I'm planning a new stock and can spend up to $700 or so on the blank.

Does anyone have any pictures of blanks or finished stocks that I could expect in that range?

The stock will go on a 375...I like browns and blacks for color, and some fiddleback...would rather have that than alot of figure.

That depends entirely on who you are dealing with; some are cheaper than others, some are way overpriced. In the end however, if you buy something you like and it turns out great, what's the big deal if you are happy.

If it were a lighter caliber, and you like fiddleback, you could get an incredible piece of fiddleback Claro with straight grain for a lot less than $700. Given that it is a 375, I would look for a piece of Bastogne with a lot of fiddleback. I see them pretty often, well within the price you are talking and often a lot cheaper. Low figured wood with a lot of fiddleback is pretty common.

Look at Roger Vardy's site. It will give you a good idea.

another place to look see is hunterbid.com. if you want fiddleback mostly i'd 2nd bastogne. claro will be a bit to soft for a 375 normally, but could be made to work.

quote:

Originally posted by TrademarkTexan:
The stock will go on a 375...I like browns and blacks for color, and some fiddleback...would rather have that than alot of figure.

If you reinforce the critical areas properly, you can use almost any species of walnut for your 375 with fine results. Even the softest Claro can be used successfully if done correctly but opinions vary as to the best approach and some will say I'm wrong about the Claro.

Been there, done that, rifles are still shooting fine (grin).

Fiddleback is a wonderful figure for stock strength since the back-&-forth grain flow tends to lock the fibers together quite well when compared to some other types of figure.

Price? I have several blanks of California English (not Claro) with full-length fiddle and black streaking for a LOT less than $700.

Like Jim says, some are more expensive than others and sometimes the pricing is REALLY lopsided depending on the particular vendor.
Regards, Joe

I have two 375's stocked in fiddleback Bastogne Walnut from stock blanks that I purchased from Cecil Fredi at www.gunstockblanks.com Cecil lives in Las Vegas and has been in the gunstock blank business for many, many years. Cecil currently has around 30,000 gunstock blanks available for sale. I am certain that you could find something fairly nice for your needs. I like the Bastogne Walnut blanks as they are denser and heavier and the little bit of extra weight to the Bastogne seems to help with the recoil of the heavier calibers. Check out his website.

If you look around, you can find very nice walnut for far less than $700- Juglans regia, Bastogne, claro, American or otherwise. Just make sure the grain flow is proper and your stockmaker does a good job of bedding. I've gotten some excellent low-cost blanks off ebay.

Check out Roger Vardy's website, they're in australia so you'd have to have them shipped, but I've read guys here that have bought wood from him and were happy. I have dealt with him on a couple actions he bought from me and found him to be a straight shooter and likeable fellow. I'd give him a try if I were in the market for a blank.

If you're not in a hurry the gunshows, both SCI and ACGG in January are great because the big wood guys are there as well as some of the custom stockmakers that have their own blanks for sale. some beautiful wood on the tables and you can actually feel it and look in person.

Roger Vardy's website

Red

Thanks for all comments. I've checked several of the sites listed (and many others), and it seems that the type of blank I'm looking for is about the same price range across many sources.

One thing I'm having trouble with is envisioning what the blanks will look like when finished. My experience has been that the finished stock shows more fiddleback, contrast, figure, and depth than what you see in the blanks.

Anyone have pictures of blanks and the finished stock?

quote:

My experience has been that the finished stock shows more fiddleback, contrast, figure, and depth than what you see in the blanks.

It can go either way. Sometimes the finished product is disappointing based on the blank's original appearance.

quote:

Originally posted by vicvanb:

quote:

My experience has been that the finished stock shows more fiddleback, contrast, figure, and depth than what you see in the blanks.

It can go either way. Sometimes the finished product is disappointing based on the blank's original appearance.

Any tips to try to spot that before buying?

