Guys, I apologize. Had him on ignore, should have left him there. I guess I just got too much of the intellectual snobery when I worked at Bell Labs, you know...I'm not going to talk down to you and then do for half an hour. I should have heeded a couple of the professional stockmakers on the board that told me to put it on ignore and never look back. I know from delloro's and other comments I am not the only one.

Again, to most, I apologize, especially to Kensco for interrupting the thread. To the rest, oh well.

It was never my intention to belittle someone or to even remotely suggest that Walnut isn't a fine choice for gunstocks .

Whether or not any of you choose to believe me or not , is your own business . It was simply my job to not only venture into the bush ,oversee milling operations some times with axes , two man buck saws ,chain saws . In places only fit for animals most times . I also did tally work inspections an helped set up E Back Kilns . Along with with setting their schedules for drying times ( I screwed up many times ) as some of these woods had never been commercially cut before . I experimented and learned the OLD SCHOOL Trial an Error !.

I have pictures of felled trees which are 26 Ft. in Dia. Hardwood Trees !. Most we cut were 8 Ft. or better some near 200 Ft. high . Just facts !.

This is but a fraction of hand samples , 36 of thousands which I had .Many I still do have .

They are 200mm X 100mm x 12mm some were ,are 19 30 and 40mm in thickness .
I have some where near #60 Kodak Carousel slide trays with 140 slides each an I have no Idea how many boxes of loose slides K's .

Which I took while purveying woods from around the world . I was under contract to 4 of the largest Hardwood Lumber concerns in the World .

This was MANY years ago . The samples below are plain flat sawn . Some Quarter sawn an burl cuts knocks ones eyes back .



I would also like to add I've never been fired from a job !. I'm proud of it to . I've quit been terminated upon contract completions but never fired .

It was my Job to know as much as possible about almost every wood species especially mechanical properties . Knowing these things is paramount in purchasing seasoning and Drying wood for the least amount of degradation .

Nothing tends to piss off a plant manager or the owners ,faster than a screw up on 2 mil BDFT in a kiln !.

Not all woods are created equal ,some are better than others an Vice Versa .


Shoot Straight Know Your Target . ...

Well I've had a piece of wood brought to me, but I have no clue whether it is usable. It is called Kenari (Almond Wood). It's fresh cut, about a meter and a half long and about 14" in diameter. This is not a blank, just a cut piece of a 12" diam. tree.

Educate me. I'm told by a friend that he knows a stock-maker that has a kiln. I'm assuming I can dry it. What I've never heard is where does the good wood come from to form a nice blank? Is it coming from a 3' diam. or larger tree trunk, cut from off-center? Does it matter? With the piece I've got am I limited to making pistol grips?

Most of the nice carved wood here comes from the root of huge trees. Is that what I need to be looking for?

If I'm going to get a nice piece of Indonesian wood, what instructions do I need to give, to get something of value?

There is a local sawmill/kiln that sells osage orange, bois d'arc, for just over $4/bd ft kiln dried the last time I checked. I am sure I could get them to cut some thicker pieces that would work for a gun stock if anyone is interested. I know they have cut fireplace mantles out of it. Bois d'arc starts out as sulfur yellow but will age to a deep chestnut brown if exposed to air.

Kenari wood is from the meranti group of commercial woods .

I know it as Kedondong, or White Dhup

http://www.malikwoodagency.com/species/-meranti-groupgr...d-into-/commercial-1


I'm much more familiar with Indian Almond Wood . ( terminalia catappa ) however that's not what your asking about !.


Kanari Kedondong White Dhup
Heart wood usually Pink or light brown can hve yellow streaks or even red ones , dependent upon Silica content fine to moderate grain .
Basic weight 0.35 - 0.52 air dry density 26 - 40 pcf. the range varies because of Silica content . heartwood perishable readily attacked by termites , veneer and plywood light ( Under cover ) construction furniture components boxes and crates .

values are green wood
Modulus of elasticity ( MOE ) 1,000 psi bending strength 8,600 , crushing 4,280 psi
Kiln schedule T10-D4S is suggested for 4/4 stock adjust accordingly for 8/4 10/4 12/4 stock
shrinkage radial 5.1% tangential 6.6% to oven dry .

Juglans regia European Walnut shrinks 2% radially and around 4% tangential .

Does this help ?. I'll post strength properties for hickory and walnut and an exotic species so you can see differences . I'll use Purpleheart seeing as a Nice stock has been shown using it .

