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gun from firewood

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old ugly

40 Cal.
Joined
May 7, 2009
Messages
725
Reaction score
548
Location
stink dog creek, Alberta
i have heard discussions about birch is only good for firewood. so i thought i would try to build a gun stock from birch that i felled. you just never know until you try.
the birch isn't the nicest wood to work with but, if access to better is limited or your budget is low its worth a try.
--this is what i built--
20" short barrel 54cal flintlock, some might call it a canoe gun.
i cut down a Lyman barrel and turned it octagon to round,
i made the hooked breach tang from 1"square stock
i made the butt plate from 2" band iron.
i made the thimble from round stock.
i hand made front sight
i hand made side plate from 2"band iron
a trigger and guard from TOW
hand made the sling, sling bolt, sling swivel, buckle and sling tightener.
reshaped L&R lock.
i dyed the birch with alcohol diluted leather dye
i hand brushed the stripes using undiluted leather dye.
true oil finish
and thanks to walkingeagle for donated parts.
just cant wait to try it out.
ou
tom
 

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Many Scandinavian countrys & Russia (As in the Nagant's) used Birch it seemed to work fine . But it could be like all timber there are variants and differences, plus wood will vary tree to tree .
Rudyard
 
I've always thought that Birch was attractive enough wood and I've seen some "flame Birch" that was simply brilliant. I've toyed with the idea of purchasing a small hobby sawmill and when/if I ever do, I'll definitely mill some Birch logs here on the property.
 
Birch is many times harder , and more dense , than a lot of Appalachian white and red maple. W/o foreknowledge of the type wood an original gun stock might be , a figured birch stock might be mistaken for a maple , cherry , or a fruit wood stock. Many types of plain grain light colored wood can have artificial figure added , so why can't birch? I see no difficulty.............oldwood
 
I`ve got a flame birch stock for a tiny .22 in the que of projects. Hopefully i`ll get to see yours in person one day
 
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