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Send wood for company to make a rifle stock...?

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More to the point, if it was a suitable wood for gun stocks you would see it on guns that are around. Traditional (and some non-traditional) woods seen around North America are;
Ash, Apple, Beech, Birch, Cherry, Maple, Mesquite, Persimmon, Pear, Walnut. I'm not saying there aren't others, but that's what's seen. (And a few of the above very rarely.) Osage Orange grows all over the place, and has for a long time. If it were at all suitable don't you think you would have seen it by now?
 
My experience with Osage Orange(Hedge) is it will cut when green, but when dried becomes hard as a rock. When I was a kid, over 50 years ago, we had a old pasture fence that had used hedge for fence posts. I could not drive a staple into it without bending the staple or it would only go in about 1/4 inch. We wired most of the barbed wire to the old posts. I think, as others have said, you would find it very hard to work it once it is dried out.
 
Wind shakes are dark brown splits in osage trunk from the inside out and are suspected to be caused by violent winds during the trees life. I would say 90% of the osage I have cut had shakes to some degree. They fan out and may go in several directions at varying depths.

Here is a picture of some wood a friend cut with some clear logs and some with very bad wind shakes. If you look closely you can see the spiderweb veins branching out on the smaller logs from the core as well, these are wind shakes, not as pronounced as the larger logs but the wood won't be sound in these areas.

mikes wood.jpg
 
I THINK Jim Chambers has someone who can do it. Their contact info is in this link:
http://www.flintlocks.com/order.htm

However, Pecatonica in Rockford, IL advertises they will carve your wood into a full stock for $ 100.00.
http://longrifles-pr.com/services.shtml

Hope this helps,

Gus
I also second Pecatonica. They’ve carved me a stock before out of some of the prettiest curly maple one would imagine. Yes, they also advertise that they’ll use your wood if desired. They are also great people to work with.

Respectfully, Cowboy
 
Bois'darc wouldn't make a good stock. I've never seen it done. Makes good bows, though.

I had an Outdoor Life anual book from 1988 IIRC and one article titled "The Immaculete Obsession" or something like that was on a collection of Weatherby Rifles all stocked in exoctic woods and one of them was Osage Orange. It was distinctive looking and shows that if you are willing to pay for it it can be done. And it would be a great way to make an already heavy gun even heavier.
 
I do some woodworking and have used a lot of OO a/k/a many other names. It is too heavy to be practical for rifle stocks. As said, it is a bugger to work when seasoned and gets harder with time. Plus it is loaded with silicone, not unlike sand and is very hard on cutting tools. Dry, hard OO will even make sparks when cut with a chain saw. I like it for some things but not rifle stocks. I have a feeling Pecatonica would refuse the job if asked.
 
Harvest some trees and sell them to bow and duck call makers, or, cut the 4" limbs into fire wood size.... then get some pretty maple or walnut with the proceeds for your gun stock. The stuff (OO) burns like hard coal and throws a tremendous amount of heat. We always used it in our tipi during winter camps..... Had to be careful with it or the heat would run you out.... We bought or were gifted pulled rail road fence posts some of which had been under water a number of times. Even cutting those up threw sparks from the chain saw.

Just sayin......
 

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