A friend of mine sent me some pictures of a unique stock that he is working on. It’s made from sycamore and has a nice look.

nice looking

Better than I expected but still no.

Fajen tried that many years ago...never sold well Good work !

Less than 2 lbs with all the fittings, impressive.
Very useful for a LW build.

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
Better than I expected but still no.

Would you mind elaborating?

Is it that it breaks/cracks too easily?

Too difficult to work?

Or that the demand is too low?

I thought the pictured rifle looked very nice, but if the wood is light, I could certainly see durability issues existing.

My friend said it weighs 1 lb 14 ounces with metal (butt plate and grip metal) and is surface hardened with cyanoacrylate.

No because it looks like Sycamore.

Looks like some kind of reptile skin. You could get a pair of boots to match and be super

Years ago I saw a rifle stocked by Tom Shelhamer in Sycamore. As best as I can remember it was a 257 Roberts on a small-ring 98 Mauser. He must have stained it since it was a darker reddish brown color. I was impressed by his work but it wasn't my cup of tea, it reminded me of a snake's skin. I didn't say this, not wanting to offend anyone, but it was interesting to see. To bad we didn't have cell phones back then as I would have liked a picture of it to save....

I wish I kept the American Rifleman issue where a guy had a dozen or so rifles made each with different wood. One was even cross cut redwood.

Rich

I like it. some day... Very light.
Sold a Myrtle but i suspect Maple.

I believe he said it was 1/4 sawn sycamore… whatever that means.

That looks interesting for sure. Almost has a birch look to it.

sycamore ---- also known as lacewood

I like it.

Will it take an alkanet root stain?

It would be even prettier with some dark, reddish coloration.

Just my $0.02 worth of personal opinion, of course.

I don't have a degree in Forestry for nothing.
(Actually I did run a lot of trees over with tanks so was able to identify them while doing so)

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
Better than I expected but still no.

Tom, come on.. you've posted pics of customer's guns i've vomited on my apron working on ... this aint so bad

I've always admired large, stately sycamore trees and this fine gunstock does not in the least diminish my respect for the tree. $2500 per blank Turkish walnut it ain't, but I still think it's attractive and unique. It is most certainly vastly superior to the last stock I made with myrtle wood. While some have had success with myrtle, I found the wood a royal pain to work with and clearly inferior to just about everything but those damned plywood birch stocks. Anyway, thumbs up for the sycamore stock!!

Roger

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
I don't have a degree in Forestry for nothing.
(Actually I did run a lot of trees over with tanks so was able to identify them while doing so)

Tom,
As a class mate of yours, I thought you majored in ROTC with a minor in beer drinking.
Roger

That sounds more accurate! I liked ROTC, beer, and women better than Forestry.
Jeff, you are probably referring to the Zombie hog rifle with blood red metal in 450 Bushmaster.. It did kill a hog in 2021.

Sycamore just isn't my cup of tea, agree with Tom.

It's not for me either, but then neither are laminates or frozen snot.

Well, it looks like there are at least 4 longitudinal drying splits between the butt plate and cheek piece. Stock shape and color look superb. Reminds me of Swedish Mauser stocks in Beechwood, but with massive grain fleck.

What intrigues me is the receiver ring. Looks extra-long. Like a Turk 38.

quote:

Originally posted by Uncle Grinch:
A friend of mine sent me some pictures of a unique stock that he is working on. It’s made from sycamore and has a nice look.

1909 Peruvian. No splits.

Turks actually don't have long rings; they just have the hand guard retainer machined integral, which you have to remove. I actually machined off 3 of them last week.
As for laminated stocks; they definitely have their place. They are indestructible, and cost a tenth of a custom walnut stock. Not everyone can afford, or needs, a hand made walnut stock.
You rifle snobs kill me.

i am not saying ALL lams are bad, i have several, i am saying SOME of them are an acquired taste(less)

I didn't mean you.

I'm not a rifle snob, most of my rifles wear plain walnut stocks. We don't all have to like the same things! You barrel snobs kill me.

I don't know how to attach sarcastic smiley faces, just know it's all in fun!

Greg

I like and use all stocks. Not all barrels though, so you are right there.

Most of you probably were not around when YAMA WOOD blanks were imported in 1965. These blanks were about 6 inches thick and could be split for the price of one blank. Very good figure and light weigh. Japan stopped the exporting back in the late 1960's.

I like it. But I have a Pecan stock and working on an Osage Orange stock for an Encore. About a pound heavier than Walnut.
I don’t think it should be stained, if you want a different color use wood that color.