Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Stock building question

I have a very nice piece of curly redwood that I need to do something with, and I was thinking that maybe it could be used for a stock. But first, is redwood suitable wood for a rifle stock, say for a .243 on up to a .280? Also, what is the absolute minimum thickness that a stock blank can be? This curly redwood piece is a shade over 2" thick, and I was thinking about a stock sized similar to a Rem. Model 7.

Redwood would not be suitable for a stock under almost all conditions...

Sliced thin and laminated with epoxy in a low recoil rifle it would be sort of okay.

Used as a bench rest stock it would work as well as many of the ultralight woods used to keep the stock weight to a minimum.

But in general, it would not be something I would consider...
YMMV
art

[is redwood suitable wood for a rifle stock]

No. Redwood is a softwood (think: red colored pine); while gunstocks are generally/traditionally made from hardwoods - to better maintain inletting/fitting against the cumulative effects of recoil, the better withstand the rigors & hard knocks of use, and the better to hold sharp checkering for a good grip.

Besides, other than color, Redwood doesn't have the grain appearance/structure that appeals to many looking for a nice/pretty gunstock.

In this day/age, almost anything - even Kleenex or TP - can be stabilized, but I wouldn't use it for a gunstock.
I would use some mterials,however, for a non-stressed application - like knife scales, etc.

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As mentioned by an earlier poster, redwood is fairly soft and light but, has been used to produce some great stocks when laminated with carbon fiber cloth. Check out Leonard stocks over on www.benchrest.com

Softness has been coverd. 2 inches is pretty thin. Most stocks are 1 & 7/8" at the butt. Some 1 3/4". Does not leave much room for error.Then it does not have any thickness for cast,if you want to add that.

Thanks for the responses. I kind of thought that would be the case after doing some web research on redwood. Originally it was going to be a nice burl coffee table, but the wife doesn't want to go that route (at least so far). Guess I'll have to come up with a better plan B for that slab of wood.

What's the Width? You could make a set of Redwood bowls/plates for around the house if you have a lathe

If you make her a nice jewelery box out of it, and maybe slip in a little bling when you give it to her, there just might be somethin' in it for you, too,



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