Long winded is fine - better too much information than too little!
Re. your first post - I followed about 90% of that, and I'll have to try sketching that layout on a piece of cardboard or similar. One question though - what do you define as the single cheek weld point within the area that your cheek contacts the stock?
Re. your second post - you lost me on some of the detail. If your bending moment (rather than force) is occurring at different distances from the action, then you are proposing that the centre of rotation (around which the wood is warping) is in a different position dependent on whether the grain is tending up or down?
Looking around, I found written that downward sloping grain will result in the forend pulling away from the barrel over time. It makes sense to me that with grain dead straight through the forend, dry conditions encouraging the wood to shrink would result in the forend curving down - due to there being less wood in the top of the forend (the walls of the barrel channel) vs. the bottom of the forend (underneath the barrel). Upward sloping grain would tend to counteract this tendency , while downward sloping grain would exacerbate it. I don't know if this is correct, but it makes an approximate kind of sense in my head.
Putting aside the reasons, if I accept that upward grain in the forend = good, how effective would it be to counteract imperfect, downwards grain in the forend by stiffening the forend with carbon fibre rods and epoxy? I could mill a sizeable channel while having the stock set up for rough inletting, giving room for substantial reinforcement. Just trying to give myself options.
Re. your third post:
#1 loses a lot of figure from the butt if flipped - hence my question about carbon fibre.
#2 - definitely see what you are saying about 2-piece stocks. However, if the butt is raised to put rising grain into the forend, it also looks like it could be good. The hard bend is actually much less pronounced on the other side of the block. So it might be made to work either way. I think there will be no shortage of 2-piece stocks in this tree.
#3 - agree on both layouts. I can see the practicality in having the grain flow upwards in the butt, but it still looks slightly unusual to me compared to flowing down. The look might grow on me.
#4 - I planed and had a look at the top of the block after your post. Not good IMO - the grain is angled about 30 degrees rather than running down the length. I actually think this is one of the blocks shown in the 3rd photo of my 08/23/10 12:47 PM post, where we had to cut the buttress off just to get into the log proper. All a learning experience, anyway.
In any case, I think the wood needs at least a couple more years before seriously considering stocks. And in that time, no doubt we'll drag out another block or two, plane them, and go through this exercise again before selecting a couple to actually start shaping.