Shoot Straight Know Your Target . ...

These are strength properties values for many random samples averages .

Specific Gravity is the first numbers , modulus of rupture , elasticity , maximum load ,compression parallel to grain ,compression perpendicular to grain , shear parallel to grain , Tention perpendicular to the grain ,side hardness perpendicular to grain .

All values will be given in Kilo pascals Mega pascals . I will designate with a K or an M . Only the side hardness will be given in Newtons .

Walnut Black .51-.55 K 66,000 ,M 9,800 ,K 29,600 , K 3,400 , K 8,400 , K 3,900 , N 4,000

Hickory Mockernut ( True hickory ) .
.64 .72 K 132,000 , K 15,300 , K 61,600 , K 11,900 , K 12,000 N excess of 10,000

Can't find my values for Purpleheart but here is a close cousin GreenHeart.

Greenheart .93 K 175.800 , K 25,500 , K 90,000 , K 12,600 , N 11,700

Lignumvitae ( Hardest wood in the world )
1.09 never floats !.compression parallel to grain K 80,000 side hardness Newtons 20,000
might as well be stone .

One more and it's a soft wood Douglas Fir ,so as to allow a comparison .

.45 K 88,000 , M 13,600 K 50,000 , K 6,000 K 9,500 that's shear parallel to grain .Western larch is stronger yet . Sitka spruce and Tamarack is very close in strength .


Shoot Straight Know Your Target . ...

Bubinga if you can find a large piece.

I ran across this site a few months ago looking for some.

http://www.oldtreegunblanks.com/woodtypes.shtml

My father-in-law is a woodworker and just made his own version of a Serengeti laminated stock blank from CA Walnut that I'm going to get finished for him.

I have always wanted to try Purple Heart, Pecan, amd Mesquite. Pecan would have some nice coloring when finished. Mesquite is just tough and stable.

Thank you for posting that site .

This appears to be a reputable out fit with reasonable pricing .

As I personally would not spend $3K on a blank .

It also gives a few alternatives to walnut .

Shoot Straight Know Your Target . ...

Having done a bit of woodworking, I tend to drift toward the Janka hardness scale in sizing up a particular species for suitability (The Janka Hardness Scale is the measurement of the force necessary to embed a .444-inch steel ball to half its diameter in wood).

However, the hardness of the wood is just an initial consideration. Some woods, like the non-floating CITES listed lingum vitae, have other properties that make them unattractive for certain projects. Lignum, for example, is loaded with a natural oil that made it ideal for ship's bearings in the 1800's, but its weight coupled with its oil content and the natural cracking that occurs over the years makes it less than useful for something like a gun stock.

With some rifles, the added weight may actually be desirable - large caliber double rifles for example. And the grain is something to be considered. Some wood varieties do not checker well because of the larger grain patterns.

Below is a brief list of wood species ranked by hardness on the Janka scale. The harder the wood, the greater the weight.


brazilian walnut (IPE) 3684
ebony 3220
bloodwood 2900
brazilian cherry 2350
mesquite 2345


bubinga 1980
purpleheart 1860
hickory/pecan/satinwood 1820

hard maple 1450
white oak 1360
american beech 1300
cocobolo 1136
black walnut 1010
teak 1000
black cherry 950
douglas fir 660


One of my favorites in woodworking is purpleheart. It is well grained and durable. As far as color goes, it does turn a darker purple when exposed to sunlight, but you can stop the process by sealing the wood or using a decent UV rated varnish.

Mesquite is beautiful, but there are a few different varieties that have their own color and grain pecularities. If you go for mesquite, make sure it has been dried, since green mesquite tends to crask and warp in the drying process.

Janka harness test along with a tabor abrasive test are ideal for flooring properties of wood .

My main concern is First and foremost , Movement is service I E Stability .

Next is Grain characteristics stiffness checkering strength that sort of stuff .

Weight now comes into play .

Followed by Eye Appeal .

Some are only concerned with XXXX Grade Bastogne Walnut because of it's looks .

Nothing wrong with that at all .

However Birch Beech and plain walnut did work for many service rifles .

I'm glad people are chiming in on this topic as it gives more choices to people who may want a slightly different looking stock .

lamination's are endless with different species as well as exotics .

LignumVitae would NOT be a choice for a Rifle stock !. My pieces have never checked and I've had some for in excess of 42 years .

