Originally Posted by RimfireArtist
Originally Posted by Sitka deer
Killer wood is actually quite a bit less likely to crack unless laid out poorly. Simple physics and long proven. I bought my first over 40 years ago.


Sound like you read that somewhere. I am speaking from 20 years of stressing shotgun stocks in order to bend them, and repairing stocks cracked in the field.

I love highly figured wood, too, and most of it never cracks. But if you stress both types, the figured wood is much more likely to crack, right along one of those lines of figure.

Go figure! smile

I missed this until now... I have tested and measured huge numbers of pieces of wood to failure of many species, including lots of different walnut. A few points become obvious. Species is of course huge, but Specific Gravity is the single biggest indicator of strength after that. Figured wood tends to be significantly more dense. Straight, uniform fiddleback is much stronger and stiffer than pure straight grain.

While you may see figured wood break while bending you very likely are putting far more force into bending it. And that is taking the wood places a very tiny percentage of stocks are ever taken.

Mark Begich, Joaquin Jackson, and Heller resistance... Three huge reasons to worry about the NRA.