Ash for gunstock

[Brasilikilt]

Hey all

I have available to me a 72" piece of 3" thick plain grained ash.

Is ash too hard and difficult to work in order to be a good gunstock?

I've heard of curly ash being used for gunstocks, but wondered why it doesn't seem to be used as often as maple.

To me it seems hard enough, relatively easy to work and not difficult to stain, but then again I haven't tried building a rifle from it.....

look forward to hearing your feedback

thanks

Iain

 

[CrackStock]

I have seen mention of it on originals. If it will do for baseball bats, I cannot see why it would not make a good gunstock.

CS

 

[Harddog]

Is ash too hard and difficult to work in order to be a good gunstock?

I've heard of curly ash being used for gunstocks, but wondered why it doesn't seem to be used as often as maple.

I believe that ash is not used much because maple is the ttraditional wood used on American longrifles. Ash is also not very good looking wood in comparison to maple walnut of cherry.

No reason why you can't use ash for a gunstock if you want your gun to look like a Louisville slugger.

Randy Hedden

 

[benvenuto]

Have heard it was used on Rev War muskets, but can't speak from experience

 

[MSW]

i've done some carving with ash, and it seems to me that this would make a decent (although probably not PC) stock... maybe a poorboy style might be more consistent. this would be a good opportunity to make youself a custom fit stock, and then you could have something that was exactly to your specifications.

i made a stock out of lacewood which can't possibly be PC, but i like it just fine.

that's just one guy's opinion, but i think that there's a good bit to be said for pleasing yourself before you get all wrapped around the notion of trying to please everyone else.

 

[Roy]

I have seen a few original Southern rifles stocked in curly ash and have made a Tennessee rifle from it as well. It makes a fine gunstock, the heavy grain and stripe of the curl almost gives it a checkerboard look. Its decent to work with but I do prefer maple. :v

 

[wolfers]

There are early examples made from ash but they are not common. Flame and curley ash are really nice looking and make a very nice gun stock.

 

[oldarmy]

Shumays book's RCA mention both Ash and Birch blanks being in gunbuilder's inventory.
If you want to use Ash, then go for it. One thing is sure.. it will be different.
I am sure the old timers would use what ever they had, fortantly for us they had great Maple and walnut.

 

[Mike Brooks]

I'v estocked several guns in ash. It's very hard and heavy. The open pourous growth rings tend to crumle away, which isn't a good thing when you're relief carving, but with a little care it will take carving also.

 

[Many Klatch]

I had a .62 that was stocked in Ash. The gun was named "Old Greenteeth". It turns out that Ash turns green if you use the standard Maple Stains. I'm color blind so I didn't know that the gun was tinted green when I bought it off of a blanket. My friends thought it was pretty funny. :rotf:

I wound up sanding all of the finish off and went with a Linseed oil finish. That took a lot of the green out of the stock, but it was still there if you looked at it in the correct light.

The ash stock was a simple design, no carving, just a "using and abusing" kind of gun. I'd use it again for a simple stock design.

Many Klatch

 

[don getz]

:rotf: Many.....that green tint in your rifle is not from the ash, it came from the stain that was used. I think Chromium Trioxide will turn a stock green...Dunlap's Magic Maple will turn it green, over a period of time. Ash is not a common wood used on kentuckies, but it is seen on a lot of southern mountain rifles. In a curly version, it is a pretty wood. I have a great chunk gun built by Ron Borron in curly ash...Don

 

[djnye]

actually, ash takes coloring with aquafortis very well. i have been using it regularly for many years to color splint for black ash baskets. adds beautiful shades from coppertone to brown and does nott effect the surface sheen on the peeled satin splint. with the contrast of early to late wood in ash it could be made into a "right sassy" gunstock. black ash kitchen cupboards rival oak in every respect.

take care, daniel

 

[cptleo1]

You have to go a little slow with the carving.

About the weight, I am not sure, this is the only smoothie I have.

Others who have handled and shot it really liked the feel and handling.

This is what you might end up with.

 

[crockett]

We use hickory in the U.S. for axe handles but in Europe ash is used alot so I would figure it is pretty tough and not prone to splitting. Just make sure you get the grain running through the wrist, you may have to slant the stock of the blank wood, etc to accomplish this.

 

[Stophel]

I have a curly (and I mean CURLY) ash stock blank cut from the butt/fork of a tree that I have not yet really cut into. Haven't decided exactly what I want to do with it, and dreading cutting that super-strong curl...

Yes, it does take Aqua fortis VERY nicely, and seems to make a more reddish color than sugar maple will. I am into lighter colors, myself, and need to experiment with a light color/stain/finish for ash.

I have only done just a little practice carving on ash. It actually carves fairly well, but the porous rings visually interrupt the carving.

I have seen one German wheellock rifle stocked in curly ash, and Gun #111 in RCA is stocked in Ash (this gun could easily be either German or American...I lean towards German). The English used a lot of Ash for stocking military guns and "utility" guns sent to America in the 17th and early 18th centuries (often painted brown).

 

[Cherokee]

I would use it. PC or not if a guy had a busted stock 150 years ago and all he had was a piece of ash well that would be PC. You can dispute whats PC for years and it wont amount to anything other than hurt feelings.
I would use it and never give it a thought.

 

[Va.Manuf.06]

I would use it. PC or not if a guy had a busted stock 150 years ago and all he had was a piece of ash well that would be PC. You can dispute whats PC for years and it wont amount to anything other than hurt feelings.
I would use it and never give it a thought.

:v I think all of the above posts have pretty well shown that it is PC? Anyway, I had years ago a Whitney M1795 Contract musket that had been converted to a percussion shotgun. It was restocked in ash with an oak under rib for the barrel. The color and contrast of the wood was very nice - reddish hue on the ash stock and a golden color to the oak rib and age brown metal. Done, probably, in the 1850s, it had come out of New York state and was a nice example of a plain but tasteful working man's gun. I guess all of this shows that ash was used from the earliest days of firearms until at least the percussion era. Ash is not a terribly common wood but it was used for lots of purposes including gunstocks when available. I'd say go for it.

 

[Stophel]

I think a few of the early 18th century American made "barn guns" (for lack of a better term...you know, the big long barreled smoothbore guns with sheet iron guards and nailed on buttplates) were stocked in ash, and some of the Rev. War "wall guns" were also stocked in ash. It was considered a heavy duty wood...with good reason!

 

[rich pierce]

See if you can get the grain to run through the wrist correctly. Generally quarter sawn blanks for stocks from near the butt have some curvature that helps lay out a stock; your piece may or may not have this feature.

Ash is heavy and strong.

 

I'm working on a precarve early lancaster in ash I got from **** Greensides, at pecatonica. I'm guessing it's about 10% heavier than maple. Mine has only moderate curl. Got it to build a fun gun in .58cal. Inletting so far has been pretty easy. We'll see when it comes to carving. I bought it also because of the Ash Borer infestation, and the fact it's getting harder to find.
Bill