However the weight would be PROHIBITIVE !. Desert Ironwood isn't acceptable for that very reason and it's illegal to pick up any more !.


My point in showing the strength characteristics of wood is simply to inform those who may not know that other woods are AS CAPABLE AS WALNUT FOR STOCK WORK !.

The woods in which I used were nothing more than random picks of woods .

Color and desired grain weight an stiffness is necessary to determine an actual recommendation for a persons stock choice .

Shoot Straight Know Your Target . ...

quote:

Originally posted by Austin Hunter:
Bubinga if you can find a large piece.

I found a piece of this about 5 or 6 years ago when I was looking for something to make a pool cue holder for my son. It was 38 inches long, 12.5 inches wide and 3 inches thick. It was highly figured and the grain flowed in such a pattern that it would have made a GREAT stock. I just wasn't thinking at the time of a custom stock . It would have made an absolutely beautiful stock and I paid just over $100 for it. Since then I've been looking to find another slab just like it.

Ken....

A couple of years back I was considering using ipe (brazilian walnut) for wood flooring due to its hardness, general attractiveness, etc and semi-reasonable cost. I contacted a very good friend of mine who was a contractor and he called up a tradesman he knew quite well who installed almost exclusively wood flooring. The tradesman told him to tell me to choose ANY wood but ipe, that it would not stay put, so I killed that idea. Now this is more or less anecdotal but I'd be leery about using it for a gunstock, especially when there are so many other fine alternatives available.

Here are some very nice pictures of Grenadier's KOA Gunstock Weapon .

Don't know about the rest of you ?.

I happen to think it's an OUTSTANDING Gunstock !.







I'll post the other pictures in a moment Tele is ringing .

Shoot Straight Know Your Target . ...

Well here are the others an one I Photos shopped to give checker detailing !.











Shoot Straight Know Your Target . ...

Gatogordo ; He told you nonsense !.

IPE will stay put like nobody's business even out side !!.

It's Hard and Heavy take a gander at NWFMA magazine or on line .

National Hardwood Flooring Manufacturers Association .

IPE is some times marketed as Brazilian Walnut . I've even seen it marketed incorrectly ( Years Ago ) as Brazilian Cherry !. It's Neither species !.

Mansonia is another Great wood .

However smells like Elephant piss when sanded or cut !.
Here is a quick picture of some .
http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/mansonia.htm

IPE
http://www.countyfloors.com/species_ipe.html

http://www.brazilianhardwood.com/products/flooring/brazilianwalnut/

Shoot Straight Know Your Target . ...

DR. K,
That is too much. Seriously.

That is some damn nice 18 LPI checkering.
Why do you think that is?

Sorry, but it looks like a very inexpensive piece of bastogne to me. Just doesn't float my boat.

Terry

I've seen some beautiful pieces of Koa, but that stock is rather plain. Here's a laminated Koa benchrest stock...

I'm going after Macassar Ebony if I can find it.

Having lunch today with some of the guys, one mentioned buying a teak table here, and about six months later they were sitting at it when they heard a shot like a rifle and the table jumped. It had split.

I guess that is my worst nightmare, buying a nice piece of any exotic wood and having it split before I have time to enjoy it. I've heard ghost stories of wood carvings being brought from Southeast Asia to West Texas or some other dry climate and splitting in short order.

quote:

Originally posted by Dr.K:
Gatogordo ; He told you nonsense !.

IPE will stay put like nobody's business even out side !!.

It's Hard and Heavy take a gander at NWFMA magazine or on line .

National Hardwood Flooring Manufacturers Association .

IPE is some times marketed as Brazilian Walnut . I've even seen it marketed incorrectly ( Years Ago ) as Brazilian Cherry !. It's Neither species !.

Mansonia is another Great wood .

However smells like Elephant piss when sanded or cut !.
Here is a quick picture of some .
http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/mansonia.htm

IPE
http://www.countyfloors.com/species_ipe.html

http://www.brazilianhardwood.com/products/flooring/brazilianwalnut/

Shoot Straight Know Your Target . ...

Dr.K:

I'd read the same information and he may have told me nonsense, but, on the other hand, the guy had installed several ipe floors and decks and that was his experience in Louisiana and Texas. He wasn't trying to sell me ipe, nor did he give a damn if I bought it, he'd install it, it was just his opinion based on his experience. Frankly, I tend to believe the guys who are handling the stuff where the rubber meets the road, so to speak, more than I do the guys who are trying to sell something to you.

