Reason for asking is I recently obtained a couple 5' planks of American walnut which I'm wondering if they're suitable for stocks. They have very nice burl and other figuring. I can try posting some pics here if anyone's interested.

If they are fairly straight and sound ( No Bugs or decay ) free from Kant and twist , they should be Good to dry !. How thick are they and are they surfaced or in the rough ?. S1E ? S2S ?. S4S ? Those mean surfaced 1 edge surfaced two sides , surfaced four sides .
Posting would be nice .

Shoot Straight Know Your Target . ...

Posted to classifieds. 3-1/2 thick by 6 foot long. Air dried for years.

Can't tell much by the pics, but from what I can see, neither of those are gunstock candidates. Layout is first and foremost in a blank. From what can be seen from those (VERY!) bad pics, neither one of those would rate a thumbs up from a professional stock maker.

Just a friendly word of advice when selling anything, good pics are of the utmost importance. Get us some better pics and you can get some more accurate feedback

edited to add: You might can get a 2 piece stock out of it. That is much easier than getting a rifle blank out of wood. Please get us some good photos and we can help you figure out the best thing to do.

What's wrong with the pics?

I've done a LOT of photography!

I can't see a suitable blank in those for a rifle. Maybe furniture.

quote:

Originally posted by sonofagun:
What's wrong with the pics?

I've done a LOT of photography!

As stated earlier in this post and in scores of threads before this one, "layout" is key to a gunstock blank. That means the grain hes to run in a manner that will be strong for use on a gun. The pictures show a lot of glare, but little of how the grain actually runs. What we can see does not look promising-they would make very weak stocks and would break.

quote:

Originally posted by sonofagun:
What's wrong with the pics?

I've done a LOT of photography!

Wetting them would increase the contrast of the grain and help us give a more accurate opinion. A pic of the reverse side would be important, too.

Right now, I may see one real nice butt stock for a shotgun or rifle (bottom of the left piece) but the way it lays out I can't see getting a matching fore arm. I can't tell about the burl on top right board from that pic.

They would make a whole sh*tload of really nice pen blanks, though!

More pics are posted in classifieds. I digitally enhanced contrast* on these pics to show grain better rather than adding any wetting agent to these pieces. I have complete photos of all sides and edges available to email anyone interested.

*I can post pics with more contrast, but it looked a bit extreme to me.

It appears to my eyes that nothing is wrong with those slabs of walnut . Other than some obvious checking and a couple of cracks . Which should be able to be worked around when laying out a pattern .

A tip for future photos ( It's only a suggestion on my part ) Place slabs in the Shade wipe with mineral spirits or even a light oil mineral spirit combination , then use the flash or a longer exposure on a tri pod for detail .

From what I see their not Fancy Grade or xxxx but could be utilized none the less .

It appears the slab on the right near the upper half may have a " Shake Issue " but it's difficult to say with certain from those pictures .

How ever the blank on the left coming up about 4-6" from the bottom and laying out a rifle blank would LOOK REAL NICE !.
Thanks for posting the pictures .

Shoot Straight Know Your Target . ...

Maybe a two piece, still hard to tell.

THose are not stock blanks, they are pieces of walnut lumber. You might could squeeze a piece for a straight grip lever action out of them. Hard to say without looking at them in person. And you need to see all 4 sides of the wood. OK-just looked in classifieds and saw the back sides of the lumber. Key word here is lumber. There are a lot of flaws in the wood-sap, knots, shake, looks like some bark inclusions.

Yes, there is some really nice figure in there, but that is not what counts. The grain layout has to be right above all else. You then play with it to get the most figure in the butt of the stock while ensuring the grain runs properly through the wrist. And even in the butt you have to watch the grain, but it is not nearly as critical as the wrist. Broken toes are the most common problems with bad grain in the butt, but I have seen shake pop up after finishing too. The fore arm piece needs to have decent grain as well. If not, then it will be moving around more than necessary, as well as making the ends weak. I have seen a lot of forearms with broken ends.

