I was looking at some stock blanks and came across some beautiful pieces of myrtlewood. How well does this serve as a stock..pro's and con's?

I think walnut is preferable in most cases but some myrtle is very pretty and makes good stocks. Do you have any blanks for sale?

No, I am looking at buying.

One of the great stock makers by the name of Alvin Linden once said all but one of the stocks he made from myrtle came back due to warping.

I have no info on the number of stocks he made from myrtle but I believe it was quite a few.

Jason

Myrtle grows two places in the world. One is around Myrtle Point Oregon . . . east of Coos Bay. The other is Jerusalem.

The Myrtle tree is not at all rare . . . grows like a weed, and is quite commonly found wild in pastures. I never saw any commercial stands of the stuff. The tree reaches heights of about 40' with a bole diameter of about maybe 3' on a very large tree. Lots of "suckers" limbs and knots.

Mytle in Myrtle Point, Oregon is used for fire wood and some other basic applications. It's a pretty, tight grained wood and often fashioned into bowls, and small pieces.

Seems like the shortcoming of a stock blank in Myrtle would be that commercial production of the wood is pretty limited and so you risk problems with large blanks being properly dried and aged.

I've seen lots of warped Myrtle furniture in and around Myrtle Point Oregon. I see commercially cut blanks of Myrtle offered in specialty wood shops/stores, but typically none large enough to use for a rifle stock. The trees just don't grow large enough to afford a well-sawn blank of that dimension.

Sniper---

The old saw about Myrtle wood stocks seems to be true--- "Myrtle warps every time it rains........rains where the tree grew." That means it changes three times a day.

Myrtle is pretty for clocks and salad bowls. Not worth anything for stocks, IMO.

See if you can get a price by the cord and use it accordingly. I do think that Tamirack burns better though. It is crap, closely followed by Willamete Valley Big Leaf Maple. There is a reason it is rarely used on a good rifle - smart folks doing the choosing.

[ 12-26-2002, 01:45: Message edited by: Customstox ]

Man, I'm hurt !

Alvinmack, put in a fireplace. And check your mail at HA.

[ 12-27-2002, 01:02: Message edited by: Customstox ]

We'll go to the Deja Vu in Reno and I will buy you and Belk and $20 lap dance!

Thanks to all for the good info.

Here's my rifle stocked in Myrtlewood. Thought I would post it for all of you Myrtlewood haters of the world

Alvinmack5--

What's this about a lap dance?? ^^Perk^^

That's a fine looking blank. Coulda got a whole *set* of salad bowls out of that one!

Mike, if you think it looks good like this (and it does), think of the golden glow that the embers will put off in a campfire as you sip (or in your case belt down, lol) one of your favorite drinks.

Man, you guys are brutal!

I've got a Sako heavy .243 in myrtle. It looks good and hasn't warped a bit in my climate-controlled gunsafe.

Alvinmack5, you and I know myrtle-envy when we hear it.

[ 12-28-2002, 15:04: Message edited by: steve y ]