DrK:

And while I've got your attention, I'd like your opinion/knowledge concerning the "long fibers" issue with Turkish/Circassian walnut. I'm not saying anyone is wrong, but I can find absolutely no information anywhere that says that they have such long fibers compared to other walnuts and especially, other Juglans regia.

The experience of centuries puts European walnut (juglans regia) first, American black walnut second, and maple third. The remaining woods that have been touted are really only curiousities.

Well first let me attempt to explain how I got into the business of building custom homes .

I installed hardwood flooring for several years from residential commercial an sports floors ( Arenas Basketball courts things like that ).

I completed 1000 flooring jobs before my knees gave out . Some small some large some plain many fancy with multiple changes of wood ( Those are Nightmares in day time work ) As certain woods grow and shrink at different rates at given humidity or Lack of it .

Like in Air conditioned situations . Kiln dried lumber set on a individual job site indoors for 3-6 weeks before milling the flooring for installation .

I worked with an old gentleman from England who was a Master Craftsman . He taught me all about floors proper installations , movement in service, expansion spaces at the walls, inlay work , ribbons, borders ,family crest inlays .

He NEVER bought actual flooring , HE MADE HIS OWN as I did after I went to work for him .

I had formal training as a Ships Carpenter , before building homes or laying floors !.

I taught him about different species of exotics he taught me something which I could never repay !.

NEVER COMPROMISING THE INTEGRITY OR QUALITY OF A JOB FOR MONEY !.

Walk away he would say , just walk away ,if they're not willing to pay for a life time product . It's YOUR REPUTATION ! YOU CAN'T BUY THAT ! , YOU EARN IT !.

One bad job Ken an it will be repeated by word of mouth 30-50 times !. Never Forget that !.

WELL I NEVER HAVE !.

By this time I had my masters Degree in structural Engineering . I had also co authored a Bio mass fuel alternative study for the University of Hawaii Bio Research Dept of Ag.

Then I went to work purveying Hardwoods ( Mostly I did some soft wood purchasing also )

It was my Job to know wood an what it's properties were as well as being able to identify sub species of different family's of a geniuses . That in it's self is a LIFE LONG ON GOING REALITY PROCESS !.

Unless someone is or has been in this line of work ,they don't have a clue as to the shear numbers of different subspecies of woods .

I asked a fellow one time how many different types of OAK there was , two he replied !. Red & White cause that's what they sell at the cabinet shop wholesale outlet he said !.

I assured him there were MANY MORE than two !. I also told him not to concern himself as it didn't effect his line of work !.

Juglans regia is " Native " to Western and Central Asia from China to Norther India !.
Most of you probably didn't know that .
Trees are grown in Italy France Turkey Yugoslavia Serbia, Greece, Bulgaria, as well as other countries .

WALNUT VARIES in strength as well as in appearance depending on soil and climate conditions . The Figure of walnut is due to infiltration of trace minerals found in the soil.
On an average Air dried walnut weighs 40 lb. per cubic ft.

French walnut is the same species but paler and grayer than say English walnut which is also the same species !.

As with it's cousin Juglans Nigra ,Black Walnut is a favorite wood for gun Stocks .

There is also Juglan Cinerea some times referred to as butternut or white walnut

Read to see how confusing Claro is .

Bastogne Walnut

Bastogne

Bastogne Walnut, the rarest of all walnut woods, is a natural cross between California English Walnut and California Claro. Bastogne trees grow very large and the wood is always denser than the two parent trees. Since the trees are not cultivated and only grow naturally, they are very rare. Bastogne trees are sterile and can not reproduce. They can not be reproduced in a lab as the only stock available to work with is sterile as well. Natural occuring trees are the only source. The color contrast is that of the brilliant colors of Claro and the dark streaks of English.


Juglans Hindsii
Discovered and named Hinds Walnut by the British botanist Richard B. Hinds in the mid 1800s. Hinds, California Black and Claro are the three names used interchangeably for this West Coast Walnut with Claro being the most commonly used.

The origin of this tree is somewhat of a mystery with some believing it a native tree planted from its original forest home into early Indian village sites in the Northern California valleys, while others suspect it may have originated in Turkey or Greece.

