I am looking for an exhibition grade english walnut stock blank for a bolt gun project. I have never purchased a blank before so I need some guidance on where to obtain one.

crl

I have firends who have bought from Dressel's before & were happy. If the rifle is going to be a kicker, go straight grain thru the wrist.
http://www.dressels.com/index.htm

Cliff's in Castlewood South Dakota is close to you and he has a lot of blanks and you can see them in person.

I believe you will be able to find some nice wood there.

I've bought blanks from The Dressels as well as Steve Heilmann. Both sell excellent wood and are pleasant to deal with. The Dressels, I believe, don't sell any blanks less than five years old which is a plus as far as drying/destressing is concerned. I like Heilmann's grading system as it makes it very easy to communicate to him exactly what you are looking for.

Heilmann

I have no contct information on him but Gene Simillion (spelling?) has some fantastic wood as well. if you are talking exhibition, he had a blank back in January for 1500 that was INCREDIBLE. good size, great color and figure and perfect layout.

I bought one stick from Dressels, they were very pleasant to deal with and if you tell them what you are building they will give you recommendations based on that.

Red

Gene Simillion - (970) 641 - 1126


HBH

crl, just for a different perspective, check out the guys at Serengeti Stockworks, they have blanks to be sure, but their laminated stock process is awesome. I'm a big fan, and they are really great folks as well.

http://www.serengetistockworks.com/

Good Luck--Don

Some prime walnut can be had from Rodger Vardy in Australia. Holland & holland buy from him. He has exhibition grade blanks,some over 20yrs old. Has some great wood for bigbores.Talk to Jerry Fisher if you want some reference on Rodgers wood.
When youfind something,it would good to see it posted here for analysis. Goodluck.

guidance...

unless you are going to find an excellent smith/stockmaker, you might go with a lower grade for DIY.

1: WRITTEN warranty that if the wood is not dry, has hidden flaws, etc that it will be replaced from a selection of woods (you should do this with any stock over ~500 bucks)

2: if you are ever thinking you want a cheekpiece, the stock must be 2.365 MINIMUM... if someone tries to sell you their stock that under that thickness, they are selling what they have, not what you want

3: it's YOUR money.

4: do not become emotionally invested in a piece of wood until you BUY it

5: did i mention 3 day inspection period? it's far cheaper to pay shipping than own a stock you don't want... IN WRITING, for any reason.

6: momisture... if you are going to spend BIG bucks.. 4 years minimum

7: california english is sexy as hell, and so is turkish

jeffe

go & give jim kobe a call

Thanks for all of the great information. I will post a picture when I find what I am looking for

crl

I have bought a couple of blanks from Steve Heilman, they were/are great and he is great to deal with. I know that Duane Wiebe also buys a lot of wood from Steve. If you call Steve and tell him what you want, he will try to provide it, and in my experience, he stands behind his product.

If you can wait until January, plan a trip to Reno to visit the SCI Convention and the Gunmakers' Guild & Engravers Show held at the same time. The folks mentioned above exhibit at one or the other show, and the Gunmakers Show attracts wood vendors.

You also get to meet and talk with some great gunmakers.

jim

"We are not worthy!"