Has anyone ever gotten a blank off of Ebay? I have seen a few really nice high-grade claro walnut blanks for very good prices. Anything I should be skeptical about?

They loose 2 pounds from drying in the first two months in the house.

I've purchased two from Dakota Cliff & been well pleased. One nice feature is that his stocks have cast off. The fore arms & wrist are large giving you a lot of options in shaping though.

I have.. from several sources...

if you mean a true blank, unless you have a MONEY BACK WHEN TURNED guarrenty for mositure, do not spend any "Real" money.

quaking aspens, while usually not high grade, is all dry.

northcost is wet wet wet

rhone ? row? wood is wet

If the blank isn't 2 years old, it aint dry.. and that assumes a very dry climate.

2.5" thick is required

jeffe

I've bought blanks from several vendors on Ebay, many were wet but all excellent blanks for the money. I got this California English blank from "AntlersExpress" for $160:

i have bought several blanks from quaking aspens on e-bay. all have been dry and the ones i bought, i got for the price i thought was fair. she does get alot for some of those blanks. she does take good pictures and tries to show any defects if the blank has any.

if you want some pretty nice english at a fair price, get ahold of elcaballero who posts here. i got three from him and they suit my purpose.

I've bought from several vendors there, both blanks and fully-inletted...the West Coast ones were all pretty much as advertised. The New York/New Jersey/Connecticut ones I bought were all rip-offs in my opinion.

One East Coast supplier told me he had a NEW, blond circassian walnut "take-off" stock from a 1950 Husqvarna sporter, but would need $400 for it. Said it had nice figure, etc. etc. I bought it. When it got here, it had not one stitch of figure, and was not even walnut of any variety. Was beech!! I didn't even try to send it back, I don't deal with liars any longer than absolutely necessary. Another time I bought a very fancy figured turkish walnut blank from an outfit that promotes itself as the top turkish walnut stock blank supplier in the world. The figure was as pictured, but the diminesions weren't long enough to even provide a suitable buttstock for the Baker trap gun I wanted to put it on. It may have been long enough at some time, but it was so chipped and checked that it will now only make a bunch of very nice (and very expensive) handgun grips.

My advice? Don't buy wood you can't see and handle. I certainly never will again.

Check the feedback, and veiw the auction that they are giving feedback on. Read the entire description. If it sounds to good to be true it probably is. A money back guarantee means something to me.

Gentlemen:

I have done quite a bit of business with Quaking Aspens and have never found fault with their wood. It has always been at least what I expected and typically more. I would not hesitate to buy a blank from them if they offer one that tickles your fancy. All the wood they offer is dry.

Much of the wood offered on Ebay is green. One is always taking a chance purchasing green blanks. Not all of them make it all the way to dry without "issues". But then again, this is one of the reasons green blanks are a lot cheaper. Ya pays your money and takes yer chances. And ya wait a couple years...

Glenn