If you really want a best guess estimate of the final product you should really request photos of the top,bottom and both ends (unwaxed)before purchasing . Flat sawn, rift sawn, quarter sawn, all different outcomes.

Yes, my suggestion would be to call Cecil and discuss it with him. He is very good about describing to someone what a blank will look like when finished. I have sat down with him many times before and had him go through a dozen or so blanks with me each time and help me pick out a piece. He has never been wrong in his description and suggested pick. I am sure that he would email you some pics of blanks and allow you to choose, giving you his suggested pick, based on what you are looking for.

I don't want to make it too simplistic, and someone will probably jump on this, but basically, if the blank shows a lot of fiddleback, the stock will generally look much the same. Ditto for crotch/feather/flame grain. Look carefully at the buttstock end of the stock. If it is quartersawn, the stock will be largely triped, with the grain looking much like the blank does. If the blank is flatsawn, the stock will show a more pronounced marbling effect as it is carved. The amount is dependent on the degree of flatswwing, the thickness of the growth rings and the color cntrast of the stock. If one part of the stock is more flatsawn than another, the marbling will be more pronounced there. This generally occurs when the wood is flatsawn from a section of the log that is not at a perfect right angle to a radial line from the center of the log.(Imagine growth rings starting vertically down from the comb line but curving sharplt toward the cheekpiece. This would produce uneven marbling from top to bottom.

These comments refer mostly to English or Circassian, since black walnut lacks the color contrast generally to produce marbling.

Thanks all for your input, I appreciate it.

I always like to see the outcome when people ask for advice, so I'll do likewise:

I looked at several places and ended up buying a stick from Cecil Fredi. It's Bastogne with good fiddleback throughout and even some really nice figure and contrast in the buttstock, in addition to very good layout and grain flow through the wrist.

It's 3-B in the pictures.












I'll send it off to be duplicated then finish the inletting, bedding, and finishing myself. I'll post pictures as I go, for anyone who may have similar questions in the future.

I have dealt with Cecil on several occasions, always been happy with the the outcome. Send him an Email outlining your $ limit, wood specie, grain type etc. and he will forward some pics. of blanks that might meet your needs. I go to Hunterbid and other sites to view the different grain types etc. available. --- John303.

Here are a couple of pictures of a stock that I bought about 6 years ago from Great American Gunstocks. When purchased originally they were 350.00 each.

The wood is American Black Walnut and the tree came from Oregon along the Salmon River where the soil is very rich with iron giving the dark grains that run with the stock. I actually bought three that came side by side by side so that they would all look close to the same, which they do.


Two of the stocks are at my gunsmiths and I am in letting them both for pre 64’s, one will carry ebony fore end and grip cap the other will be rosewood. The smith that built the rifles originally passed away just before he finished the rifles and his nephew finished them for me.

Swifter, those are beautiful stocks, thanks foe posting. I hope mine ends up looking something like that.

I should have mentioned that you can find some really descent wood out there, just don't get in a hurry and buy a piece that you may regret later or don't really trip your trigger. When you find what you are looking for, you will know.

When I start getting the stocks close to being finished, I will post some pictures of them.

This one cost me about that;

Thats nice !!

bought the match to this one from the guys at Luxus for $750.
Tho i think mines a little nicer.

It is going on a 6.5.

Here's a fiddleback California English blank I just bought.


Sorry, prospective trade in process so it's not available at the moment.
Regards, Joe

One thing about nice wood, they are all different and all unique to each and will make just about any rifle shine.

Some wood I've had for a while. From Cecil, Ebay, here on AR, etc...

http://home.pipeline.com/~shootzm/wood.html

TrademarkTexan: Nice stick of wood! Can't wait to see the final product! You'll be happy with your choice of Bastogne Walnut.

I got the blank yesterday, very happy with it. Off to Al Lind to turn...

Looks great! Post some pics when its done.

I got nice wood just by looking at GunToter's avatar!