I think you can get the most money by putting finish on the sides and taking better pics of the lumber and then putting them on ebay. Walnut lumber does quite well on "tha bay." Your boards could be used for folks who makes boxes or whatever out of walnut.

There have been many articles written on selecting stock blanks, as well as many chapeters of gunsmithing books devoted to the subject. Our own Steve Hughes has good chapters in his books "Double Shotguns" and "Double Guns and Custom Gunsmithing." "Gunsmithing" by Dunlap, "The Modern Gunsmith" by Howe, and "Stockmaking" by Linden are 3 other books that popped into my mind first. All of these books explain what to look for in a blank and why your wood is marginal at best.

As a professional stockmaker, I suggest you ebay the wood. Can you make a stock out of them? Of course-you can make a stock out of almost anything. How long it will remain an intact stock is the question of the hour. And just going by what we can see on the screen, they will likely be low grade blanks-you could get more from woodworkers on ebay. You asked for help, so there it is a from a professional gunmaker. A man with real world experience making gunstocks from the blank. THis is not theory, now what I read in a book or on the net, not what I heard from soemone, what I have experienced through getting paid to transform a chunk of walnut into a custom gunstock. You do with it as you choose.

OK, thanks. I have posted higher contrast and more pics here. Pictures are in sequence from left to right and top to bottom showing planks from face 1 to edge 1 to face 2 to edge 2.

Hope this helps and is clear(er)!

At this point I'll take whatever offer I can get.

I read the mention of shake in replies to sonofagun about the Walnut he wants to use, It is a new term to me(I'm kinda slow sometimes)when it comes to Walnut so could someone point that out in the pic's. Thanks for someone taking the time to edumacate me.

Steve E.........

THose are not suitable for gunstocks, so ebay will get you more dollars. They are nice and thick, so many wood workers will be interested in them.

Shake is where layers of the tree delaminate. Imaging one of the "rings" of a tree shearing off from the ring that is right beside it. THink of how that would look when the tree is cut into a board.

http://www.answers.com/topic/wind-shake?nr=1&lsc=true

http://www.woodcentral.com/shots/shot137.shtml

http://www.qdxdb.com/woodwork%20show/cabinet%20series/c...0natural%20wood.html

From the contrasty pics it does not look like shake to me.

I'll add that wood like that is exactly when Serengeti's laminate process excels. they can take the best of one side, cut 3/8ths pieces or thicker and laminate them on the outside of more common wood. They make a one-sided slab like yours much more attractive and the lamination eliminates structural weaknesses in the blank.

More useful for you if you want them and want to use one rather than a buyer because the cost to laminate is around $125, IIRC.

I don't think serengetti would use that wood. It still has to be suitable stock wood. They can make cosmetic corrections by flipping the laminates but the blank still needs to be suitable.

45 - 50 lbs each! Couldn't they be used for shotgun or pistol stocks?

As I stated earlier these slabs of lumber could be used but are not high grade . There is now clearly a shake issue in the upper left blank a little over half way and another further up both on the right side .

Laying a blank going from the bottom of the slab ( Starting a few inches away from any end splits ) then angling the pattern butt end on the right side forearm too the left side appears to be safe . Assuming the pictures of edge views are left and right respectively .

Now blank on the right , my first concerns would be with the edges ( Center pictures right blank ). Are those Knots or stains or both ?. What appears to be a Knot say 8-10" up from the bottom that area needs to be voided . Staying a few inches above that point start with the Butt and angling with grain flow staying away from lighter Sap Wood edges lay out another one .

Were these slabs cut from branches above the crotch forks ?, or main trunk area below branch forks ?. but above main trunk crotch ?.

If all else fails one could always saw them and laminate stock material from them . They are usable Either way . Who ever is going to use them needs to see them in person or at the very least ( DETAILED CLOSE PICTURES ) .

