I milled these Walnut logs about 10 years ago. They have been air drying, covered, outside. I was hoping to get a couple gunstocks out of them. I planed several 3" boards and there is some beautiful wood in there, but, every one has a crack in the pretty part. I just planed a thinner one, down to 4/4, and it's perfect, no defects. That's going to be a plant stand for my daughter. I have one nice 31/2" board that looks good, with some nice crotch wood in it. Hoping to get that one in the planer this week end?

Good stuff Joe

Do you make your own stocks ? That's some fine looking wood

No, but I was hoping to get some good blanks. There are a couple I could probably get a good straight grained matching forearm and butt stock. All of the figured wood has cracks in the figured part. I do have two more 3" slabs to plane. Maybe I'll get lucky?

Beautiful wood out in the woodpile

I personally would fill the cracks with epoxy and use them. That is some beautiful wood.

Yep, but probably not for gunstocks. Try as I might I can't see how that highly figured slab can yield fancy grain in the butt and nice straight grain in the wrist where it's really needed for strength.

I might trace a stock on a piece of cardboard and see if I can arrange it with a piece of straight grain in the wrist. Just by eyeball, I could not do it.

Good point, Gary. I once did a 2 ply laminate on a Contender buttstock, and it didn't look as goofy as I feared. On a 99, I would try a 3 ply if I couldn't find a single ply with structural integrity in the wrist. Maybe I am just too emotionally invested in the beautiful grain, and need a dash of cold water in the face.

plexiglass stock template




I made a 3-ply stock just to make use of the pretty (twisted) piece of wood, it was alot of extra work, and the jury is still out on long-term stability, but I'm pretty confident. The glue lines are always going to be there though..

some wood is just meant for a pretty cutting board

I look forward to seeing pics of this new stock on your 99

I've got to get me a piece of plexiglass like Jeff has. Got one more piece planed. I have 3 stock sized pieces left to plane. One looks real straight, little to no figure, but it may still be real pretty. Can't tell till you open them up? here's the one i did today.

Gary's vast knowledge and experience is recognized and honored here.., but I sure would have a hard time setting those pretty crotch-grain planks aside in favor of straight-grain-through-the-wrist-quarter-sawn stability...

I say order up a gallon of West System, and call it "field-grade"!

Could you take proactive action and imbed strengthening dowels before you attach the stock to the gun?

...prolly the only way to really get a custom stock blank to fit properly..

Where did that wood come from Joe?

West System and I are old friends. I've consumed 50 gallon drums of the stuff in my life, literally (in the maritime industry). But, there's no substitute for intelligent grain layout in a rifle stock. Prettiness is trumped by simple stability every time. What good is a rifle that won't hold zero because its squirrely-grained stock moves with every whim of Mother Nature? Or a stock that wishes only to crack at recoil-bearing points? Such a gun is a lesser thing in terms of meeting the definition of a "good reliable rifle", even if it secures the accolades of admirers with its fancy figure. (Note here also that "figure" isn't the same as "grain". It's possible to have beautiful figure along with nice grain - fiddleback figure derived from quartersawing is a prime example.) The ultimate trick is to encompass jaw-dropping figure where it doesn't matter at the same time encompassing tight straight grain where it does matter, to whit the wrist and action bearing points, and fore arm where you truly don't want wood that moves at the slightest change in atmospheric conditions.

When designing/building a hunting rifle or especially a target rifle, give me tight straight grain, preferably cut from an old slow growing tree and air dried to perfection, because form definitely follows function in those cases. I'll save the fancy stuff for the safe queens whose purpose in life is to massage my eyeballs!

Small wonder that composite stocks are the darling of modern precisionists and extreme weather enjoyers. They've surrendered.

Take that to the bank. Sound reasoning.

This, unfortunately.

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