Well, this Vanguard seems to like it! It's a 7mm-08 and currently shoots a 120 grain TTSX over a modest amount of CFE223.

Thetarget at 100 yards is encouraging.

Wow! I never considered ash as a stock material, but it looks great! The figure is very nice, I'm sure it's hard as hell, and it's colored about like a light shade of walnut. Really pretty!

Very nice rifle; yes, ash makes good stocks; it is used on long rifles far more than bolt actions. Better get it now; soon it will go the way of the American Chestnut; died off.
The bottom one is curly Ash; I have built a few of them.

First: very nice stock

always thought ash was like oak, prone to spliting. but they do use it for bb bats.

Beautiful rifle!

Beautiful work, Vapo. Ash is a wonderful wood for many things. Sadly, all of the ash on my land is dying from EAB. What a waste.

Respectively I'd like to disagree on ash as a gunstock. I understand that it can have some lovely figure but it's coarse grain makes it more suitable for it's primary use as a Louisville Slugger. I also understand that almost every American hardwood has been used as a gunstock at some point in history including oak, hickory, ash, and fruitwoods such as apple, none of them ever became popular in the craft of gunmaking. There must be a reason for this!

quote:

it's coarse grain makes it more suitable for it's primary use as a Louisville Slugger.

This has not been my experience so far. As a matter of fact I've found it finer grained than black american walnut as the pores in finishing are much easier filled than black american or claro.

I've used it for many furniture builds including roltop desks and find it hard and strong. As a matter of fact it's the only wood so far that can actually cut my hands due to the hard, fine grained, and sharp edges that it can hold.

"Coarse" would not be the way I'd describe the grain in the stock above. I'm assuming it's been properly filled, but even still. Vapodog, is the weight similar to a walnut stock? How do the two compare?

If you don't like it; don't use it, but I would guess that very few people have ever even seen an Ash stock, much less own one. Figured and curly Ash is way more rare than in Walnut, and it is yellow in color, are the reasons it is not used.
The weight varies like walnut does; but it is on average, harder and denser than typical black or claro.
It is not prone to splitting and has long straight grain, and is widely used for Ax handles for that reason. Hickory too.
Some of the pores can be larger; but filling them is easy.

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
If you don't like it; don't use it, but I would guess that very few people have ever even seen an Ash stock, much less own one. Figured and curly Ash is way more rare than in Walnut, and it is yellow in color, are the reasons it is not used.
The weight varies like walnut does; but it is on average, harder and denser than typical black or claro.
It is not prone to splitting and has long straight grain, and is widely used for Ax handles for that reason. Hickory too.
Some of the pores can be larger; but filling them is easy.

yep.....well said.

I might add that the main reason I'm using it now is not only for it's strength and hardness but I got three beautiful blanks absolutely free.....that's a big kicker in my world.

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:
I might add that the main reason I'm using it now is not only for it's strength and hardness but I got three beautiful blanks absolutely free.....that's a big kicker in my world.

Well, the price was right!

Other than I prefer gun stocks to be as close to black and soft shell European walnut as I can get, your rifle is beautiful, and nice work for sure..

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:
I might add that the main reason I'm using it now is not only for it's strength and hardness but I got three beautiful blanks absolutely free.....that's a big kicker in my world.

That would certainly have a positive influence on the use of this wood in my case also.

I would be very proud to own that stock. Ash is very strong without a doubt and this piece finished beautifully. What's not to like about it?

I might add that I love blondes! (Stocks that is). I have a number of them, but out of other wood.

Vapodog

Did you mill that one from the blank? Really nice!

quote:

Originally posted by lindy2:
Vapodog

Did you mill that one from the blank? Really nice!

It's like this:
1. I cut down the tree for lumber.
2. Upon sawing lumber I noticed some beautiful burl-like grain.
3. I set the next three saw cuts thick enough to make gunstocks.

