We just completed CNC work of our first all-purpleheart Merlin geometry. It took a lot longer than walnut as the feed had to be verrrry slow. About $150 adder I should think would cover the machining phase. This stock weighed in at 50oz, where a walnut Merlin is 32 to 34oz. We'll soon add an ebony forend and gripcap, and then the M1999 Serengeti action in .458 Lott will move into its new home.

25calnut,
If you're looking for something interesting and a little off the beaten track, there are several stockwoods available that will work and look good in the process.
Mesquite makes a nice, mellow looking stock and finishes fairly well. A little brittle, but shapes okay with very sharp tools and is very stable and strong.
I've seen a couple cherry stocks that looked okay. Not my cup of tea, but you might really like it.
Maple comes in lots of different patterns of figure and colors, I even have some maple pieces with black line in them, which is a fungus which makes fine lines through the wood, usually at the growth lines. Not particularly strong, compared to good walnut, but very pretty when finished and strong enough for most standard calibers.
Myrtle is also very pretty and similar to maple, but not quite as stable. More reddish and orange in color for some pieces, but some can barely be distinguished from maple.
Many other woods are suitable for gunstocks, but require some research.
I know walnut is everywhere, but if highly figured walnut isn't found just everywhere, mainly due to the high prices. A good, highly figured AAA or Exhibition grade piece of walnut in Claro, Bastogne, French, English, or Turkish will be a thing of beauty and draw attention anywhere you go. You might even be tempted to hunt with it. - Sheister

I'm with Jim on this one, some are very bad to the sinuses! One of those respirator masks is a good idea. If I breath even a little ebony dust my face goes crazy and stays that way for a while. bad sneasing, burning, watery eyes etc.

Red

Actually just about any wood dust can become an irritant. Black Walnut is ranked as one of the worst, but only to those who are sensitive to it. Luckily, I'm not (yet)!

However, some are very nasty and can cause severe allergic reactions. Osage Orange, cocobolo, and ebony, just to name a few. A mask is definitely a good idea when working with any fine wood dust.
Lots of good information on this thread- Sheister

Cocobolo has been the worst for allergies for me. I bought a 2"x6"x4' plank of it several years ago. While cutting it into smaller pieces I had my airway close up on me due to an allergic reaction. I was not wearing a mask of any kind. Stupid yes. But I hadnt worked with the wood on that large a scale before. Lets be careful out there.....

What would you guys think of a Maple fiddleback stock with a zeebrawood forend tip? Ive been told that my ability to distinguish colors is lacking, but that seems like an interesting potential combination to me.

We've received some emails based on my last post, so here's some more information.

Essentially, the ACRAbond method allows us to use purpleheart planks to build up a stock blank. We made three blanks to learn from, and have CNC-machined one. We have a good source for the planks, which cost less than an equivalent volume of walnut, but not by much. The blanks grade out either A-grade ($170) or AA-grade ($270), and are priced the same as walnut. Normally, CNC machining runs $200, but with the extra time (and cost) required for this very hard wood, we'll probably have to uplift that to $350.00. CNC inletting is superb for each action we have programs for. Further inletting is not required. The barrel channel may need scraping to fit a custom barrel. We could do that also, but would need the barreled action for that step. Purpleheart appears to checker just fine. The diamonds are sharp and do not chip away. The checkering tool leaves burn marks, but hand clean-up removes it (like maple). When we complete our first stock, learning all the tricks in the process, we'll post pictures of it under a new thread.

Our checkering department does custom recurve bow handles. We've learned a lot about exotics from the bowyers. There's other interesting woods to work with, but we've too much on our plate right now to try them all.

Wstrnhuntr,
Personally, I like fiddleback maple just fine. However, my tastes run to woods that contrast but without so much contrast that they clash.
Zebrawood would probably be a good tip and cap material if it was a lighter piece without real dark color, matched to a piece of maple that had some reddish color to it as opposed to a real white piece of maple fiddleback.
In my mind, a piece of cocobolo, maple burl, walnut burl, or rosewood would complement a maple stock a bit better- but that is just my taste.
We all have our own tastes, and if that blows your skirt up I think you should go for it- and post pictures when it is done. I might even change my mind! - Sheister

I love maple when it is finished a dark reddish-brown, like on the old PA flintlocks. But it gets old fast if left blonde! I have found maple ro be both brittle and much harder on carving tools. When I make maple stocks, I generally spend more time sharpening tools than cutting wood!!