I am having a new stock formed for a new project rifle and I am looking for suggestions for a wood(or other material) that would look good in a tip & cap on the stock.

It is a maple burl stock blank. Since it is going on an african caliber 9.3x62, I was thinking of some type of native african wood. Although I'm not ruling anything out.

What would you use? If it is rare, where can I source it.

Thanks

Buff horn looks nice or if your a little funky purpleheart

quote:

Originally posted by CRUSHER:
Buff horn looks nice or if your a little funky purpleheart

I second Buff horn.

How much contrast do you like? Buff horn ebony are jet black; rosewood is warmer and zebra wood has very light and dark stripes. If you want something African I would go to a specialty wood dealer on the net and look up some of the woods available. There are literaly dozens. You can also find some neat coupons on eBay.

I personally don't like the all-black materials like ebony. They seem almost "dead" to me. Rosewood has more life, but can be pretty reddish - whether this is your style or not, only you can tell. Ironwood is a nice material, warm enough to offer a pleasing contrast, and with enough figure to seem very much alive.
- mike

I like ebony with some threads of brown grain that show through the finish for that very reason. I have often wondered if ebony was originally the poor man's substitue for horn. Sort of like the plastic of the late 1800s?

I like dark woods on walnut but I think I would like something less obvious on maple unless it were a sugi finish.

Watch the grain through the grip as burl has very little strength.

That said, I prefer ebony but agree it probably wouldn't look good on Maple.

Fancy walnut, cocobolo, cherry, bocote, rosewood would all look nice, especially with a brown recoil pad. I'd recommend going with something darker than the stock. Light tips just don't look right to me.

Look to Woodcraft.com for their selections, you can usuall by a piece 2"x2"x12" which is perfect for cutting into tips.

For a grip cap, I'd recommend sticking with metal.

Best regards,

Dan

If you don't want to go too dark and it doesn't HAVE to be from africa what about a stabilized Burl? Not sure how thick they make them but I bought a couple of knives with stabilized burl handles (I think it was myrtle burl, maybe maple).

there is some sort of light colored wood from africa, I have seen tables made from it, but don't remember the name or if it is good for tip and cap.

Red

Buffalo Horn? That sounds promising. Isn't it hollow except at the very tip?

What type of buffalo? Cape, Water, Bison?

Is it very available?

Has anyone actually worked with buffalo horn in a stock and can tell me how to choose a piece for this work?

I have used Mesquite Burl on one stock I made and it was beautiful. I love grain in wood. To me that means ebony is out unless the are some intense grain patterns. The Zebrawood is a good possibility.

Any other ideas?

I prefer mesquite or cocobolo, but I am fast becoming a lover of East Indian Rosewood. It has a lot of figure and be anything from medium brown with black mineral streaks to dark purple with the same streaks.

I built a tiny rifle years ago for my young daughter. I used curly maple for extreme lightness. I put a piece of exhibition grade claro on the tip and it looked really nice. The medium brown of the claro looked better with the light maple than a darker wood, but still had plenty of contrast. The dark smoky grain of the figured claro looked good with the curly maple and avoided the bland look. I didn't use a grip cap, as it was a straight hand english grip.

I don't believe that there are enough pictures in this thread. I keep reading the descriptions but Art S.'s post made me realize we could use some visuals here.

I'm not very imaginative. I'd be happy with ebony. And I'm not a big fan of buffalo horn.

Here's a picture I borrowed from Guns and Ammo :




According to them: Acceptable fore-end tip materials include, top to bottom, Cape buffalo horn, heavily marbled English walnut, rosewood and ebony.

I'd use cocobolo...here's a piece from Madagascar.

I think use your personal taste as a guide. I like ebony when its very black like the buffalo horn and don't really care for the redder variants. I also admit that another item I like is no forend tip, if the stock it pretty enough it just isn't neccesary, but again thats a personal taste.

You said your stock was maple burl, I would be careful in that whatever you select complements your maple, and doesn't clash with it. A reddish ebony would serve as an example.

Here is some pics of hardwoods:
http://www.eisenbran.com/OurGallery.htm

Look at some of the rosewoods, also the Chakte Cok, Bubinga, Peroba Rosa, and Tulipwood I think all of these would work.