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Why This Wood and Not That on 18th Century Rifles

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There are hedge apple trees where I live big enough to cut stock blanks from, A few years ago I helped a friend cut a log from one to use in making bows. Even helped him split staves from it.

Osage Orange aka bois d'arc is a great wood, I keep a bunch of it around. You can find it all twisted and knotty with plenty of character but I think it would be tough to work in to a stock. At first it is as yellow as a safety vest but then turns a deep rich brown. Really old osage turns almost a purple color. Thinking it would be very heavy as well for a rifle stock but certainly durable enough.

IMG_6507.jpg
 
Location, soil quality, precipitation ,elevation etc definitely factors in the suitability or grain density and character of the wood. Aren't Burls some sort of "immune response" or somesuch by the tree to a fungus?

There are some truly old growth Oaks south of me in old graveyards, and they are impressive. The branch diameter (and length) dwarf any whole trees I've seen elsewhere. A mature prarie/grassland forest must have been really something to see. They were sometimes described as open "parks" with bowling green flat grasses and huge trees hundreds of years old. I'd expect under difficult growing conditions the wood, ah, would be extremely dense and close grained. I was told growing up that once World War 2 got going decent dimensional lumber became difficult to get, quality declined and it wasn't properly kiln dried. The situation has steadily declined since then. I've often marveled at the high quality clear timber in joists and flooring and general carpentry materials in pre war homes. That type of wood simply isn't available anymore.

Here's another one I haven't heard mentioned - How about Redwood? It was a popular timber species for siding, pretty light, splits easy, rot resistance. Maybe? Somebody had to try it at some point.
 
Redwood is WAY too soft for anything beyond siding, fencing, fence posts and other things that soft pine will work for.

It's easy to sink your thumbnail into a piece of redwood.
 
There are hedge apple trees where I live big enough to cut stock blanks from, A few years ago I helped a friend cut a log from one to use in making bows. Even helped him split staves from it.

Our Texas folks on the forum can set me straight but I think those trees are Osage Orange or bodark. They planted them for farm and road hedges here in PA. I don't think anything eats that fruit

Thanks
O.R.
 
Our Texas folks on the forum can set me straight but I think those trees are Osage Orange or bodark. They planted them for farm and road hedges here in PA. I don't think anything eats that fruit

Thanks
O.R.
Those things used to drop off the trees at my Great grandfather's farm and just lay there turning all brown and rotten. We used to shoot them up and a white sticky goo would ooze out of the pieces.
 
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