Just bought this stick from a guy in Michigan. I like it, especially the color. Can't wait to start working it. Now I need to get some real wood carving tools.

I like the vertical striping in the wood! I was curious to what you gave for it if you don't mind the question.

NOw Roger!!! How many times have we told you not to buy wood from a stranger!!! especialy if you havent personaly inspected the wood!
Nice from the pictures, I hope everything works out for you.
Is it kiln dried or air?

There is no way for me to personally inspect wood. It costs too much to ship up.

I emailed the guy and told him it had to be: dense, no flaws and no insect damage. He replied it was in fact quite dense for black walnut, had no flaws or damage. He also has had 140 sales and a 100% approval rating so 140 buyers out of 140 sales tells me the guy isn't going to rip me off. Besides, I would just send it back any way.

He bought it about 6 years ago, it was dry then. He just never got around to using it and wanted to get rid of it.

How does one begin to carve a stock? Are there basic measurements? Are there books with drawings? Obviously, an activity for those with far more free time than me. Bon chance!

Roy Dunlap wrote a book called Gunsmithing. In it he gets into alot of detail about laying out a blank and stock making it is well worth reading. I do not agree with everything he says but that is just me. For example he likes to inlet the bottom metal first, I like to inlet the barreled action first. If you want some help or addvice give me a call, been building custom rifles for over ten years and love to talk about them and help others getting started. 207-938-3595

David Wesbrook's "Professional Stockmaking" is also a good resource.

Roger

What was the price?

Got a similar piece of wood for my semi-finished replacement stock from AHR - wonder what you paid for the blank alone?

Franz

[ 07-14-2003, 19:19: Message edited by: Daydreamer ]

That's very nice Roger. I think black walnut is often underestimated as a stock wood. I have seen some beautifully figured stuff, and am currently trying to talk a friend of mine out of a nice piece of 30+ year air-dried black walnut, with really nice grain layout. He wants to make table legs out of it.

Todd