Got a question on the grading of maple wood. I understand that the grading of walnut is relatively based on the percentage of figuring covering the surface of the stock, but what about maple? Is it based on the same surface area coverage or on the density of the folds in the wood or both? I guess the question is: if you have two stocks with 100% quilting but one has a "denser" fold/curl pattern, are they graded differently or the same, assuming no blemishes/imperfections? Thinking about buying a maple stock but want a little more info before plunking down the cashola.

thanks

There is fancy Maple, birdseye maple and shellflame maple.....insist on seeing the photos of the blank before shelling out the cash.

Buy only when you're satisfied that you're getting something you like.

Maple can take some very fine checkering if you like that and it finishes beautifully. You just need to get over the image of a dark colored stock. If you want to stain it....get a walnut stock!!!

The stock will be as lightly/blonde colored as I can possibly make it. I haven't fully decided on it, but I'm leaning towards it because you just don't see it everyday.

On the subject of blanks, I've noticed that most people on here have a love/hate relationship with Richard's micro-fit. Has anyone ever had them machine a blank? And if so, were you satisfied with the quality of cut, turnaround time, any other factors?

thanks

Yes....I had them machine a blank.......and I'm not going back!!!!

Every collector or custom gun bug should have one or two maple stocks but they do tend to be heavier than walnut.

irwin,

Since you're from Oregon, we have a couple of people who do great work on turning stocks with duplicators.
The one I recommend highly is Art Selnau in Aurora, Oregon. He runs Star S Gunworks and I believe his number is in the phone book. I have it at the office, if you can't find it any other way.
What kind of maple are you looking for? There are lots of good sources of maple in Oregon and some of it is fabulous and usually priced pretty fairly. Just make sure you have an opportunity to check it for moisture content before you lay down your money, or you might be waiting for quite awhile to see if you have a junk piece of wood or a treasure.- Sheister

You will never catch me with a Maple stock or a stock of slab sawed marble cake...

I personally prefer "quarter sawn" European Walnut, and in some cases California English...I have seen some Claro and Bastogne that I liked and have a super nice Claro stock that was hard as Woodpecker lips and took 24 LPI checkering without a hitch, on my 6x45 and its red as flame and full fiddle back....

I am a new member of this board and I think that I will like it. I have a pretty nice machine shop at my house that lets me do my personal gun work. I just acquired 100 black walnut slabs from an old friend of mine that bought them in 1953 and they were stored in his hayloft since then. I made the mistake of sanding and oiling one side in my shop. I hope to get rid of the dust one day. I'm glad that I covered my machines. Some of the wood has great figure, some is straight, and some has flaws. Is there a website that deals in wood. I will sell the most of them and I don't have a great deal in them, but I'm lost. I also purchased 2 pickup loads of old and obsolete brass, loaded ammo,and bullets. I am in the process of making a list. Any help would be appreciated. I am a benchrest shooter and this stuff is strange to me. Thebarrelman

I recently saw a rifle with a gorgeous tiger tail maple stock. I don't know if this is as cpmmon as the curly maple, but it's a thing of beauty. Have you looked at any myrtlewood stocks. They also can be quite attractive in an offbeat way. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

Shell flame maple and some of the quilted blanks with wide curl spacing will have deep soft areas. Combined with the alternating hard soft areas they make checkering curly maple tough. The tools seem take on a life of their own and lines really want to run away. Using power checkering tools helps(I think) as it's a bit harder to misdirect the whirling blade. Of course if it does get away,,,the damage can be totally astonishing.. Most stockmakers like english wood for it's consistancy of testure. Marblecake is not a variation in the wood itself but simply a stain.. The worst problem with maple(even more so with myrtle) is diamonds popping off or being rubbed off in the soft areas..

gunnut69, marblecake is not a stain, it is a grain layout that results from the way the blank is cut. Thereb are basically two options in cutting blanks, slab sawn and quarter sawn. Quarter sawn has the grain lines and planes running horizontally and slab sawn wood is at 90 degrees to that. Marblecake can be seen in slab sawn blanks and it is equally an equally good blank. The best English gun houses laugh at the reluctance of some people to use slab sawn and with good reason. It is just as stable as quarter sawn wood but is often much more dramatic.

Slab sawn blank made into a stock


Quarter sawn blank stock


Irwin, shellflame, birdseye etc are just descriptions of the grain layout and not the grading. You will find that most companies that grade blanks still stick with utility, fancy, extra fancy and exhibition for grading no matter what the type of wood. I do not like Maple as it is a royal pain to checker and shape because of the hard and soft spots (fiddle on walnut will do the same thing but to a lesser extent). I particularly do not like Western Big Leaf Maple and even more than that, any of it grown in the Willamette Valley as it gets way too much moisture. Makes for fast growing trees but also big growth rings and softer wood. I would second the recommendation of Art and Brent Selnau for stock duplication.

