Stock Wood

[dcriner]

Many custom-made, modern reproduction rifles or smoothbores are offered with maple stocks in a variety of grades - the more and closer the stripes, the more expensive.

Here's the thing. Maple is pretty to look at, but maybe not the best wood for a stock. It can easily split, especially at the wrist. And, how many authentic, antique long-guns were stocked in tiger maple?

 

[jdkerstetter]

...Maple is pretty to look at, but maybe not the best wood for a stock.

Then what do you recommend???

And, how many authentic, antique long-guns were stocked in tiger maple?

The vast majority of orignal American longrifles and fowlers were stocked in maple...."tiger" just describes the figure and many were striped to a more or less degree. Maple was "the" perferred stock wood of early American gunsmiths....and still is for a variety of reasons.

Enjoy, J.D.

 

[Stophel]

Sugar maple is one of the best possible stock woods. It is not nearly as prone to splitting as is a wood like walnut. Even maple with curl is quite strong.

And yes, nearly all American longrifles were stocked in maple! Walnut a very, very distant second, and cherry an even more distant third!

And gunstocks don't generally break at the wrist anyway, unless you're using it as a club. :wink:

 

[George T.]

I agree! It is odd that there is still a bunch of really good tiger striped maple around. The P+ are getting pricy but it is a life time of enjoyment when looking at them. Geo. T.

 

[cynthialee]

If we disregard concerns of appearance and focus strictly on strength and durability, which wood would be the best gunstock?

 

[Stophel]

Probably sugar maple! It is hard, dense, heavy, but not too heavy, stable, strong and resilient. Next might be good quality European walnut.

 

[longrifle78]

I'd agree, I think God had gunstocks in mind when made the maple tree.

 

[M. De Land]

Not me, I'll take a good dense piece of black walnut with some burl in the butt any day over maple although I have stocked several guns in maple and have a Mauser in my safe with a nice stick of it on.
I don't care for how it checkers and I don't like how heavy it is at least for center fire stocking.
It is most appropriate for muzzle loaders though.
Were Hawken rifles usually stocked in maple or walnut? For some reason I thought most of them were walnut stocked. Mike D.

 

[longrifle78]

I was thinkin most hawkens were stocked in maple, but i may be wrong.

 

[Birddog6]

It can easily split, especially at the wrist.

Sugar Maple is the most durable wood in the USA. Name me one better. :idunno: From cutting boards, to butcher blocks, to wooden floors in factories, to mounting boards of electrical components (before micarta board) to gunstocks, to sheaves on pulleys, it was The Best for Hundreds of years & is to this day the most durable wood in the USA.

Wrists that split or break are simply because of grain runout at the area, not because the wood was flawed. The guy that cut the stock didn't know or didn't care of what he was doing.

Keith Lisle

 

[jdkerstetter]

Mike? You don't like how it checkers? The question wasn't which do "you" perfer, but what's appropriate. Besides, that's little non sequitur. Let's try to remember what forum we're in.

He's the mantra...."I will post without reference to modern guns, I will post without reference to modern guns....". Give it a try! :wink: :grin: :haha:

Enjoy, J.D.

 

[Vaino]

The hard maples are very versatile in that they can be used in many products, gunstocks for one.

Years ago a lot of beds and furniture were made from hard maple...don't think this is being done today.

Talked to hardwood loggers and asked what maple was mainly used for....the disappointing answer was pallets and railroad ties. Asked a logger if when he was cutting hard maple trees {sugar and red} if he would cut some quarter sawn slabs and I'd come and look at them for curl. Well, none of the slabs had any curl at all and he charged me $10 for each "ruined" log....the price of a railroad tie. Didn't pursue it further.