4. I air dried the three blanks for three months

5. Then had the Amish in Wisconsin kiln dry them to 6% moisture
6. Band saw cut stock blanks and sent them to Dennis Olson in Plains Montana for routing to fit Weatherby vanguard barreled actions. (Howa)

7. I finished them from there. (includes bedding the barreled action and glass bedding, installing pistol grip cap and forend tip[American black walnut root wood] cutting bolt handle recess and ejection port ramp, installing butt plate, installing sling swivel studs, finishing the stock and checkering.

Not usually that fond of Blond stocks but that one is a looker for sure.

I cut down an ash tree long ago for firewood for my mother-in-law and then decided to have 7 feet or the trunk sliced up for lumber. It got used for different stuff but there was some highly figured stuff which got used for smaller cabinet doors. And it really sets those cabinets off. I was very surprised!

well chit- i like it - now i wonder what a stock would look like from black ash - otherwise known as Japanese walnut- they drag those trees out of the swamps in minnesota with hellicopters

Damn nice rifle. You did a good job on that.

Ash, over here has long been used for aplications that require toughness and spring. Material of choice for axe, hammer and other tool handles. Also used for wheel spokes and framing for coach and car bodies. Morgans are all ash framed. Makes good Bows as well. As a gunstock - has most of the properties needed. Possibly a bit heavy. It does move a bit when subject to moisture, but free floating and bedding and proper sealing then why not.

I have a Mountain Ash tree in the garden that I am going to cut down. Would it make a nice gunstock?
I guess that ash is used for oars, hence the expression "Ash breeze".

no on the mou9ntain ash - although as lumber it has several color variations which can be quite nice - also yu9 need a log thatis about 20"in diameter to be able to cut a stock out of

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Reply

Butchloc, Thanks. That is what I needed to know. Brian

I cut some of this for knife handles bunch of years back.
Very hard with lots of figure.
Was great as knife handles.

I once had a nice piece of Bois D Arc that I sent to Hulet at Bishops + was told never to do that again as the hardness of that wood wrecked his chisels.

We have a big white ash on our property. Big old tree, but it’s dead. We’re having it removed this October. Not sure what killed it. Damned shame, though.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
We have a big white ash on our property. Big old tree, but it’s dead. We’re having it removed this October. Not sure what killed it. Damned shame, though.

EAB killed it most likely.
The Emerald Ash Borer

The Mesquite is beautiful wood as well. It is rare to see one get to stock size before the wood borers get into the heartwood. Why they are so expensive I suppose, but that is truly a fine piece of wood.

myrtle is another wood you used to see and was quite attractive my son has kitchen cabinets from brown ash color is very close to butternut that would make another interesting stock

All White Ash trees will soon be gone; same as the American Chestnut. Like the Corona Virus (so far) there is no immunity and no cure; and for the trees it is 100% fatal. The Chinese Chestnut, is immune; all chestnuts you see now are Chinese. American trees will only grow until they bloom; that triggers the blight to attack.
Ash trees last a few years but death is inevitable.

I bought this "just because" , Pop and I drove up from SanFran to Eugene winding up at the knife show. This was in 4/2000. Stopped in at a place that was selling Myrtlewood stuff.

I bet a little Alkanet root would look nice on that wood?? Duane would probably know if it would take...

Well...I've made a few Myrtle stocks, but Never experimented with color enhancement. Interesting wood..kinda gives off a lemony smell when working it.

number two of three in process. I'll start number three in a couple weeks.....likely to be a .35 Whalen

Talent.

Very lovely grained.

Fellow on another board, I think has since died as
he's no longer on the board, nor in the house.'

Had a big myrtle cut into blanks 15 years or so ago.
Planned on supplementing his retirement. I bought three. All rough cut.
Sanded them to the wood to see what the grain was like.

Not a line of any kind in any of the three planks!

They'd make some dandy pattern material, or stocks
for those that paint 'em.

Before you get excited about any wood for stocks.
Clean the boards up so you can see the grain. Do that first thing so you don't waste years drying them.

George

vapodog, awesome wood, craftsmanship and shape/lines.
Brian