Chic ,,

I was just kiding about the sap wood. I have a plain piece of walnut I put on a mauser that JBelk did some work on and it has a light streak in the same area , I think mine is sap wood.
Im trying to figure out the different Caracteristics of different Type walnuts Because Im going to get another nice figured stock for this rifle.
Does English walnut tend to have Flowing streak ,Type ,dark figure,and less tiger strip marks?
Can you comment on the different type looks ?
Bill gave some pretty good workableity imfo.

Rick B

Fla3006, I made the sling swivel studs and no they dont take the hooks. They are just ball shaped studs with a flared base. The base is inletted into the round pedestal. First time I tried it like that.

Dempsey, here is the blank.





GSP7, that is English Walnut. I prefer it or bastogne over any of the others. Black as Bill said can be very good and is often an overlooked bargain. Claro exhibits some very bright colors with some orange, reds and even a hint of green. It is just often very brittle and to me it is not worth the risk.

English and Bastogne cut like you are carving stone and it is so precise you can do a much better job on inletting.

Thanks for the imfo Chic. Is that blank where the stock butt is , crotch? Is that where two branches are forking off?

There is a guy here local that has a whole bunch of blanks he is selling , Im goina go look at them again..

Is Turkish and or Circassian walnut a separate catagory and if so how do the stockmakers rate it?

Turkish, Circassian, English, French, Australian, California English area all the same wood, Juglans Regia is the scientific name, but they are given names after the area they are grown. Wood will take on some characteristics of the soil they are grown in and the rainfall they receive. English Walnut grown in Washington is dull and lifeless as far as grain structure goes.

Turkish wood as well as Circassian wood get very little rainfall and the growth rings are very tight. The wood is very dense and very good. Price is good too, for the seller. I have a neghbor who sells Turkish walnut and goes overseas each year to buy it. He deals direct with the cutters who end up getting Govt. Contracts to buy it, sort of like the Turkish Forest Service. They also hire armed guards to protect them and the wood from theives. It is not unkown there for someone to be killed for a load of wood. Paul Dressel is currently in Bulgaria buying wood. I don't know what that would be called but to make it simple I would guess it will be labelled as Turkish. I don't even know where Bulgaria is relative to the rest of the world.

As Chic pointed out, the growing conditions have a lot to do with the structure of the wood, regardless of the species, and whether the blank is good for a gunstock or not. Even though Juglans reglia is considered the best, some (but not all) grown in California, Oregon and Washington is soft, open pored and lifeless (because it is irrigated and grown fast, doesn't get all the desirable minerals and often cut too soon).

Some Claro and American is just as good for gunstocks, if it came from a large tree that grew slowly in a dry climate. I have a Texas Hill Country grown blank (from an old, big tree in a dry creek bottom near Kerrville) that is as hard and dense as iron, also has pretty, tight figure. Some really nicely figured American sticks come out of western Oklahoma and Missouri too.

Chic also mentioned thievery in the walnut business. A dealer I know in California told me it's a problem there too, goes hand in hand with the illegal drug trade in remote areas. Large, old valuable trees can disappear from private property if they aren't watched.

[ 12-06-2003, 23:18: Message edited by: fla3006 ]

There is a bunch of walnut trees Near property I have in S. Cal. Its 90 100 degrees 6 months out of the year and dry. Im waiting for a land developer to cut them down so I can go be a scrong.
Someone cut 3 trees down at the end of my road to widen the paved road. I saw them and after work I planned on getting as much as i could. Some other guy beat me to it though. I did manage to get a couple logs though.
I cut them up and they were loaded with termites

Chic,
The OEJ looks fabulous. As Chic mentioned my desire was for a rifle that will be my primary big game rifle for the rest of my life and for a few generations beyond. A 7x57 just seemed right. I have bigger rifles if the need arises but this will be my baby. I like to tease Chic and Bill a little bit about plastic stocks and dremel tools because of the crowd that thinks a rifle can be hunted with only if it has a plastic stock and stainless steel. The skill a craftsman like Chic puts into his work almost borders on mystical. When we were picking through blanks I swear he can almost speak to the wood. More important is that the wood seems to speak to him. Chic's rifles handle like a fine bird gun and are built to hunt with. His inletting looks like the wood and metal have grown together. Even better is that he his as fine a man as I've ever met. A good friend, hunting companion, and a hell of a shooting rest on a steep mountain slope.

Jeff

I'm willing to bet it will shoot better than I can.

Jeff

Chic,
I emailed Dressels a couple of weeks ago. Still no reply. Do you know if they will be at the ACGG show? Also which other wood suppliers usually turn-up?

Thanks for the shots of the OEJ both as blank and as shaped. It really helps give poor souls like me with limited experience in looking at wood something to judge it by. Quite often it's so hard to visualise what the finished stock might look like while looking at the plain blank. Before and after shots help a lot.

Preslik's was at last year's show with some really nice English for reasonable prices. Get there early. There were other vendors as well.

I think I have found my calling. The downhill leg on a 35 degree slope shooting bench, lol.

Stu, the Dressels will be there, guaranteed. Preslik will also be there as will Mustafa Bilal, www.bestwalnut.com, and Steve Heilman will also have some really great stuff at his table. Unfortunately Ed Preslik passed away this past August. His son Jim has taken over the reins but it was always nice to see Jim at the show.

fla3006, I found some sling eye and hooks like you were looking for. Jeff's Outfitters has them. He bought Cape Outfitters inventory. The price is $44.95 for the set (2 studs and 2 hooks) and the phone number is 573 651 3200.

[ 12-09-2003, 10:06: Message edited by: Customstox ]

Chic- thank you very much, as soon as I stop typing this I am going to call him.