Cutting trees for stock blanks

[schloss]

I'm looking for information on cutting some trees for stock blanks. My dad has more trees than he can keep up with right now, and I was wanting to catch a few for stock blanks. There's just something about the thought of being able to carry a rifle made from the trees I grew up running around.

Anyway, I found this thread: http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/248870/
but I want more information. Should I cut the tree high, and try to pull the stump out of the ground, and use what is buried 2 to 3 feet underground? A few of the trees are 2 or 2-1/2 feet across, some of the others might be a little small, but what I can't get gunstocks out of, I was planning to cut for furniture.

The trees that have to come down are ash, hard maple, soft maple (I'm pretty sure they are red, but might not be hard enough for stocks), and a few cherry. If anyone can point me to any resources for this online, or has done it themselves, I'd appreciate it.

My dad has the sawmill and everything to get this accomplished, if I have to pull stumps, I want to do it before the ground freezes, though.

 

[flintriflesmith]

The tree species you are talking about do not have any usefull wood "2 or 3 feet underground." Really large walnuts are worth digging up but not maples or cherry.

There is usually some of the very best wood, in terms of grain called compression curl, right where the tree swells out at the ground line. If you dig down 4 to 6 inches so the saw will clear and cut the tree there you will have the wood that is commonly refered to as stump wood. To get the best curl from that part of the tree and have the grain flow best through the wrist you will need to quarter saw the butt log. Those blanks sell at a premium because they are a small part of the entire tree and because quartering them wastes material.

Gary

 

[Birddog6]

Best to uproot it withtree top still on it. If you do it that way you just dig one side with a backhoe a lil & push the tree over from the side you dug from. Then take a power washer & wash off the roots & then you can REALLY see where to cut at the stump. That bottom 1' in the ground is important as far as grain & color goes, and you need to get past it if you can, so you have room to seal it & etc.
Also seal the wood as soon as you cut it. Some of them will dry & crack within a day, so do it then. Then I reseal them 2 more times & slather it on thick. I use actual log sealer the loggers use.

Keith Lisle

 

[schloss]

If you dig down 4-6", how do you keep the dirt out of the saw chain? I'm leaning more towards the uprooting method, just because I can haul it off and wash it before cutting, but still open to suggestions.

I was really wanting to cut a few in a couple of weeks, but we're in the 20's right now, and the dirt is going to freeze to the backhoe if I try to dig it right now. I may just have to save that method for a couple of the more promising trees.

 

[Birddog6]

You can't..... that is why I suggest powerwash it. On the last one I took 2 two gal drums of water to the stump & the power washer & cleaned it right there. No dirt or rocks to ruin the chain. If you cut the stump with dirt in it, take ALLOT of spare chains, you will need them. :wink:
And if you are thinking of rain washing out the dirt :hmm: it may....... in about 5-6 years. That dirt is usually packed in there from the years of the tree sitting on it, in my experiences it don't just fall out unless in really sandy soil. And if it is red clay, it will NEVER wash out, you have to dig it out & power wash it.

Keith Lisle

 

[schloss]

Well, after looking at things today, I've decided that I'd be looking at silver maple, so those will probably be passed over entirely. If they are as soft as I've been told, I'm not even going to bother with them.

The cherries I'll still go for, and I guess there are some good sugar maples over at my grandpa's old farm. There is one really good one that died a few years ago that has started to rot considerably already, so I'm hoping my dad and his siblings will ok me to go over there and grab a few of the live trees before they end up like that one. I'm kind of disappointed to have to wait for next spring to do it, should have gotten going on this earlier in the year, but when the weather is good, I have no shortage of things to do, and when it gets cold, I find myself with plenty of spare time. But, next spring it is.

Thanks for the cutting advice.

 

[Birddog6]

Yes. forget the silver maples.

Keith Lisle

 

[schloss]

I actually took one small piece of the soft maple to plane down some. It had incredible curl in it. I might turn it into some grips for one of my revolvers, but the stock search will probably be on hold until spring or summer.

Thanks for the input.

 

[Birddog6]

Oh yes, some of it is really pretty. But all I have ever seen was really soft & pithy..... You might cut some & have it stabilized & it make a good knife handle or pistol handle, if it is that important to you for the expense of doing it.

I was looking at a HUGE sugar maple trunk all weekend. Must be 4' dia. x 8' long & forks out at one end, prob some awesome curl in it. Just cut & laying for someone to haul it away. All the small stuff is gone for firewood. However, it is in town, prob full of nails, etc. And it is 600 miles from me too, so not worth of the effort. Sure did bug me tho, it laying there looking at me for 3 days !

Keith Lisle

Keith Lisle

 

[schloss]

Yeah, distance is always a problem for me. My dad's and my grandpa's farms are about 3 hours from me, makes things less convenient for sure. I walked to church yesterday, and saw a handful of huge cherry trees along the street that need to be pulled out - for about 10 seconds, I wasn't hating living in town. Anyway, I'm poking around closer to home to see if I can find something. I think most people around will give up the lower 6 feet if I ask. I just wish there were more hard maples in the area.

 

[Ft. Jefferson]

I hate to rain on parades but the truth be known, more than a few major stock maker's use ALOT of soft maple. There just isn't enough good, hard, red/sugar maple to go around. I've built many rifle with both and for the most part, the soft maple is easier use and finish. I've found that you tend to get more curl throughout the stock with soft maple, however, i've found that you get more CONSISTENT curl, lines per inch, with the hard stuff. I've never had a problem with strength either. Soft maple is plenty strong enough, hard maple might be overkill, if that makes sense. I have noted that soft maple takes stain better and will come out darker than hard maple, all things considered. Of course, we all would like to have good, hard maple wood on our guns, but it just ain't gonna happen unless YOU specifically order HARD maple from a dealer who has some on hand. If'n ya got some decent soft maple, cut yerself some blanks, let'em season well, and go for it. You'll be fine.

 

[schloss]

My understanding is that the "soft maple" sold for gunstocks is, in fact, red maple. Red maple is considered soft by most counts. The soft maple that I got is looking really soft. I work with southern yellow poplar some, but what I have is harder than the maple I pulled last weekend.

The maple could harden up some as it dries more, but I'm pretty sure that those soft maple stocks are actually red maple.