Astronomical cost of wood

[Rifleman1776]

When I was using my wood working shop I became a pretty good scrounger of wood. Yes, buying is very expensive. Putting the word out to people that you are looking for wood got me good responses. But, you do need a chain saw and truck. That said, finding beautiful curly maple has always been elusive. Paying the big bucks is the only way to get it that I know of.

 

[44-henry]

Not always expensive, think I paid about $20 for this board. Yielded a nice longrifle blank, 2 pistol blanks, and a bunch of scrap pieces.

 

[Whitworth]

Look for sawmills in your area, the smaller the mill the better your chances of getting just what you want

 

[Rob M.]

Yep , depends on location . When I buy walnut planks I have from 35 to 50 bucks in each stock ...

 

[sussexmuzllodr]

There is a chestnut tree on the entrance where I used to live. Still mighty and tall...bless those whom get that wood....

 

[sussexmuzllodr]

I would pass on felling an old age tree in good shape and rather take that Buck.

 

[deerstalkert]

finding good figured wood is one hurdle. finding said wood that has been sawn correctly is another. then add proper curing to the mix and the percentage of good wood for sale shrinks.
i could find some fairly inexpensive wood that needs curing, but i will be cured and laid out on a plank before it would be ready!

 

[ColonialRifleSmith]

People with maple oughta to feel blessed. I am in South Texas with my personal mill and only have mesquite, oak, pecan, sycamore, pecan, hackberry and a few others to chose from. Would love to get maple or walnut some day.

I've made Hackberry stock before. It makes a nice stock. Semper Fi.

 

[Col. Batguano]

I've made Hackberry stock before. It makes a nice stock. Semper Fi.

Ooh Rah. That is not only unique and interesting, it's beautiful. The curving grain around the comb area really accentuates the curvy nature of that feature. Well done! I'm in the frozen North, where hackberry isn't normally available. How was that stuff to work with? Because it's not that well known (in other places), I'm guessing it wasn't all that expensive (per board foot)?

I have a bannister job (as well as extensive victorian-styled carving for filling in the baluster area) I want to take on in my house, and want to do it out of walnut. I need about 50 board feet of 12/4 and 8/4 wood for the project, and the local dealer is charging around $20 per board foot. I'm choking on a potential $1000 price tag for the raw material. That's maybe a good thing, because my wife is too, which is also maybe a good thing. It's probably a 100-300 hour project all-in. I don't necessarily mind starting a 100-300 hour project like a gun build (that I want to do), but 100-300 hour project that she wants is harder to find motivation for.

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

I 43 years building guns in Iowa I have only found one curly maple log locally. Nice flame grain and exceptionally hard

What we do have here is lots of excellent walnut and cherry.

 

[LME]

My understanding is that the best wood for longrifle stocks comes from the bottom 5-6 feet of the tree trunk, cutting flush with the ground, which is not a common logging practice. Furniture makers want straight grain as do plywood peelers, but the best rifle stocks have the grain running in a curve thru the wrist of the gun, making it much stronger than a straight grain which runs out in the wrist (think ramrods with run out grain = trouble). This curve in the grain of the wood naturally occurs at ground level when the trunk of the tree is at its largest diameter vs a few feet up when the trunk is smaller and starts a slight taper & straighter grain. Then, to add to the expense, the log if radial cut ("wasting sawing time & wood") will be much more stable & warp resistant than the standard "slab cut" wood. Thus the best gunstock blanks command premium prices. Curl & burl add another layer of cost, thus "presentation grade" vs "standard grade" stocks & their prices,

PS - if it makes anyone feel better about wood prices, I recently paid $42 a sheet for 9 sheets of 4'x8'x1/2" cdx plywood to build a new horse shelter.

A walnut stump is worth as much or more than the whole tree. I am repeating what a lumber man told me many years ago. I bougnt a four foot piece of 2X6 to make a plain stock for a 1886 Win. lever action Shot gun in the early seventies and it $4.50 . Times sure have changed.

 

[Nav]

It's not the stump per se, but the root wad (burl) that garners the big bucks. That gnarly, knotty mess is what produces these...

Pretty much the highest end double gun and shot gun makers all make their stocks with the most highly figured burl wood they can find. To me it's very easy to see why. I know that many makers have expressed they like plain wood, but I can assure you that someone who is paying $20k-$100K for a bespoke gun wants something that will get a reaction from anyone who sees it, even non-hunters/non-firearms people. There are no two alike, and that's what people pay for.

