Another discussion about unique stock wood.

[GANGGREEN]

I know that there's a reason why most originals are stocked in cherry, walnut or maple, but it's hard not to look for interesting and unique things. I had a very large American chestnut tree on my property until recently when it succumbed to the blight and I ended up cutting it, milling it and using it for furniture in my house. I have some incredible pieces that are now absolutely priceless to me. I just found a piece of reclaimed Chestnut that looks reasonably stable and which is large enough for a couple of stocks and I'm thinking about pulling the trigger and using it for that purpose. It's 2.375" thick, 10-12" wide (I don't remember exactly) and 6' long, so I could likely get two full stocks out of it if there are no cracks or other issues.

I've never built a gun with Chestnut and don't know anyone who has, but I've done some furniture, some picture frames and some turkey calls with it and I think it would be fine for a plain Appalachian mountain rifle stock. Thoughts? By the way, if I don't use it for flintlock stocks, I'll likely still try to purchase it and use it for a dining room bench or something as I have a large dining room table made of Chestnut.

 

[Rudyard]

I know no reason you cant stock in your Chessnut so long as its stable . I think any wood will be fine Oak its said will corrode iron but dosnt seem to phase the Japonese matchlock makers Ive stocked in Kuary , Pine, Mulberry ,& even Jarrah and some stuff no idea what it was but its a blunderbuss now ..In short I'de say go for it. Its a gun stock not a bow or a cricket bat . Some of the nicest stocks I've made where some riven Sycomore that was put aside for fence posts .( English Sycomore isn't the same as US, its essensially Maple ) Have at it & lots of luck . Rudyard

 

[GANGGREEN]

We'll see. I have to secure the piece first (I'm trying to work out a trade), then I'll need to look it over and decide whether it's suitable before doing something with it. As I said, I've worked with Chestnut before and it's actually very easy to work, stable, hard enough, etc. etc..

 

[oldwood]

In the early 1980's, while making fire wood out of a pile of logs on an abandoned log yard , found an interesting log. I threw the log in w/ a couple other derelict logs bound for the sawmill down the road. Turned out , the log made some sassafras gunstock blanks , when dried for 1"per year. In this case , the wood was cut 3"'s thick, so three yr's later , one became a .58 cal. Jager rifle. Another was used for a mtn. rifle. The wood is very stable and light in weight , resembling low grade English walnut. It's easy to work, and stains up just like Eng. walnut .
Years later , I asked my hunting buddy w/ the duplicating machine , if he had any really unusual wood , he said yup. He cut me a southern mtn. rifle stock out of Horse chestnut. It is a fine textured softish wood W/ tan stripes running longitudinally in the wood grain.
It's leaning against my workbench now , waiting it's turn this winter. Maybe a southern mtn. squirrel rifle caliber??? Once I read they made southern rifles out of most any available wood. We'll see.......oldwood

 

[Brokennock]

In the early 1980's, while making fire wood out of a pile of logs on an abandoned log yard , found an interesting log. I threw the log in w/ a couple other derelict logs bound for the sawmill down the road. Turned out , the log made some sassafras gunstock blanks , when dried for 1"per year. In this case , the wood was cut 3"'s thick, so three yr's later , one became a .58 cal. Jager rifle. Another was used for a mtn. rifle. The wood is very stable and light in weight , resembling low grade English walnut. It's easy to work, and stains up just like Eng. walnut .
Years later , I asked my hunting buddy w/ the duplicating machine , if he had any really unusual wood , he said yup. He cut me a southern mtn. rifle stock out of Horse chestnut. It is a fine textured softish wood W/ tan stripes running longitudinally in the wood grain.
It's leaning against my workbench now , waiting it's turn this winter. Maybe a southern mtn. squirrel rifle caliber??? Once I read they made southern rifles out of most any available wood. We'll see.......oldwood

Can we see some pics of the stock, please.

 

[Brokennock]

I know that there's a reason why most originals are stocked in cherry, walnut or maple, but it's hard not to look for interesting and unique things. I had a very large American chestnut tree on my property until recently when it succumbed to the blight and I ended up cutting it, milling it and using it for furniture in my house. I have some incredible pieces that are now absolutely priceless to me. I just found a piece of reclaimed Chestnut that looks reasonably stable and which is large enough for a couple of stocks and I'm thinking about pulling the trigger and using it for that purpose. It's 2.375" thick, 10-12" wide (I don't remember exactly) and 6' long, so I could likely get two full stocks out of it if there are no cracks or other issues.

I've never built a gun with Chestnut and don't know anyone who has, but I've done some furniture, some picture frames and some turkey calls with it and I think it would be fine for a plain Appalachian mountain rifle stock. Thoughts? By the way, if I don't use it for flintlock stocks, I'll likely still try to purchase it and use it for a dining room bench or something as I have a large dining room table made of Chestnut.

What does it weight compared to maple and walnut?

May we please see some pics of your chestnut furniture and such. Especially the table you speak of?

 

[GANGGREEN]

I'd be happy to post some photos of the various furniture, but I'm on the road right now. Give me a couple of days and I'll try to remember to do so.

What does it weight compared to maple and walnut?

May we please see some pics of your chestnut furniture and such. Especially the table you speak of?

 

[Eric Krewson]

In the Lenore Museum in below Norris dam in Tn there is a southern rifle that appears to be stocked in American chestnut. I grew up just over the ridge from the museum and remember my dad cutting the dead American chestnut snags that were still standing and making picture frames from the wood. All the snags were wormy after standing for so many years.

https://www.facebook.com/RiceGristMill/?ref=page_internal

 

[GANGGREEN]

That's interesting. I occasionally make it to East Tennessee and maybe I'll try to find that rifle.

