What are these lumps on my stock?

[Onojutta]

Over time, my rifle that I built back in 2016 has been developing lumps on the side plate panel, and tonight I just noticed one on the top of the wrist. I've never seen anything like this before on any other finished hardwood product. It was a red maple blank from Dunlap and the finish was LMF Sealer and Wahkon Bay Tru-Coat. The gun is kept in my climate controlled dining room (air conditioned in summer) and it hasn't been exposed to rain or excessive moisture in months. The lumps that I first noticed on the side plate panel at least a year ago don't seem to fluctuate with conditions such as temperature and humidity. Any ideas what is the cause, and anything I can do about it?

This last picture is just to show the overall grain pattern of the stock.

 

[BruceHH]

I am betting that the wood was not completely seasoned or dried before your build. Over the years as the drying process (slowly) continued - you are beginning to see wood lift. The wood was not stabilized at the time of the build.

 

[oldwood]

I've seen wood compressions like these from tightening a stock to tightly in a padded vise.

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
I think Oldwood has it exactly right. Wood was compressed by a vise and humidity expanded the dimples. Red maple, which is much softer than sugar maple is likely more prone to this.

dave

 

[PathfinderNC]

That looks like a pretty rifle from just those few pics.

 

[cannonball1]

Vise marks, sanding marks, or any dimple will disappear only to show up later if extra care is not taken to water, heat, and raise the grain several times. Even milling marks may show up when everything looks good, but the wood damage was deep.

 

[kje54]

It's in the beginning states of Pox!! Burn it to keep the infection from spreading!!!

 

[Omahkapi'si]

I have a couple of those on my Pedersoli.

 

[mushka]

If they don't affect the way the rifle works I wouldn't worry about them. It's just something that happens like dings or scratches as far as I am concerned. I don't worry about the beauty of a gun, just it's functionality.

 

[deerstalkert]

it's hatching aliens! quick send it to me! i can Sigourney Weaver them.

beautiful gun. i concur with the dings raising from humidity.

 

[SDSmlf]

Adds character. The nature of wood over time.

 

[Onojutta]

It's definitely not because the wood wasn't seasoned long enough or stabilized; I bought the stock blank in 2009 and didn't finish the build until 2016.

Interesting thought about the vice. I was careful not to compress it too tightly and there aren't similar marks on the lock side, but you never know. However, I'm not sure that would explain the lump on the wrist as that part was never in a vice. Also, I have removed dents from the stock using stream, and even those didn't raise like these lumps.

 

[ZUG]

Warts ---

 

[oldwood]

Use the gun just as it is. Think of all the stories possible. The vast majority of original guns have stains , cuts , dings of every description. Back in the mid 1980's I went to the spring nationals at Friendship Ind. . A couple of the best builders of that time period had built a Jaeger Rifle , and to antique it they spotted the patch box side with blue ink , as if 250 yrs. ago somebody was using a quill pen and had an accident with it splashing ink onto the gun stock. Accidental disaster , no , genius. Just roll with it and enjoy the rifle.........................oldwood

 

[Notchy Bob]

I can't help you with the lumps, but would like to say you did a fine job on that rifle. It is beautiful.

Notchy Bob

 

[Onojutta]

Thanks for all the compliments. It was my first build and I was very happy with it. When I started it I wasn’t even sure I could pull it off. Ended up getting a Judges Choice Award in the first build category at Dixon’s that year.

These lumps don’t bother me and in a way they add some natural imperfection which helps give it character as a few have suggested, and with that the nicks and dings that I am responsible for don’t bother me as much. More curious about what caused them than anything.

 

[Scota@4570]

During the build you can get dings and dents. IF you san them out you have compressed wood in those areas. If you do not whisker the stock well they remain. Over time the wood swells up. You get lumps.

 

[Col. Batguano]

While the moisture / seasoning thing is one theory, it could also be due to internal stresses on the wood that were relieved as the stock was whittled down. As the stock got smaller, the surrounding wood removed also relieved those forces that were holding the wood down.

I built a pistol from wood that came from the junction of a branch and trunk. Just a chain saw job. I wanted grain that would follow the bend of the grip with minimal runout. I seasoned the blank for 5 years, and then cut my blank oversized, and left it for 2 more years. Dang it if it didn't move in those 2 years. Then I cut it down closer, and left it another year. It moved some more. Only THEN could I cut it to "ready to work on the pistol" size.

 

[Clint Meier]

I had a very similar thing happen to a military stock I was refinishing. I steamed every dent and ding to raise the wood as much as possible before doing minimal sanding. I did wet the wood and used a heat gun to dry it quickly between each sanding to whisker it. After applying an aniline dye and then a BLSO finish and letting it sit for a day, every place I had tried to steam raise had become a raised bump. In over 40 years, I had never had that happen before, and can't explain for sure why it happened. I can only guess that steam raising and then wetting/heating to whisker had something to do with it.

 

[Woody Morgan]

Lumps come with age. I call 'em "barnacles".

wm