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Gents: Can someone explain to me a little bit about mineral streaking? Specifically, when a stock blank has seeminlg appropriate grain flow from one end to the other and in the area that would be the buttstock there is what appears to look like a "pool" of mineral, what is it or what caused that to happen? And is it simply somethign to add character to wood? | ||
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Great question ..... I've wondered the same myself. Also, does lots of mineral streaking cause any issues with strength & durability of the blank ? ____________________________ .470 & 9.3X74R Chapuis' Tikka O/U 9.3X74R Searcy Classics 450/.400 3" & .577 C&H .375 2 1/2" Krieghoff .500 NE Member Dallas Safari Club | |||
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Speaking from experience here: What you are looking at sounds like a photograph. It can happen because of several different reasons. First and most likely is that there is indeed a great amount of figure in the area you are referring to coupled with grain in the wood that is changing direction slightly. This usually happens because the camera tries to meter off of either the color of the stock blank or the black figure. If it meters off of the color, the black can loose sharpness and even look weaker than it is. If it meters off of the black the color will look washed out. The other reasons are: It can also be a depression in the wood that is rough sawn where the rest of the blank is planed smooth. It can also be a glut of wax when water, alcohol, mineral spirits or oil was used to wet the blank for the photograph. It means nothing as to the structural quality of the wood. Hope this helps. | |||
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Frank, No, it does nothing to the strength or durability of the wood. This is something i hear now and then. There is a misunderstanding that too much figure in the wood means it can be weaker. Not true. VERY very not true. I have also heard of fiddleback/curl in the grip making the wood weak. Not true. One should always look at the cut, the quality of the wood and the grain of the wood first. When those are of a high quality then you can have as much figure as you want and put it on any caliber you desire to build. | |||
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Another question about walnut blanks - I see quite a few where the dark color & mineral streaking stop abruptly, & then there is a yellowish portion that looks like it would be soft & unusable (at the top or bottom of the blank usually) - is this always the sapwood portion of the stock, or could it also be incorporated into the stock if you choose to use it ? Didn't mean to hijack this thread, it's just interesting to me ..... thanks. ____________________________ .470 & 9.3X74R Chapuis' Tikka O/U 9.3X74R Searcy Classics 450/.400 3" & .577 C&H .375 2 1/2" Krieghoff .500 NE Member Dallas Safari Club | |||
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Without knowing where the blank came from or which part of the tree was used, it is difficult to determine the nature or the mineral streak. The tree itself takes the form similar to a carrot with a bulbous tap root holding food for the tree during winter months. My trees are being cultured for future timber and the ground is selected for both fertility and the ability to control the water content so the tree can be "hardened" and timber grain held close to produce very dense grain. Some of the very best timber comes from the root stock and I shudder when I see good trees simply cut off at ground and the butt abandoned. Considering the age of the tree and the weather cycles it may have endured in it's lifetime, the streaking could be as simple as changes in season from year to year over decades.  Hold still varmint; while I plugs yer! If'n I miss, our band of 45/70 brothers, will fill yer full of lead! | |||
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Thanks. I'll have to see about scanning a photo of it so I can show you what I am talking about. I'm sure the wood is just fine and have been told as much by others, but am curious to learn about this stuff. | |||
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I have a question in a similar vein about streaking. I just recently purchased a walnut blank that was nicely figured. When the stock was roughed out of the blank, we found an area within the wood relatively devoid of color/streaking (near where the tang will be, but on the side). My stockmaker told he will be able to hide this with stain, and it's not a large area at all. I asked him if it was sapwood, as I couldn't understand how that would be the case given it's location (and there was no sapwood to be seen on the blank). He informed me that streaks/patches of no color can occur within walnut heart wood that can render an otherwise good piece of wood unusable for a fine stock. He didn't have an explanation for it, just that it's not too common, and that he hates to see it. Garrett | |||
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the plot thickens... | |||
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