I was down at Wadala yesterday looking at the dowry trunk my wife bought. (We had it made into a bar.) There are some fantastic wood pieces for sale and being ready for sale.

I asked the guy about blanks of wood that he could get for me so that I could have a few gun stocks made. He took a lot of time grasping the concept, but he finally told me he could get me Rosewood, Teak, English Mahogany and Jack Fruit. I'm a little nervous about that last one because the fruit from that tree is Durian, which stinks big-time. He also mentioned he could get oak.

Are any of these woods good for the purpose. I have Rosewood accents on my rifles, but don't know whether a complete stock would be advisable. Rosewood seems to crack, I'm told in cold weather. I suppose they would be good for pistol grips. It will be more expensive than the other woods.

I also told them the piece of wood should be 36" X 10" X 6". Does that sound about right?

Any thoughts on the above would be appreciated.

Don't use oak ,oak and steel ar'nt a good mix,jackfruit would be to soft. Teak and mahogany will be fine and don't know about the rose wood, there's to many different varieties around the world.

All you need is a dry stick of hardwood. I see you're from India....is Turkish walnut that hard to get?

Be careful of density as Teak is going to make a very heavy stock. Mahogany might be a fine choice however.

quote:

I also told them the piece of wood should be 36" X 10" X 6". Does that sound about right?

That's quite a bit too much.

With a bit of caution you can make a stock ftom 32" X 6" x 2 1/4"

Thanks for the advice. I'll back away from jackfruit and oak.

I thought a form of walnut would be available, but maybe there is another word for walnut here. I get blank stares every time I mention walnut. I'll try "Turkish Walnut" next time and see if I get any reaction.

Rosewood is suitable, but results in a very heavy stock. it is better for forend tips, grip caps, etc. Teak is also good for tips & caps, as well as ebony and some other colorful hardwoods.

Some types of mahogany make pretty stocks, but it is on the soft side for centerfire rifle stocks. But it might work OK for light-recoiling rounds like the .222 Remington or .22 Hornet.

By and large, the best woods for rifle stocks are the various walnuts, maple, cherry, and Oregon Myrtlewood...

quote:

Originally posted by Kensco:
Thanks for the advice. I'll back away from jackfruit and oak.

I thought a form of walnut would be available, but maybe there is another word for walnut here. I get blank stares every time I mention walnut. I'll try "Turkish Walnut" next time and see if I get any reaction.

Show them some pictures! There are tons of websites of outfits that sell gunstock woods-just go to some of them and make pictures of the various woods, such as this outstanding example of fancy American Black Walnut wood from Great American Gunstocks.....




Circassian or "Turkish" walnut

The surplus replacement stock kit I bought for my SMLE is mahagony and I am not impressed with it. The grain is long and the wood is soft. Further, it has no figure at all. In my opinion, mahagony makes a better bar than a gun stock. Give me good walnut any day.

There is supposed to be Persian Walnut available here, also called English Walnut I believe. I hope to find a source this weekend.

Just be sure you are familiar with how the grain needs to run in a gunstock before buying a piece of wood.

There is both the need for the physical strength of the gunstock, as well as a wood that can be made into a woodstock. I'd think the mahoganies would be too open grained for a good gunstock.

quote:

Originally posted by Kensco:
There is supposed to be Persian Walnut available here, also called English Walnut I believe. I hope to find a source this weekend.

Any walnuts grown in arid or semi-arid climates such as the Caucasus, Iran, Turkey, etc., tend to be dense and close grained, and also many such trees exhibit excellent grain patterns. The slower the tree grew, the better the wood.

In all probability, what is called Persian or English walnut there would make an excellent candidate for gunstock blanks. Grain should run parallel to the axis of the barrel, and be relatively straight through the pistol grip area to provide the requisite strength. Real fancy wood can be problematic in this regard, as often the grain patterns are swirling around. For heavy recoiling rifles, it is better to use less flamboyant wood grain patterns in favor of straighter ones that stand up to recoil better.

Visit some stockmakers' sites and look at pictures of how the stock blanks are laid out in relation to grain patterns.

Another consideration is how the wood was seasoned. If possible, you want to choose wood that has been allowed to season for several years under natural conditions. Kiln-dried wood is often acceptable, but you want wood that has stopped warping and checking before you start to make a stock out of it, even if you have to season the blanks yourself for a couple of years before starting the stock making process.

Thanks El,

I'm thinking I've got the "seasoned" part down. If I'm here another year or two the wood should be about ready.

My thought was to make a stock for a .308 and also a 375 H&H.

I would also make grips for a 41 Mag.

many many moons ago i built a stock out of rosewood. It really didn't turn out to bad, but just didn't have the life of good walnut