For those of you, such as I, that really like black walnut, here is a blank on eBay. Too bad it isnt a good one!

Just FYI




eBay Black Walnut "AAAA"

Just think of that blank being turned into a stock and take close notice of the grain on top looking at the angle as it goes across the blank. Now think of the wrist of the stock and how that would hold up with the planes of the wood at that angle.

At some of the prices on ebay, I think I will just buy these for use on furniture. Maybe veneer for humidors?

Id call that slab sawn pretty much, and at a angle

hot Kiln dried...not my favorite

jeffe

Looking at his other blanks. Anyone interested in a big knot?
http://cgi.ebay.com/AAA-Black-walnut-gunstock-blank-lon...QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I think it is more interesting to look at the prices for wet Claro walnut, or knotty burl myrtle. I bought one burl piece of walnut that was listed as a buttstock blank, but i needed it for stabilization into knife handles. Wet is not the word for it.

Here's his web site.. I bought one today off ebay.

http://www.gunstockblanks.net/

Hey Chic, I went to the website, saw $1500 piece of black with your name on it, its kiln dried to boot

I buy quite of highly figured English and Claro
California. All on Ebay. I don't make gun stocks. I buy ALL my wood from one seller. quaking_aspens That is the Ebay ID of Ray and Cathy Richter and they only put up properly seasoned wood. I have yet to have a bad piece from them.In fact their Rating is 100% Tell them Uncle Jack sent you. They are as honest as they come. I have in the past loaded up on their wood. NEVER A PROBLEM
Jack
Jack

I've bought from quaking_aspens too. Nice folks.

Rich

I just gotta do it! I am having Alva Watts send me photos of highly figured black walnut blanks. I just love the stuff....slowly I am forgeting why English is better and my mind drifts back to by love of American Black Walnut! drifting drifting drifting back!HHHHEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



anyone ever use Alva Watts for blanks?

quote:

Originally posted by 333_OKH:
I just gotta do it! I am having Alva Watts send me photos of highly figured black walnut blanks. I just love the stuff....slowly I am forgeting why English is better and my mind drifts back to by love of American Black Walnut! drifting drifting drifting back!HHHHEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



anyone ever use Alva Watts for blanks?

I too REALLY like American Black. Especially on lever actions and classic american rifles like the M70. It just looks and feels right on an American made classic rifle to me.

I have drooled over the pics on Watts website. I wonder what his pricing is. Some of those blanks on his site get my heart throbbing.

The prices on these two are listed below. I think you will find him more than fair.

$350

$400

I love the figure and the color of the wood in the photos of Watts'. Does anyone know where he gets this black walnut from? You know like what state? I am curious. I just got a block of blk walnut from Oklahoma that is amazing burl. It is on its way to get stabilized for a knifemaker's handles.

He lives in Missouri. I thought he said he got it in the area. But I could be wrong.

He once told me most of his comes from western Oklahoma, not the first place that comes to mind for walnut.

I have a blank from a tree that grew in a dry creek bed near Kerrville, TX, also not your typical place for walnut, a spectacular blank, hard and dense as the rocks it grew in.

Good or not, Oklahoma's got Black Walnut growin' out its....

So Charles, if you're black walnut blank was not a good one, I will buy it from you for $87

Here in California we like out OK roots! I suppose the wood there is as good as our people so I am inclined to purchase some!

Here is some pics of Alva Watt's wood.

I have done business with Robert Watts at WATTS WALNUT

They are good people to do business with. Their stocks are reasonable and in my opine,make beautiful stocks, ie, my 404 Jeffery stocks.
right

Left

I always thought we were a little wet here in the Show Me State for growing good gunstocks. We recieve 40+ inches of precip a year.

I guess if you got a tree from the top of a hill where there wasn't as much dirt between the rocks.

quote:

I always thought we were a little wet here in the Show Me State for growing good gunstocks. We recieve 40+ inches of precip a year

If that is the case a lot of California would be very poor wood. I get over 65 inches here at home, and within 10 miles is the location that sometimes takes the gold for the most rainfall in the cont US. The wood is still dense and sometimes with good figure like this Claro I cut in Nov...A few of the blanks will havethe graftline between burl Claro and streaked English. I will take pictures of those later.

333,
Very true. Wild trees can be very dense and hard as they don't get the water that the orchards get. I have bought both and the difference is substancial. I get my wood from the Williams area.
Jack

quote:

Williams

In California? That is just down the highway and across HWY20 from me, about 4 hours.

We also have another rarer version of Claro that grows here, but it is uncommon. You can only find it at really old homesteds and native villages.

Here is a little for the people who cannot decide between Claro and English. A little Claro in the butt and English on the forearm.

333,
Do you know Ray and Cathy Richter in Williams? THey are the best. Ray is quite a lumberman. Great wood; English, Claro and Wild Black. Great wood from great folks. I love them both even if UI am their uncle Jack

No I do not. Do they have a lumber yard or how do they sell?

I am nearer to Eureka on the coast about 2 hours from Oregon on Hwy101

I Don't know if they have a "Lumber Yard" per say, I do know that Ray cuts from the groves and also wild trees and processes all that he cuts. He and Cathy are very good at what they do. I have purchased many thousands of dollars of wood from them with never a problem. Not one. I am not really their uncle, they just call me that due to our long business relationship. No finer persons walk this earth in my humble opinion.

333,
I do not make stocks at all. I require highly figured wood for VERY SMALL wood working projects. The fact that my work is SMALL requires that the wood I use be so. I take my wood from their Ebay offerings. They know what I require and provide for that requirement and others.

At the SHOT Show in Las Vegas http://www.hunterbid.com interesting source of walnut .

Winggunner---

This is the type of Claro I have been cutting lately [see pictures]. This Claro has an amazing history behind it having been grown as an ornamental in the courtyard of a famous local inn. The top was the typical English graft and I have gunstock blanks with the graft-line in them too.

I have three 8 foot logs of Paradox/Bastogne to cut soon. They are actually a cross between Clar oand American Black, but hte wood is amazing from what I ahve see nin the limbs. the smallest log is 3.5 feet in diameter.

If any of you know someone in the Sacramento Valley area who can help me cut some wood for stock blanks and or furniture wood, I have the root ball and trunk from an old Black Walnut that I just removed from a site north of Yuba City. I am looking for someone who will do it on a shares basis.

Dave

I have been working on a few log myself lately. I wanted to get them indoors before the weather turned sunny. You heard me, we have onnly had one week where it was sunny and it rained yesterday and today.

Attached please find photos of one English blank and one in a Claro/Eastern black hybrid. The hybrid is super dark wood. Had I been more on it I would have taken pictures before using the sealer. ZThis sealer meters the loss of moisture but does not stop it so you can treat the entire blank if you want.




The blanks are oversized at 20 and 22 inches I believe. Thickness is currently 4.8 inches and more than enough wood to get a forearm out of.

It appears, and I am probably wrong, but is this grain flow not the best for a rifle? I appears that it runs across the blank and that could cause warping? Am I right or wrong?

For a really consistent view of how gorgeous high grade American walnut can be, look at literally hundreds of the deluxe Winchester 1886 lever actions and 1885 single shots that came from New Haven in the thirty years before the First World War.

Vigillinus,
That Winchester wood came from Iowa/Missouri, where Winchester used to fill box cars with the stuff and transport it back to Conn.

Brent