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Maple stock with knot - is it too weak

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steved

steved

40 Cal.
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My friend sent out a beautiful maple blank to be milled into a precarved stock with a Bucks County profile. Now that it has been shaped it is now evident that there is a knot low on the wrist above the bottom stock flat where the trigger guard tang will be located. The question is: will this knot be just a "beauty mark" or will it weaken the stock and risk having the stock split at the wrist when fired?


maplestockwithknot_zps23ac63e3.jpeg


http://i1241.photobucket.com/albums/gg518/jerseyflinter/maplestockwithknot_zps23ac63e3.jpeg

If the prevailing thought is that the wrist is weak due to the knot location, could it be strengthened by drilling up from the bottom flat through the knot and using Acraglas to fix into place a dowel wrapped in figerglass gloth? Looking for opinions and advice before my friend starts his build.

PS: Not sure why the image isn't showing in my post. I copied and pasted the image code directly from PhotoBucket
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Personally, I don't see a real problem with it. The wrist appears to me to have real good grain structure other than that knot. The knot appears to me to be a solid one. I may think differently if the wood was in my hands. Again, what I see, it appears fine to me. I don't think I would do anything with that knot.
 
Does the knot go all the way through?

What is the grain like in the wrist? I can't tell through the milling marks.
 
I think you're ok. Though the wrist is the thinnest and weakest area of the stock, the area where the lock is inletted is the thinnest of that. Usually when a stock lets go, the crack develops through the lock inlet.

If it really worries you though, you could drill a long hole through the wrist area and reinforce it with a titanium rod and epoxy it in place. I have one in my femur, and that's pretty stable now!
 
"risk having the stock split at the wrist when fired"

No. It takes a tremendous amount of power and pressure to break a piece of maple or nearly any hardwood. You won't get enough recoil from the gun to break the stock. Imaine trying to break that stock over your knee. You'd have to be a gorilla to do it. Whether the knot can propegate a lengthwise crack is a gamble though. IF the wood is dry and IF you seal it well you will probably get away with it no problem.
 
Hard to tell from the picture, but based on that alone, I'd give it a go. Good luck, looks like a nice piece of wood.

Robby
 
If 'twere mine, and I were concerned about it's strength, I would drill a 3/8" hole from the barrel channel, in through the breech block mortise, back through the wrist and glue in a peice of hickory ramrod.....and worry about it no longer.

Wouldn't build a fancy gun from a stock with a knot like that, but a nice Bucks County Schimmel.

Enjoy, J.D.
 
jdkerstetter said:
If 'twere mine, and I were concerned about it's strength, I would drill a 3/8" hole from the barrel channel, in through the breech block mortise, back through the wrist and glue in a peice of hickory ramrod.....and worry about it no longer.

Wouldn't build a fancy gun from a stock with a knot like that, but a nice Bucks County Schimmel.

Enjoy, J.D.
Click to expand...
Best advice yet. that what I would do allso
 
Hi guys. I'm the beneficiary of JerseyFlinter's help here and general guidance on flintlock history and building. A lifelong hunter, and long time flintlock shooter and hunter, I'm new to building. I'm the now former owner of the stock in question. After inspecting the knot in person in the past 24 hours, and being inclined to move forward with the wood (fabulous, isn't it; I'm fortunate to have had access to a small supply of nice striped hard maple), someone demonstrated the strength of the wrist by hammering the stock against the concrete floor. The wrist survived with flying colors, but the stock developed a hell of a long crack in the butt. I've decided to start over with the sister blank, the other side of the board, and hope for the best. I thank all of you, and especially JerseyFlinter, for your advice and suggestions. This project is supposed to be fun, and I'm excited to move forward with a new piece of nice wood.
 
Hey JD, thank you for the positive reinforcement. I'll tell you, the knot was one hurdle I thought I could work through, get over, and live with. But the big crack in the butt (an accurate description and metaphor) put me in a dispirited mood that no business deal gone south could achieve. As my first build, it felt like more technical work, more risk of failure, and much more time than I planned or wanted. In areas where I'm more experienced, I'd agree with your rally cry and press on, but this is all too new to me. In time and with some projects under my belt I'll probably feel and think I'm ready for these kinds of challenges. Not yet. Also, I'm admitting to being shallow here, but just as my first girlfriend had some memorable attributes that shall forever stand out in my loving memory as perfect, so too do I want my first flintlock to be a thing of pronounced beauty and flawless function. Later on, this grizzled old fart will feel happy to try out less than perfect wood and ill-fitting parts as just another sign of growing old and accepting life's and my own imperfections.
 
Next time you want to test a piece of wood like that to destruction, send it on up to me and I'll phone you the results.
Robby
 

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