 

[GANGGREEN]

For what it's worth, I find Chestnut to be at least as dense as Walnut, but not as dense as maple. Here's the blank in question.

 

[oldwood]

Brokennock........I have no cell svc. where I live , so have no modern phone for pictures. Horse chestnut is nothing like regular American chestnut. American chestnut is somewhere between black oak and walnut. A touch heavier than walnut , and shares walnut's stability.
Horse chestnut is similar to light weight white maple from those huge white maple trees growing along rivers in central Pa.. White maple trees can display a very graphic wide curl that stains up nicely. It's very stable and will make up into a 1 lb. lighter rifle than harder more closely grained sugar maple or Red maple. Hard is heavy , in the world of wood. So , the heavy effect of a bulky m/l barrel can be slightly offset by using softer wood. This thinking is more utilitarian than the modern mindset of fancy figured expensive gunstocks. In the old days , gun stocks were made from many kinds of wood , many times whatever came through the gunstocker's door. Chuck Dixon has hanging on his wall in the store a finely constructed large cal. Lehigh school Schimmel (poor boy )rifle made of beautifully striped maple complete w/termite tunnels running in all directions in the wood. It's obvious, this rifle was made after the termite miners did their work. The stock has two r/r thimbles , and no butt plate. Unlike most observers , soon as I studied the gun , I was smitten w/ it. Hey...I got way to far into the weeds. Sorry if I bored you to sleep..................oldwood

 

[Ames]

The one I'm waiting for is pictures of a gun stocked with apple. One of my favorite woods for bowls and powder horns. The colors and grain really give you pause. You never know what you will find for color or inclusions until you start working a piece of it.
I have heard of guns stocked with it before, back in the day, but no pictures yet. I know it was probably not ideal, but I'm tempted to age a slab for a half stock. Anybody got pics of that??

 

[GANGGREEN]

No, but I've used Apple for turkey calls and it's awesome. The problem is that typically before an apple dies it goes hollow, so you might have a hard time finding a solid piece of wood large enough.

 

[GANGGREEN]

I find the Chestnut to be more intriguing because it's functionally extinct today and it was a very common wood back in the day.

 

[Ames]

Ahhhhh, but I have the orchard to cut the stock from. I'm free to pick and choose.
And we are now replanting chestnut.

 

[GANGGREEN]

All American chestnut.

 

[GANGGREEN]

The drawer and 2 of the doors on the Hoosier are bird's-eye maple, otherwise it's all Chestnut.

 

[Notchy Bob]

I've hear a rumor of a few old-growth chestnut trees that somehow survived the blight in a remote location in Kentucky. Man, I hope it's true.

Several years ago, I was gifted a stepstool made of chestnut wood recycled from an old barn. It is beautiful. I can take a snapshot and post it if anybody is interested. The growth rings are very prominent, as with ash, but the wood has a very pleasing, deep, reddish brown color. I have never seen a rifle stocked with it, but would not be surprised to hear of chestnut being used for that purpose.

What does it weight compared to maple and walnut?

I think the best place to find that sort of thing is the Wood Database, which gives some very technical information concerning weight, strength, modulus of rupture, elasticity, etc. Here is the link: Wood Database: American Chestnut You can look up other woods and compare them.

Notchy Bob

 

[Snotty54]

I know that there's a reason why most originals are stocked in cherry, walnut or maple, but it's hard not to look for interesting and unique things. I had a very large American chestnut tree on my property until recently when it succumbed to the blight and I ended up cutting it, milling it and using it for furniture in my house. I have some incredible pieces that are now absolutely priceless to me. I just found a piece of reclaimed Chestnut that looks reasonably stable and which is large enough for a couple of stocks and I'm thinking about pulling the trigger and using it for that purpose. It's 2.375" thick, 10-12" wide (I don't remember exactly) and 6' long, so I could likely get two full stocks out of it if there are no cracks or other issues.

I've never built a gun with Chestnut and don't know anyone who has, but I've done some furniture, some picture frames and some turkey calls with it and I think it would be fine for a plain Appalachian mountain rifle stock. Thoughts? By the way, if I don't use it for flintlock stocks, I'll likely still try to purchase it and use it for a dining room bench or something as I have a large dining room table made of Chestnut.

I thought about building a rifle out of Chestnut. Asked Fred Stutzenberger(Black Powder 411) and he said he did not think it had the integrity to build a gun out of. Just one mans opinion, might want to check on that.

 

[GANGGREEN]

Who knows. A gun isn't furniture, but you see the furniture photos, not sure what about Chestnut wouldn't have the appropriate "integrity". In looking at the very old, reclaimed blank that I just purchased, there are some thin cracks in it, so I'm not sure I want to try for this project, but I have new Chestnut and it doesn't seem inclined to crack anywhere near as much as many varieties of wood.

As for the "old growth trees" that exist, when the American Chestnut Society biologist looked at mine (it was healthy at the time), her comment was "WHEN it dies, not if, but when". I know where there are others including one that's rumored to be as large as mine was, but I'll believe it when I see it.

I thought about building a rifle out of Chestnut. Asked Fred Stutzenberger(Black Powder 411) and he said he did not think it had the integrity to build a gun out of. Just one mans opinion, might want to check on that.