Good, hard maple whether it be sugar or red, is a dense wood but not overly heavy and is the ideal wood for gunstocks....works well and is fairly stable. The original makers wouldn't have continued to make their stocks of maple if it didn't serve the purpose.....beautiful curl was just an addt'l attribute.....Fred

 

[kaintuck]

Fred and i had the same idea!...my Amish friend sawed(sp?) me 3 blanks....they are still in the dry stage...and i can't see if they will be 'good' yet....Fred, I WISH you could visit me and teach me about all that you know!!!...anyhoo....I don't have much hard maple around here....and my blanks are cut from mom's land~so they are special to me....but maple seems to be the choice wood for hundreds of years and thousands of rifles.....so i guess the majority of makers say...maple is THE wood~ :haha:

i might venture off the reservation and make a apple or cypress or even TEAK!!!!....now THAT wood be a HARD WOOD STOCK!!!!!!!! :stir: :youcrazy:

 

[Col. Batguano]

Teak is really a very good wood. Many gun stocks coming out of the far east and SE Asia are stocked in it. Reasons; hard, dense, VERY stable, and almost impervious to moisture.

As far as other woods in North America are concerned, Pretty much all of them have been tried. Birch is the most common non-walnut / maple wood used, but Mesquite is used in the southwest some, as well as apple, honey locust, and even ironwood (talk about heavy!) White oak was the preferred wood for gun carriages, particularly naval guns, as it too is relatively impervious to moisture.

 

[dave_person]

Here's the thing. Maple is pretty to look at, but maybe not the best wood for a stock. It can easily split, especially at the wrist. And, how many authentic, antique long-guns were stocked in tiger maple?

From what source did you obtain that unreliable information? I am curious.

dave

 

[jdkerstetter]

You forgot to put the :stir: in your post.

Are we not talkin' about American longrifles and fowlers here????

Teak is obviously out....not a North American wood. I would argue that is too oily to finish with traditional methods also. It may be suitable for gun stocking but so are many modern synthetics....but not for early American guns.

Birch??? Most common after Maple and Walnut??? On early American guns??? Maybe second to walnut in the 20th century as millions of military as well as Ruger, Marlin and other low end guns can attest. It is suitable for stocks if a heavy, dense, featureless stock is what you want....but so are laminents and (again) synthetics....but not longrifles!

Most of the others you mention appear on early guns infrequently or not at all. Enjoy, J.D.

 

[cynthialee]

So teak and sugar maple are really stout and do the job well.

What if we cast a worldwide net and look to every continent?


Considering that there was a healthy maritime commerce going back 400+ years, I don't see how any wood is to be considered off limits.

 

[Vaino]

The hard maples were chosen by the early gunsmiths because it "did the job" and was readily available. W/ the lush American forests and the plethora of excellent maple trees, why would these early gunsmiths import wood? In fact, for the colonies and even later on, wood was an export. Native trees supplied nearly 100% of the gunstock wood, mostly maple but also walnut, cherry and some birch. Don't think imported wood was even considered.....Fred

 

[jdkerstetter]

My point is that there are many woods that will hold the metal parts together and make a gun. One could even use metals, composites and synthetics.

You "can" stock a gun in anything, but if one desires to be traditional, then the choices should be limited to those used typically on originals.

You have a point about world trade and their are period European guns stock in North American woods. Tons of timber was sent back to Europe on the ships that brought people and trade goods to the Americas. Mahogany from the Caribbean was widely available in the Colonies and carves wonderfully....can't recall seeing longrifles stocked in it as it was too highly regarded for funiture and other decorative items. Oak was everwhere, as was silver maple and any variety of other inferior woods.

Certain woods lend themselves better for stocking longrifles and that is why they were used. There is at least one example of an original stocked in hickory. Likely that builder did it once and then swore off and told everbody else he knew not to use it too. Makes a nice stock but is a nightmare to work.

Enjoy, J.D.

 

[Dane]

There are also extant examples of other fruit woods. We've already mentioned cherry, (very stable, used for levels), but also apple and pear wood. While most of these were used on European guns, there are examples of those built in the colonies as well.