What are some of the best , reliable sources/options currently for purchasing a English, French, Bastogne, Turkish bolt action rifle stock blank?

Not looking for a exhibition blank but a stable , properly dried blank that can be used immediately , that has strong grain flow balanced on both sides, some strong black mineral lines, no marbling around the pistol grip to the forend, medium to dark brown coloration , no red or blonde coloration.

The blank will be used for a big bore.

What should one expect to pay for the above described blank?

Cecil Fredi-Gunstock Blanks. Look him up on the internet. He has over 30K gunstock blanks. If you're close to Vegas, you can personally visit and pick out your blank. If not, he'll send you pics of a number of blanks within your parameters for you to choose from. You won't be disappointed. All of my big bores carry Cecil's Bastogne wood. I also have rifles that carry English, Maple and Myrtle wood-all from Mr. Fredi.

I second Cecil Fredi. Awesome guy to work with. You can give him the above description as well as a rough idea of your budget and he'll send you pictures of dozens of blanks that fit that criteria. With Cecil you always know the wood is dry as well. I've ordered from ebay before and had to let the blanks sit on the rack for a couple years before they were usable.

I used Cecil Fredi also, with great results.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by MNR:
I second Cecil Fredi.

Well Mr MNR,
I've got to say that to some (me), your stock making video is pure gold and wonderful to see the &*$^&-load of hours compressed into a 7 minute production! I'll watch it over and over. True art!

Thanks,
Zeke

FYI:

Cecil's website

Thank you Zeke! I greatly appreciate your feedback.

quote:

Originally posted by ZekeShikar:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by MNR:
I second Cecil Fredi.

Well Mr MNR,
I've got to say that to some (me), your stock making video is pure gold and wonderful to see the &*$^&-load of hours compressed into a 7 minute production! I'll watch it over and over. True art!

Thanks,
Zeke

MNR, I have to chime in about your well-edited stock making video. I love seeing all your well thought out jigs. Given all those jigs, I’m surprised to see you checkering free-handed.

If I had had any idea stock making was so quick and easy I would have been making my own for all these years!

Thanks for sharing your work with us.
Forrest

Thank you Forrest! Funny thing about the checkering cradle is that I have one. But when I first started out I couldn't afford one and ended up checkering dozens of stocks before getting one, then it was hard to switch over. My wife said I should have used it for the video though as it would have looked more professional.
I'll also be the first to admit that checkering is a weak spot for me as a gun maker. Not that the finished product is lacking in any way, but I'm very slow (usually 30+ hours into a checkering job). Using the cradle and switching over to a power checkering tool would probably help me progress in this area.

MNR Enjoyed the video. I noticed your way of holding the checkering tool with straight fingers. As arthritis is limiting my ability to clench my fingers and hold the tool, I'll have to try your method. Thank you.

Cecil has some nice blanks like you described in the 200-300 range.

quote:

Originally posted by 4WD:
What are some of the best , reliable sources/options currently for purchasing a English, French, Bastogne, Turkish bolt action rifle stock blank?

Not looking for a exhibition blank but a stable , properly dried blank that can be used immediately , that has strong grain flow balanced on both sides, some strong black mineral lines, no marbling around the pistol grip to the forend, medium to dark brown coloration , no red or blonde coloration.

The blank will be used for a big bore.

What should one expect to pay for the above described blank?

4WD

My good friend Lon Paul is a pretty well known custom builder. He uses Cecil Fredi a lot.

Mark

How about Roger Vardy Rifles and Stockwood. . He has some fine English Walnut blanks, and priced right, too!

You need to remember the exchange rate when pricing Roger's blanks. Their dollar is worth about $.669 or about 67 cents. A big advantage to us in the USA. Also, he has charged me no more than I have paid for shipping here in the old USA.
Roger Vardy is just very hard to beat. His wood is truly dry and seasoned. It is a very hard wood that takes checkering real well.

www.fanousigunstock.com

Tell him I sent you...he'll treat you right. Turkish Walnut

The best wood Ive found is OLD WORLD WALNUT, Bill Dowtin....I tell him what Im looking for and he sends me exactly that..A number of well known gunsmith ask me where that wood come from..His wood is Russian Walnut and he is in partnerships with the mill in Russia..Old big trees, its the same walnut as the Turkish just on the other side of the border, The turks steal a lot of Russian, and the Russians shoot a lot of turks!