TFG,

Okay...



let's rephrase this...

3000+$ rifle...

FIREWOOD grade stock that wouldn't even be under the paint of a ruger 10/22



sold as XX, ..not exhibition...



funny thing, when I pay 3000+ for a rifle, I would EXPECT the bottom level wood to be quite a bit higher than what GAG sells as "plain select".. that's

Quote:

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Low Utility Grade: Refers to gunstocks with serious defects, major repairs or severe blemishes. This grade can be used for Camouflage treated stocks, used for making patterns, used by novices learning the stocking trade, etc.



Utility Grade: Refers to a gunstock with very minor imperfections. This would include perhaps some sapwood (light wood), or minor blemish which has been professionally repaired so as to not be noticeable once the stock is finished.



Plain Grade: Refers to stocks that are Blemish Free- sturdy, good grain flow, with no sapwood, no blemishes. < !--color-->



Select Plain: Best of the plain wood-with exceptional density, grain flow, mineral streak or nice color contrast and perhaps some amount of fancy figure.

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In other words, not even henry from GAG would TRY to sell this stock as anything other than PLAIN... and that stock has a DEFECT...



Just trying to be clear here, not trying to fight



jeffe

jeffe
here's a better pick of the defect you speak of. It doesn't look like it's filled with a ton of glass or super glue, might not be filled at all. To me a defect would be like a big knot needing fill going through an important part creating weakness like grip or sides of the magazine. Color & contrast, although lacking a little still looks like XX to me. I wouldn't pay what Dakota is asking though


here's another pick of a similar grade of wood that looks like it's had some red dye rubbed in it. similar "defect", but layout through the grip isn't as good as the dakota. priced over $14,000



here's one I stocked "inlet & shaped" that's for sale now. Jamison Parker paid Dakota $1000 xtra for the wood upgrade at the time and it has very little color. Too bad Ivory Beads doesn't have any good pics showing the butt stock. I've got about 10 pics in my collection that show the fantastic figure "feather" through the buttstock but I don't have any way to post them. If someone can live without color contrast this is a much better piece of wood for the same $4000 that Dakota is asking for a 330 Dak "defective" stocked rifle.



I do like the layout on your blank "i" pretty nice blank, just no color contrast involved. Picking a blank is a very personal thing. That is what makes owning a wood stocked custom rifle so much more personal than some glass wrapped barreled action that's just itching to get out of it's itchy skin and into something "real" that a rifle owner just can't leave alone. It's good to see people sharing this "joy of rifles" with others and infecting them with the custom rifle BUG! If you can recommend a good image hosting site I'll post a few blanks I just can't leave alone. Again these would be my personal taste and may not agree with everyone.

gunmaker

That Farquarson looks like a real kicker to me.

AD

It kills me to see how much a Dakota costs. I paid 3600.00 for one in 1996. I got a wood-up grade,inleted sling studs, longer pull, skeleton grip cap and in left hand.

quote:

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Originally posted by gunmaker:
jeffe
here's a better pick of the defect you speak of. It doesn't look like it's filled with a ton of glass or super glue, might not be filled at all. To me a defect would be like a big knot needing fill going through an important part creating weakness like grip or sides of the magazine. Color & contrast, although lacking a little still looks like XX to me. I wouldn't pay what Dakota is asking though
.

gunmaker

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Gm,
Man, I keep looking at that KNOT and thinking, even if it was 100% figure, english, it would be "knocked" down to at least TWO lowwer grades for sales price.

My point being that wood grade grades the entire blank,,, not one side, not "in general" not the best nor worst feature, but the WHOLE stock...

or, like the fbi said, about something totally unrelated, if you have a 5 gallon bucket of dirty water (undrinkable due to slg) and 95 gallons of pure drinking water... when you mix the two, you have 100 gallons of dirty water...

Now, if this was a "plain select" that had a knot in it, fine... or a super nice piece of fancy that had a knot in it, fine... you can't sell it as either, and shouldn't.

Function-wise, yes, it's trival... but I would have a FIT if i had paid 4k for a rifle and it showed up with a PATTERN grade piece of wood on it....

I am not the worlds best... and I "know" that I have an exhibition stock on my steyr that i put together.... except for the one knot in the forearm, which makes it SUPER NICE.. but NOT exhibition.....

on I not having color contrast, we might be talking about different stocks... reds, golds, browns, and tons of fiddleback...



Jeffe

Jeffe,
I disagree on one issue (not that Dakota overgrades their wood). Exhibition can have knots, in fact burl blanks are often full of them in the butt. Granted that is not a good example but the following is. Would you downgrade this blank from Exhibition to somewhat below extra fancy? I sure wouldn't. There are 4 knots along the action and apparently one in the grip.

BTW, if Mike375 is looking, he might tell his friend in OZ that this gun is available and it is a .375 and it is for sale at $4,975 from Hallowellco.com. This rifle was stocked by Gary Goudy, one of the top stockmakers that ever took a chisel to wood and the best checkerer period (okay there is no trophy or ranking for that but he takes a second seat to no one). The metalwork was done by Herman Waldron, who is one of the few people whose name can be uttered in the same sentence with Mr. Burgess.

Chic,
funny thing... my steyr stock is very simular to that one, BUT it has a true knot in it, not a burl nut...

4 of them? with the overall grade of the stock, it's still exhibition... and without the nuts, it would be even a higher grade of wood, imho.


Then again, we are talking about pretty damn good pieces of wood, vs dakota's oar



jeffe

Jeffe,
That is my point, without the four knots, it would not make "Special Selection" which is the grade above exhibition. Those are rare as hens teeth. Price may be affected by those knots but in this case not grade, at least in this situation and in my opinion. Exhibition blanks of course can run the gamut of prices from $2,000 to $600 plus or minus, so there is a lot of wiggle room with any flaws or defects and price.

The Dakota blank would not attract my attention if that knot was never there. Dakota buys in large quantities and not one at a time like we do. They get bulk prices that are far lower than what we have to pay and I suspect that often the person choosing the blanks to turn does not have a good grasp of what good what actually is. Also when a blank goes down in grade once it is cut, they should have the common sense to either not use it or offer it as a bargain to someone. A flawed blank does not do any service to any gunmaker or a stockmaker's reputation.

Here's a piece of claro I hand picked down in Warsaw before the loss of my favorite wood house.....Fajens...
it was listed as "semi fancy" as the otherside is not as nice as this.

It appears as though Dakota would call it exhibition!!!!