The name "Claro" probably is of Spanish influence coming from early California history when the Catholic padres were building the west coast missions. The word "claro" in Spanish means bright, which can certainly describe the wood. For with its depth of colors from yellows, reds, browns and greens with purple-black streaking, to its radiant feather crotch and fiddleback, it certainly has a brightness and beauty which no other wood can match.

Juglans Regia
Circassian, English, French, Persian, Turkish are some of the many names used to describe this same wood, primarily differentiated for geographical reasons. The origin of the California Walnut we call "French" dates back over 2,000 years and was originally brought to Persia and Italy from the Far East. The conquests of the Roman Empire initiated the spread of the nut and tree to England and eventually throughout Europe. Early English settlers brought the tree to California in the 1800s. However well traveled, this walnut, with its dense strong grain, ease of machinability and exquisitely rich figure is by any name unquestionably the most highly prized of gunstock woods.

Because the trunk and root system of Claro is better adapted to local soil and climate conditions and is less susceptible to disease and insect attacks, it is widely used by the commercial nut plantations as root stalk material on which the desired French/English strains are grafted for nut production. Due to this grafting technique, after many decades of growth, we can actually produce blanks of these two completely different woods—Claro and French—from the same tree.

Now Juglans nigra and Juglans regia crossed pollinated make Claro or Bastogne walnut .

French have nothing to do with it nor do the English !. It's a matter of terminology in what a seller gives as a name for the product their selling .

I will stake my Reputation on that FACT !.

Because unless the living tree Genius is Identified prior to cutting all else is a name !. Unless sent to a lab for analysis !.

Gatogordo ;
Cell structure is more to the point rather than fiber length .

After all of this I might as well confess .

Before during and after obtaining my PhD. in Organic Chemistry . I went into the Fiber Composites industry ( FRP ) only to formulate Adhesives , epoxies , Urethane's , and finally specialized Coatings .

Everything from pharmaceutical pills to space vehicles That's not a joke nor an exaggeration .

My last job was Structural Composites Engineer lamination scheduler for a company who launched a man piloted space flight . It wasn't NASA either !.

I've since been semi retired as I still do consulting work occasionally .

All that raised a family have Huge loyal German Shepherds .

Been shooting and hunting my entire life on several continents .Not because I'm rich !.Because I worked in those country's and got first hand practical experience at both !.

I worked to put myself through college for many years . As a working student not just a book basher .

I did however out of stupidity ! , quit school and build homes for what seemed like huge money at the time .

Until Uncle Sam asked me to take an adventure over in Viet Nam .

So now you all pretty much know about my life , except when I used to work for Hercules powder Company . After my stint in V N !.

Oh and I took K's of pictures actually slides everywhere I went !.

Shoot Straight Know Your target . ...

Pecan (Hickory). I sanded and wet the forend for the pic:



very oak-ish grain but sands nicer.

I've seen several pecan (that is, the common pecan nut tree, not hickory) stocks that were quite nice in appearance. Don't know what kind of tendency they have to walk. Unrelated but pecan rots very quickly once off the tree.

DrK, could you post pictures of gunstocks you have made?

I've only made a few stocks and they were for myself and a couple of friends .

Only two Walnut , an a couple of Beech and Birch military stocks . I scope some of them and don't screw up the original stocks , nor do I drill or Sporterize the actions .

I've done wood working of almost every nature for near 50 years now , I'm not a Gun Smith nor a stock maker .

I have cut several hundreds of Raw Blanks Dried them ,I've cut and laminated Raw blanks for friends an other stock makers .

Now that I'm pretty well retired , I may sell off my auto molding shaper and either buy or build a duplicator . I've kicked around the Idea for a couple of years but never really wanted to commit to it . Because then I would HAVE TO USE IT !.

Duplication is not stock making in the real sense to me any way !. Until the In letting , fitting , bedding , checkering and finishing is done .

I have refinished MANY STOCKS in many materials , still doesn't qualify me as a Stock Maker !.

I enjoy shooting more than working .

A very close friend who was is a master stock maker lived only a few miles from me , used to do mine . So I never really felt the need .

Until last year when He retired , I acquired several of his blanks and best wishes !.

I surely wouldn't want to screw up somebody's $ 3K Bastonge blank , nor are they going to trust a " Wood Worker " with a custom stock project of that nature !.

I'll be happy to dig out a couple of my rifles over the weekend and take some pictures of completed past works . If that's what your looking for ?.

