real clue where to start with the Toz maybe a "quick and plastic" option is worth considering?

Thanks guys- appreciate the advice.
Yet to see if Free Pistol is a pursuit I'll stay with. I doubt if it's for everybody, me included. 
Wonder if it will improve or hinder my Precision Pistol scores. Hitting a 2" 10-ring at 50 meters could lead to a bit of frustration!

jwax wrote:Wonder if it will improve or hinder my Precision Pistol scores. Hitting a 2" 10-ring at 50 meters could lead to a bit of frustration!

Free pistol will show you every flaw in your game. Humbling is an understatement. Rink makes the best factory available grip. No one in the US knows how to make a proper free pistol grip. Let's just say they're not available US made.

I love my ol' Toz. I was fortunate enough to have Cesare Morini personally make me a grip in 1994. I also have a MG5 and the factory grip is pretty good. I've been debating duplicating my custom Morini grip for it.

I hope you stick with it. John Zurek said he thinks he shot 2679 because he was shooting a ton of free pistol at the time. Shooting is a process and free pistol demands your process is spot on.

Jon

Just looked and it seems that the MG5 is no longer offered. Sigh.

MG5 is still available. Imported 3 in January this year. The Matchguns Italian website is crappy.

Email MatchGunsUSA@hotmail.com

Jon

IMO...hoping you are into the TOZ for a great deal.  Buy a Rink grip and shoot all summer instead of carve.  Even with a "ready made grip" you will still be fine tuning it for a while.  Let Rink take away 90% of the misery factor.

Take a look if any of the grips that are in stock will work for you or let them know before Wednesday what parameters you want and that grip will be made and shipped before 30th so you get it around April 12-14th. Otherwise would have to wait till mid May for your grip

https://sportshootingdepot.com/product/rink-pistol-grips-current-stock/

I found what you need.

Check out pages 11 - 13 of this thread on Targettalk.

Toz 35 Modifications - TargetTalk