# sawing out gunstock blanks-questions



## WadePatton (Dec 2, 2009)

can i get a decent piece of wood out of a 15" log? that's the main question. primarily interested in long-fullstock patterns, but will probably do some modern arms as well (much shorter). depends on how the milling/curing process comes out.

working with maple and cherry first--freebies out of logger pile. have one fantastic "twisted" maple still standing, but want to save it until i've got a handle on things (pun). it's pushing 30". also have a great maple in the pile, but don't know if it'll be worth the trouble to get out and is likely to be windshook as it was doziered all the way, not felled.

kinda hurts to split up walnut for firewood, but when it's too little--it's too little.

love to hear from someone who has some experience in this. searches yielded nothing.

going to buy some blanks for the first one or two, just don't want to waste good wood and it needs time to cure. i'll tote the little stuff to a bandsaw. we'll hack up the big stuff with a big saw.



wp


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## fubar2 (Dec 2, 2009)

Unless it is something rare and you can't get one, you would be far and away ahead to just buy an inleleted blank. I made one from scratch years ago for an old Stevens and I'd never do it again. If you insist on making your own leave six inches on each end for drying or you'll get splits.


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## discounthunter (Dec 2, 2009)

are you talking 15" diameter or in length? 15" lenght i would say no unless maybe you have a kiln,checking/cracking will subtract easily 2-3" from either end.


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## WadePatton (Dec 2, 2009)

fubar2 said:


> Unless it is something rare and you can't get one, you would be far and away ahead to just buy an inleleted blank. I made one from scratch years ago for an old Stevens and I'd never do it again. If you insist on making your own leave six inches on each end for drying or you'll get splits.


my building gurus refuse to use inletted stocks. and i'm more of a full-on-handbuilt-not-from-the-store-works-well-with-his-hands dude.

i'll have help with the ramrod hole drilling (44" deep) and we'll pre-inlet the bbl channel with a cut to the minimum diameter--as it's a swamped bbl. (shaped like an hourglass-a long skinny one.)

then the first modern project will be a near copy of the rem mtn rifle profile, but inletted for a browning.

can't get that chit at cabela's.

i have a magnificent walnut, but it'll stand so long as it's in good health---but if i get to saw it--major grain show is going down.


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## WadePatton (Dec 2, 2009)

discounthunter said:


> are you talking 15" diameter or in length? 15" lenght i would say no unless maybe you have a kiln,checking/cracking will subtract easily 2-3" from either end.



14" x 9' maple
15" x 12' cherry

starting with these. have some 20-30" wood to try as well...one with rootwad, the other standing.

will saw these into 12/4 full-width cants and see where that leaves me.

here's kinda what i was looking for: http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Drying_and_Sawing_Tips_for_Gun_Stocks.html



> If you are cutting the logs for gunstocks, use a bandmill and slab the logs into cants as wide as you can, dry the cants and then cut the blanks from that. With wide cants you will be able to lay out your stocks for the best possible grain flow through the stock. Lay out your one-piece rifle blanks first for best grain flow and then areas in between the one-piece blanks can be laid out for two-piece blanks.
> 
> You will get some fancy grain where large limbs were cut of the trunk and also there will be extremely fancy wood in the crotches. If the logs were cut just above the crotch you will only be able to get two-piece blanks from the crotch area. There is usually fancy wood in the root ball but it is usually a lot of extra work to get it.



sharing here in case others are interested.


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## 1harlowr (Dec 3, 2009)

Unless you have a severe drop planned for the butt and the log is pretty straight, you should be OK. I've got some blanks that aren't that wide. What's the worst that can happen? Firewood?


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## The Lorax (Dec 3, 2009)

You planning on checkering the stock? If you are maple might not be the best thing to be using, it can go "fuzzy" when you try and checker it.
Not all maple does it but when it does it is a pain.


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## WadePatton (Dec 3, 2009)

1harlowr said:


> Unless you have a severe drop planned for the butt and the log is pretty straight, you should be OK. I've got some blanks that aren't that wide. What's the worst that can happen? Firewood?


worst that can happen is that i pay someone to saw on my firewood...right after internal flaws which are discovered after drying.

actually the cherry log has drop built in. the grain should follow the wrist with minimum cross-grain cutting.

maple, cherry, walnut, and more were used for tn/southern longrifle stocks back in the day. and that's what i'm "limiting" myself to in this day.

checkering a flintlock riflestock would be completely uncool, but they are carved. not that i'm doing any "extra" carving. get it fitted up good, and i'm gone shooting.

if i get around to trying my hand at checkering, i'll start with walnut. but as i understand it, all the twisty-grains of fancy wood are challenging to work with. (once you get down to fine cutting).

but if it ain't fancy wood, i'm no longer interested.


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## WadePatton (Aug 31, 2011)

hardee har!

was searching around the net and found this thread.

i still don't have a piece of wood to carve. one-of-these-here days.

probably coming from Fred Harrison down on the other side of the river. didn't get 'round to slabbing that cherry...too busy making bbq whiff it.


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## smokinj (Sep 1, 2011)

How many licks does it take to get to the center of a totise pop! lol Pop the top and see if the grain is what your looking for. About half the black walnuts are not really good for this, but there is one way to find out!


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## WadePatton (Sep 1, 2011)

oh, it'd be much different if i had or had access to the right equipment. freehand slabbing with the 7900 is a bit of a chore w/ mixed results.

i'm getting a cured blank for the first go 'round. happy to report that my "local" longrifle gurus are still kicking-one at 75 the other at 77. 

sold my hawkin to fund the stock, sights, and trigger purchase. going to fab up a lot of the other hardware.


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## smokinj (Sep 1, 2011)

View attachment 197417


WadePatton said:


> oh, it'd be much different if i had or had access to the right equipment. freehand slabbing with the 7900 is a bit of a chore w/ mixed results.
> 
> i'm getting a cured blank for the first go 'round. happy to report that my "local" longrifle gurus are still kicking-one at 75 the other at 77.
> 
> sold my hawkin to fund the stock, sights, and trigger purchase. going to fab up a lot of the other hardware.


 
I have gun guys coming over and picking through my stuff. Seems to me they like the hartwood or center and blacker the better. I find about 1/2 of the walnuts around here is a brown and they turn it down...


This is the color there after.


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## WadePatton (Sep 2, 2011)

figure...or as Clyde Baker used to say: figger.

crazy crotchal and rootwad grains is what we're after. there is usually some discussion of quarter vs. board sawn-but if the grain is there, methinks it don't matter much.

figure is paramount-second to soundness and substantial strength in the wrist-the weak point, and a function of grain orientation.

here's some doozies: 






















but i don't have access to a kiln and don't care to wait another season (by using the woodstove all winter). so any cool logs can score will be for future rama projects.


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