IMO having worked in a couple firearms mfg'rs , doing several hundred of anything you build a drill jig..especially when they are going to be attached to a part (GripFrame) that has little variance.
(Welder, Machinist, Fabricator, 46yrs)
Exactly!!
Whether Ruger's stag and ivory medallions holes were drilled by the factory or whether they were drilled by any of the three or four grip manufactures has been a point of mystery for decades.
I have my own opinion and I think most folks know that opinion... but doesn't matter much when every pair of stag and ivory that somebody has purchased for their collection had the blessings of another collector before they bought them.
The biggest problem with drilling holes in ivory for example is that those holes have to be precise because when you stake a medallion at the back you run the risk of busting an expensive pair of ivory. This is probably why Ruger never fooled with mother of pearl to a commercial extent, because those were even more susceptible to breakage than ivory. The goal of setting a medallion would be to have a flush surface on top, flush with the top of the medallion, which to me means the grips have to be a certain thickness for one. Drill a hole from the top and another from the bottom at the same time, you need perfection with that because too thick at the stem area, you bust the grip when staking the medallion, too thin and you have potential for the medallion rotating, or the top of the medallion being above the surface of the grip, or the stem making contact with the grip frame below.
Next.... again, whether the manufacturer of the stag and ivory or Ruger themselves actually "free handed" the drilling of the medallion holes is pretty silly if you ask me. A precision manufacturer such as Ruger freehanding anything on a lathe or milling machine??? In a professional machine shop setting? My opinion... NO WAY!
So then lets say ruger had the vendor of the stag and ivory cut the holes for the medallions and insert those as well. Would they free hand the medallions on a product before they are able to send sellable product to Ruger?
I had somebody tell me once that Ruger had all kinds of profit in their stag and ivory and could afford to lose a few pair here and there. That was absolutely "NOT" the case! Ruger purchased their ivory sets for $8.10 to $8.25 a set with distributor cost being $9 a set (a profit of .75 to .90 cents). Stag were purchased from vendors for $4.25 a set and the jobber price was $5 a set, a profit of .75 cents a set. I have zero idea why anybody would be foolish enough to free hand medallion holes on stag and ivory when doing so would probably break the bank. What does anybody think WBR's mindset would be on that matter?
I do know, and have verified, that the very first six pair of ivory grip panels Ruger purchased from a vendor was from J. L. Galef, for six pair of ivory. The invoice for these six pair states something to the effect "with medallions installed". Those six pair of ivory are absolute perfection from a manufacturing sense... and from pics look identical in every way. These six pair were assembled to the six "letter" prototype Single Sixes A through F because the grip molding machinery wasn't yet ready for Ruger's checkered hard rubber panels.
I have also verified from an individual that none of the other invoices from the other stag and ivory vendors say anything else about medallions, installed or boo. How can that be interpreted? I don't know. But for what its worth.... its all "TABOO" to discuss everybody's opinion about what factory stag and ivory should look like anyway.
Chet15