 

[Col. Batguano]

Running a stump with all those roots hanging off of there through a saw mill has got to be a real art, or trick. Lots of places for rocks and stuff to get stuck in there. I imagine the sawyers study the layout of the stump in the same way a diamond cutter might study a stone before they make their first cut.

I agree on high end wood. I think Purdey, Boss, H&H et. al. start their "low end guns" with walnut blanks that START at 2000 (pounds) and go up to 5000 or so. And that's THEIR cost! (surcharges added on of course) They often have the customer pick out the wood themselves from their rather extensive stockpiles. I think their waiting period is around 12-18 months once the customer has finalized their order, which involves fitting and shooting their "try guns". Quite the process. It's nice to see that, in this cad-cam, 3-D printing era, that the "old school ways" still are practiced. Expensive, but when "only the best will do", only the best will do. Can you imagine the monarchy buying their clothing "off the rack"? I can't.

 

[The Crisco Kid]

There's some nice looking wood pictured above but my God those thick rubber butt pads are ugly!

 

[Nav]

My Ruger #1 in .375 H&H has a big rubber butt plate…. It needs it!

 

[ColonialRifleSmith]

Ooh Rah. That is not only unique and interesting, it's beautiful. The curving grain around the comb area really accentuates the curvy nature of that feature. Well done! I'm in the frozen North, where hackberry isn't normally available. How was that stuff to work with? Because it's not that well known (in other places), I'm guessing it wasn't all that expensive (per board foot)?

I have a bannister job (as well as extensive victorian-styled carving for filling in the baluster area) I want to take on in my house, and want to do it out of walnut. I need about 50 board feet of 12/4 and 8/4 wood for the project, and the local dealer is charging around $20 per board foot. I'm choking on a potential $1000 price tag for the raw material. That's maybe a good thing, because my wife is too, which is also maybe a good thing. It's probably a 100-300 hour project all-in. I don't necessarily mind starting a 100-300 hour project like a gun build (that I want to do), but 100-300 hour project that she wants is harder to find motivation for.

Hackberry is a lot like cherry to work with. Perhaps a smidge softer, but not so soft it's not a good stock wood. Pure Tung Oil (not the MinWax stuff) penetrates very well and gives the wood a nice protective finish. Put the oil on liberally and let it soak in for 1 hour then wipe off well. Let dry overnight. Do this 3 times. The 1st application, apply with a soft cloth. The second 0000 steel wool. The 3rd a soft cloth. After a couple days of drying, I polish with BriWax. This gives you a great finish. You can send your slab to mills for shaping such as Pecatonica and Kibler. Semper Fi.

 

[waksupi]

Being in the midwest, you should be able to scrounge wood pretty easy. If you have Amish nearby, they should have some on hand. Furniture builders often have pieces they can't use. I used to go to furniture builders at the Amana Colonies in Iowa to buy wood. The curly maple usually sold cheap, as most wanted pretty straight grain wood in their furniture. My brother used to salvage out old barns in that area, got lots of walnut, maple, oak. As someone said, the smaller gypo mills are a great source. They generally could care less about fancy grain.

 

[SOLANCO]

Groff Hardwoods in Quarryville PA likely has the wood for your dream stock. But you will spend hours with a spray bottle of water and a rag finding it. And you may wind up buying a flitch that would make you new kitchen cabinets to boot.
A single piece of wood suitable for a stock is expensive for a lot of reasons. Not least because it is cherry picked from a lot of otherwise expensive wood.

 

[S.Kenton]

Amish sawmills are your freind! I have several around me. Also any woodworking shops that are nearby. I never buy wood at a gunshow or even outlet store.. you’ll pay through the nose! Maybe should have asked on this very website? I’ve gotten some pretty good deals here,on some off the wall items, just by asking… ya never know.

 

[Col. Batguano]

If you think about it, the stock is probably the most visible aspect of a gun. You're going to spend a few hundred hours toiling over it before you're through. You should take all the time you need to find a piece of wood that you're ultimately happy with. That wait can sometimes be over a year before just the right piece of wood comes along. You only pay for quality once. Some times, you may buy a piece of wood for a build 2-3-4 guns down the line.

Or, the piece of wood you find dictates what that build style will be. I found a perfect piece of reasonably figured maple that had been chain sawed out of the tree (by me) where a branch came out. The grain direction made a perfect 90-100 degree turn over the course of about 6". That says pistol blank to me. I'm still sitting on it but know that's what it has to be. I think I can get 2 blanks out of that chunk of wood so a matched pair would be a fun build.