Glen,

I forgot to weight the one I bought wet, keep meaning to find a scale, was in the middle of getting transfered with my job and got busy and just didnt get around to weighting it. That was about 3 mo back, if I remember correctly it has been cut about 6-9 mo when I bought it. I'll use it about this time next yr, should be dry by then.

The one I have thats wet seems to be staying pretty straight so far.

Good questions, Sheister, and I am eager to hear the Pro's answers. In my brief experience, a larger blank won't make up for poor grain flow. However, a large blank with good grain flow allows the stockmaker to optimize the layout. Don't know if that makes sense.

Blanks do seem to be getting smaller, though. It helps to have a "template" of your pattern's outline with you when looking at blanks. It can prevent buying a stick that is too small or one that won't "lay out" on your pattern.



Gringo - I bought a wet English blank two years ago. Although it is beginning to get dry, it has warped about 1/2" to the left.

Function is the most important of the three. If the stock is a failure waiting to happen, none of the other considerations matter. The type of walnut is unimportant. English has better workability, but all other qualities overlap.
There are two main considerations...A blank must be suitable for its intended function. This means it must be without degrading flaw and must be suitably dense. The other consideration is that the layout of the pattern must be strong.
Walnut sometimes grows under conditions that makes it soft and weak A friend recently stocked a gun in the customer's Turkish walnut and the wood is so punk, it will not last the hunting season. It may have been attacked by pests or even rot. Sapwood is most often seen with pest holes but sapwood is not to be confused with light colored English which is the rule rather than the exception. Rot can occur in living trees around wounds, or in fallen trees. The eye can spot unusual color variations. Then that area as well as the stock in general can be checked with a simple thumbnail to check for hardness. A good piece will show a thumbnail scratch as a burnish mark instead of an indentation. You can practice on several pieces to check for differences. Another problem to avoid is wind shake-checked wood. Some trees grow in high wind areas like the Columbia River gorge. A friend once cut a four-foot diameter tree and only salvaged 4 blanks due to so many wind shake cracks in the wood. Sometimes a stock cracks when drying. This often occurs in highly stressed areas like feather centers. This may be ruinous or minor. Each piece should be judged upon its own merits. Centers of feathers can also have bark pockets and even walnuts that fall in the crotch and then are encompassed by growing wood. Again, judge each on its own merits.
The other consideration is the layout of the blank. One must avoid burl and feather in the thin wrist and action area. Burl and feather are weaker than fiddle and straight grain. An exception to this rule is guns with through bolts. These are often seen with burl or feather in the wrist area. The through bolt that cinches the wood tight to the action gives greater strength. The resulting gunstock is stronger than one without a through bolt but weaker than a through bolt with a stronger piece of wood. However, it can save some weaker but beautiful pieces of wood that otherwise would be knife handle material. Ideally, one has straight grain in the wrist area going with the flow of the wrist. That may be straight, or curved. View the blank from the ends and edges. This will let you know how the grain flows through the wood. You must avoid stocks that have grain that turns out instead of going with the wrist and in the action area. You can often tell more about a blank from these views than from side views. Blanks can be saved if the bad area can be moved into the thicker butt area.
Another great idea is to take your own pattern with your own drop and length of pull measurements with you. A different pattern or length of pull can be all important. A blank may have been significantly marked down due to some flaw that misses the final stock in a shorter pattern. You can make a great blank work for a pattern sometimes by cutting an inch off and using a full 1" length recoil pad. Some stock seller's patterns are short on LOP to make more blanks look acceptable. Some do or do not include the 1" pad. To know what you are really looking at and for, take your own pattern. Run it out like a full stock so no one knows you are looking for a two-piece blank. You can lay the gun in question over a heavy piece of plastic. Then mark it out and cut it. Do not use cardboard as you want to see through the pattern. You can also cut out the center of cardboard or aluminum. This also works well. If traveling a distance, the former piece of plastic can be rolled up and easily put in a pocket or briefcase. Be sure to remember if it includes the recoil pad or not. A smaller gauge or light 2-2 �" gun may not need a pad and you will need more length of wood. If you are after a blank for a Mod 12/21 or especially something like a Ballard, you might get a gorgeous blank out of the throw away material that is too short for a regular stock. If a stock is not marked with a pattern, the blank, although beautiful, may not lay out appropriately for a stock. On the other hand, it may look much better with a pattern and be a steal at the listed price. I picked up a French feather last year for $75. that was an example of the latter. It is a $750 blank now. The beauty of a blank may be in a small area, but it may be large enough to fill your pattern. On the other hand, a large, gorgeous blank may look mediocre when only the area of the pattern is viewed. Make a pattern!
We have touched on "problem" blanks. I feel these are the best value for the money. They usually have much better beauty than their price suggests and if a person studies the blank, the problem might go away. "Problem" blanks include one-sided blanks, blanks of shorter than usual length or thinner than acceptable for stocks with cheek pieces (we usually do not use cheek pieces on shotguns), blanks with flaws that we can miss when we lay our own pattern, flaws that will be cut away when the stock is turned, non-structural flaws that can be filled or covered with checkering or tang, or cap, or inlay. If a blank is beautiful and sound and a good price, use your imagination to solve any problem it may have.
Many wood dealers are a treat to work with and are extremely helpful in picking the right blank for you. Others are not. Try to size up your dealer. You should expect a discount on buying a quantity of blanks. You should not expect a discount when you buy an Exhibition grade blank even if you are a known Guild gunmaker. There are too few GREAT blanks around to do that. Cash is often better than check. You may often get a better deal if you can show the seller why a particular blank may have a potential problem. However, most blank dealers are from the West and have a low tolerance of someone knocking their product and then wanting a deal. This is not recommended behavior.

Hope this helps,
Roland

Roland, that was a very thorough post!

I think that your taste in stock design should dictate the blank you select, not the other way around

For a hunting rifle, I buy only old quarter-sawn wood that's consistent in color and contrast from side to side, straight through the forend, and runs properly through the pistol grip area for strength. I also avoid blanks that look like they might chip in the toe area. I stay away from knotty wood, slab-sawn blanks, green wood, or anything that looks like it might move in the forend area. As in everything else, my wood credo is that "form follows function".

So most of the wood I go with isn't very loud, but the layout is always there. I prefer consistent contrast and good color, and I'm willing to pay whatever I have to pay to secure the right blank, although sometimes I stumble across some real buys.

Unless you build the stock yourself, and I don't, skilled labor is the most expensive part of having a stock built, and it's getting higher all the time, which makes getting the best blank you can possibly find and afford of ever greater importance.

AD

Since I live in coastal texas, i don't expect wood to ever "dry"... but I have thought about making a partial pressure, NOT HARD vaccuum, drier... say take the atmosphere pressure down to 7 or 5#, and let a little vaccuum pumo draw away for a couple days... Just silicon some lexan together, put a ball and cock valve on each end, a pressure gage (either abs. or psig with negative) and a vaccuum pump... $100 tops, and thats buying new..

this should allow the water to draw out, rather than boil out, like 0 psi would do.. could probably expreiment with a couple cheap wet blanks....

ock, something to do after the duplicator is done.

jeffe