As I'm sure everyone is aware of the Most desirable stock blanks come from Crotches and Burl slabs .

Shoot Straight Know Your Target . ...

Go to ebay, do a search for walnut, and see where they are listed. Very high number of walnut boards for sale there so it will not be hard for you to do.

Weight has precious little to do with suitability for gunstocks. For what seems like the 20th time, layout is first and foremost in gunstock blanks. Do a google search for proper layout of gunstock blanks and do a little reading. You obviously don't believe what I and others are telling you, so look it up for yourself. Or don't for all I care. After this one I am through posting on this thread anyway.

Sure you can use them for pistol stocks, but good luck finding someone willing to have those huge pieces of wood shipped to their place just so most of it can wind up in the shop heater.

Given what I can see there, I really don't think a good 2 piece stock could be made from them. You may find someone to buy them on the condition that they can return it after seeing it in person. (standard procedure for stock blanks). If it will not work for a stock, then the shipping is more than double what they would be worth as a gunstock. Hell, one way shipping would be more than they are worth for stocks. Again for what feels like the 20th time, there are flaws all through your walnut boards, so even if the grain will allow a 2 piece stock, it will be a lower grade one. And now that we cna see the tops and bottom, they are bending all over the place. Given what I can see of them, I think they will always be moving around, regardless of how you finish the wood. Limbs/young trunks will do that.

If I were you, I would post it for sale on craigslist labeled "walnut lumber/gunstock blanks" and see what happens. If it does not sell after a few days, ebay it. And be sure to have a similar title on ebay. I see a lot of wood that is not gunstock material and it would move it called "walnut lumber board gunstock blank."

Don't know if you were given these or bought them. If you bought them, then you have the perfect oppurtunity to learn something and better yourself. You now know to investigate something before plunking your money down.

And as far as laminates go, laminated stocks have a very bad habit of coming delaminated. They shear lengthwise and the cracks grow from there until repairs are made. I have read some funny statements on this board how they won't delaminate and are the strongest thing out there. WHen you read that, all you can do is laugh. THat is the mantra of the uninformed gunwriters hard at work. They have a job to do and I understand that. They are paid to promote companies. Plus most do not have engineering or heavy science backgrounds, and glass beadding is a complex gunsmith job for them.

I thought of a good way to give a visual example of shake in lumber but my rural internet access went down. But she is up and running again so here she goes.

For a good idea of shake is in a board, think of an onion cut in half lengthways. Now imagine the 6 layers at the core popping out, or at least shearing theith bond in a portion of onion surface. That is a good, quick example of what shake would be like in a board.

I'll post a price in classifieds.

Thanks to all for their help - sorry if it seemed like I did not believe some of the replies - tough to find out sometimes that you've made a mistake. I respect all who obviously know far more than I do about gunstock wood. That's why I came here in the first place as I knew I could get some expert opinions and commentary.

I got these from someone who obtained about 30 or so walnut trees taken down by his city - had so much he was giving some away (not these) and even used some for flooring in his house - imagine how beautiful that is!

If you can get more of those thick boards for a low price, you can make some money with them if you have the time to fool with ebay. Or if you do wood work, they would be great for you to keep.

I have never seen walnut floors before, but bet they must look pretty darn nice!

In the midwest, you see a lot of walnut timber cuts like these that are intended to become fireplace mantle shelves.

When I was involved with purveying hardwoods , I used to sell several species from around the world . How ever one of my favorite domestic products besides hickory and maple was Walnut .

My shop used to mill flooring profiles and make flooring . Plank 3/8" 3/4" X 2.25" 3",5"
R L T$G end matched .Parquet patterns , Bordeaux Versailles , Chateau, . We made special runs of different border woods . Like Maple with walnut or Oak pattern .

Here is a sample from some one else's line .

http://www.classicfloorsinc.com/images/amerwalnutbordeaux.jpg

Shoot Straight Know Your Target . ...