Chic you are correct about the growth pattern making a large difference in the density pattern in a gunstock. The same can be said of walnut grown here in Missouri. The very best grows in the uplands of the Ozarks where the soil is mostly clay and is quite rocky.. Also affecting the hardness/density of wood is the way it is dried. Kiln drying too soon will shatter the cell structure and make even decent wood spongy. I disagree about the marblecake figure though.. Marblecake figure can and aften does cross the grain flow of a stock. This can lead to poor layout of a blank if one is not careful.. Since it crosses the grain flow it is essetially a stain(more a mineralization) of the wood. The following is an excerpt from a descripotion of the various stock woods by Great American Gunstock Corp. -
"The dark heartwood is the center of the tree. This dark heartwood area has the 'Mineral Streak', or what is sometimes called 'Water Marks'. These are the dark lines that give English walnut much of its appeal. We do not have complete scientific understanding of what causes mineral streak in hardwoods, ferrous minerals in the soil may contribute to its occurrence. Mineral streaking occurs in all walnut. Some times in a variety of colors. However, in English walnut, the amount of mineral streaking determines the grade-the more streaking, the higher the grade. English thin-shelled Walnut grows throughout the world. It varies somewhat in appearance, color and texture from one region to another. Variables such as climate, soil, husbandry, etc.. will affect the wood."
While all walnut (and some other stock woods) can show mineral streaks it is a major part of the english walnut mistique..

gunnut, I am sorry, I was thinking just a bit ago that you were referring to mineral streaking and it lies in the planes of the grain. I thought you were talking about man made staining. My bad.

When viewed from the side, mineral streaking appears as black lines, when slab sawn it takes on the marble cake look. You do not see marble cake on quarter sawn wood, even though the mineral streaking may go from one plane to another.

An oddity with that stuff, it is more brilliant just near the sapwood (outide) of the blank. Sometimes you have to cut away the best looking part. Gets frustrating to lose some of the best color.

Thanks Brian, I am not set up to do this kind of stuff. My primary part time business to support my habit is to sell a tremendous amount of Shilen barrel blanks. I just acquired these stock blanks and a tremendous amount of Antique brass, loaded ammo, and bullets. I have some nice pieces and don't think I will need over $150 for the best. Thebarrelman

Butch,

If you have some pictures, I would love to see what some of your wood looks like. I'm always in the market to find a few nice blanks to sock away for future projects.
You might as well get some pictures of the best blanks now anyway if you plan to sell them over the net. Most people, especially on ebay and other outlets like to see pictures of both sides of the blanks.
Check out Gobywalnut.com and dressels.com for examples of pictures of blanks to see what would work.
If you do have some pics, e-mail me at bsfx@aol.com
thanks, Bob

More than you ever wanted to know about maple.....

Seriously, thanks for all the replies. I'm just going maple because of the look of the quilted variety. I've got a laminated and walnut in the cabinet already and am looking for something different. Didn't know that maple was hard to checker, but it doesn't really carry much weight in the decision. I look on checkering like oysters: I'm sure it's good, but it's just not the thing for me.

Sheister, I found an outfit over in bend that sells figured lumber. I'm going to check them out in a couple of weeks over x-mas, but I'll probably need the number of the gentleman you mentioned if he does duplication.

So the next big question is: Eastern maple or Western maple?

Hal Hartley used to produce some magnificant maple stocks using the Japanese flame scorching method. Anybody still doing this and/or any instructions around on how to do this?

Brownells sells a book by Alvin Linden on stock makeing that he gives instructions on flame treating maple. It a reprint of an older set of booklets.
Ray

Irwin,

What part of the state are you in? The best selection of Maple know of is from a guy in Gresham who used to be at all the gunshows. I just can't recall his name at the moment, but if you need it I know where I can dig it up.

Keep in mind that figured lumber isn't the same as a good gunstock blank. Most guys who cut wood for lumber wouldn't have a gunstock blank worth a hoot in stock or it would have already been cut for lumber.
You'll have to look for someone who specializes in gunstocks to find what you're looking for. Also, most guys who cut figured wood for lumber use a kiln to dry the wood, which is not acceptable for gunstock blanks in my opinion.

Come to think of it, John Ricks also has a terrific stock of beautiful maple wood for stock blanks. He is awful proud of them, pricewise, but they are some of the best I've seen for awhile.

Let me know when you need the number for duplication. Art Selnau is a very gifted stockmaker and his duplication machine is one of the very best. The finished product is as good as it gets (or as good as the stock he is duplicating).- Sheister

Finally remembered the name of the guy in Gresham that has the Maple stock wood for good prices- Doyle Wright. If you have a chance to look at his stuff you probably won't be disappointed. He has just about any type of figure you can imagine.

I have a few fiddleback stock blanks I've been slowly selling and making into stocks out of a tree I took down awhile back. If you're interested, let me know and I can send you some pics.- Sheister

Sheister,
I'd love to see the pictures. Send me an e-mail when you get the chance.

So many choices, so much indecision...

irwin