I've got a New Laminated RAW blank drying , as I was seriously thinking of using some of my Exotic lumber up Just for the purpose of making a New Stock . For what I have NO CLUE YET !.

Problem is I'm a lefty , so Donner receivers are much more difficult to come by .Least wise for me !. I have serious problems buying a NEW RIFLE and cannibalizing it !.

I've talked to a couple of the Gun Smiths on the forum ( because I'm NOT ONE ) about putting together a Barreled action .

What I really Want NOW is a BushMaster AR in .270 WSM configuration !.

Living in Kommyfornia that hasn't been possible until maybe NOW . Seeing as the supreme court got something correct for a change !.

Those aren't much of a stock are they !.

Wood stability is stability regardless of species chosen .

I truly wish some of the members Down Under would Pipe in once in awhile !!.

They could show some NICE Wood Species if they had a mind to . Most all of us prefer Walnut for the looks or Do we ?.

A fine English Dbl. Rifle wouldn't look quite right with curly or Birds Eye maple !.

A Hawkins on the other hand wears that suit WELL !.

Shoot Straight Know Your Target . ...

On Pecan it's in the Hickory Family .

Shagbark ( Carya ovata ) Shellbark ( Caryalaciniosa ) Mockernut ( Carya tomentosa ) Pignut ( Carya glabra ) Pecan ( Carya illinoensis ) biternut ( Carya cordiformis )

I don't think I forgot any but could have .

Shoot Straight Know Your Target . ...

Guys, on the checkering i was being cynical.

Gatogordo,
Re: fiber length.
I certainly do not have the familiarity that AFreeman does, but i think a good indicator as to what he was referring to would be the way some woods checker. Case in point...ABOVE.
That’s an example of coarse checkering which is about all one can anticipate from shorter fiber woods.
Like i said, no expert here but i do know that juglans regia can be checkered at a very high LPI because it does NOT get fuzzy. As i understand it, the reason wood gets fuzzy is because the cutter is running over endgrains.

I am sure some stockmakers that checker themselves will concur.
By the way...that is also a good example of what woods work best.

Ask the experts.

Jerry Fischer
Duane Weibe
James Tucker
and the short list of those at that level.

Any exotics in their stable of previous work?

quote:

Originally posted by fla3006:
DrK, could you post pictures of gunstocks you have made?

Just put him on ignore and the place gets tolerable again.

Terry

Gun Toter,
So, are you our latest troll?

I use oldworldwalnut because he is the only whore in town..you know anyone else that has true Circassian walnut?..

Dowtins prices are the best, and I have had such good success with his wood that I only use his wood.. I am no kin, I have met Bill and visted with him on one ocassion..He has always sent me better wood than I expected..I suggest you try him before you knock him, to do otherwise is totally ignorant..satisfied?

I have a question for Dr K or anybody else who may have an opinion, I am having a .17 ackley hornet built on a brno ZKW 465 action for use as a lightweight walkabout rabbit and fox rifle. I also happen to have access to some Australian blackwood trees that occasionaly fall down in storms.

The kitchen and other parts of my families house has been made from this blackwood, and I like the color esp the white/purple streaks. Will I have to do anything special to cut a blank out of one of these trees? Will the blackwood make a nice stocking timber? its VERY light when dry, and I'm worried about splits/craks developing in the future. I dont want to spend the big $$$ on fancy walnut so I was thinking a bit of nice blackwood could do the trick.

Any sugestions, idears, clues about what to and what not to do whith it?

Thanks
Steve

FWIW Blackwood (acacia melanoxylon) has been widely used for gunstocks. Other Australian species including Coachwood (ceratopetalum apetalum), Queensland Maple (flindersia brayleyana) and Queensland Walnut (endiandra palmerstonii) have also been widely used - Queensland Maple and later Coachwood were the standard timber used on Lithgow SMLEs.

There used to be a set of SMLEs with stocks in each of these species, plus a couple of others (Carabeen, Red Myrtle, Black Bean and NZ Birch) on display in Sydney's Powerhouse Museum. IIRC they were made for an exhibition to show off the local product in local timbers.

"Wood In Australia" by KR Bootle is a good source of info on these and other native species.

Hi Dan, thanks for the info, I'll ask a few stock makers if they are happy to work with blackwood if I supply the blank. I am also pretty sure the local hardwood mill would mill it for me into slabs. Some food for thought there

Steve

Don't know if anyone's mentioned it, but what about New Guinea Rosewood?