gun from firewood

[old ugly]

i have heard discussions about birch is only good for firewood. so i thought i would try to build a gun stock from birch that i felled. you just never know until you try.
the birch isn't the nicest wood to work with but, if access to better is limited or your budget is low its worth a try.
--this is what i built--
20" short barrel 54cal flintlock, some might call it a canoe gun.
i cut down a Lyman barrel and turned it octagon to round,
i made the hooked breach tang from 1"square stock
i made the butt plate from 2" band iron.
i made the thimble from round stock.
i hand made front sight
i hand made side plate from 2"band iron
a trigger and guard from TOW
hand made the sling, sling bolt, sling swivel, buckle and sling tightener.
reshaped L&R lock.
i dyed the birch with alcohol diluted leather dye
i hand brushed the stripes using undiluted leather dye.
true oil finish
and thanks to walkingeagle for donated parts.
just cant wait to try it out.
ou
tom

 

[Jaeger]

Wow.....birch! That's a good-looking gun! That stripe and figure!

 

[Omahkapi'si]

Great job.

 

[Hatchet-Jack]

Wow that is cool! Good job.

 

[Roundball2319]

Nice work. Can't wait for the updated range report. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Crawfish]

Nicely done!,, great job on the stripes, too!,,,

 

[Rudyard]

Many Scandinavian countrys & Russia (As in the Nagant's) used Birch it seemed to work fine . But it could be like all timber there are variants and differences, plus wood will vary tree to tree .
Rudyard

 

[Greg Blackburn]

That's right Rudyard.....weren't about half of M96's and K31's stocked in birch?

 

[rchas]

Many British trade guns were stocked in birch... The wood finish looks great!

 

[Doc Ivory]

Wow!
Nice, nice job!

 

[GANGGREEN]

I've always thought that Birch was attractive enough wood and I've seen some "flame Birch" that was simply brilliant. I've toyed with the idea of purchasing a small hobby sawmill and when/if I ever do, I'll definitely mill some Birch logs here on the property.

 

[oldwood]

Birch is many times harder , and more dense , than a lot of Appalachian white and red maple. W/o foreknowledge of the type wood an original gun stock might be , a figured birch stock might be mistaken for a maple , cherry , or a fruit wood stock. Many types of plain grain light colored wood can have artificial figure added , so why can't birch? I see no difficulty.............oldwood

 

[Walkingeagle]

You did well buddy, excellent job!!
Cannot wait see it in person, and shoot it.
Well done sir.
Walk

 

[Whitworth]

That's right Rudyard.....weren't about half of M96's and K31's stocked in birch?

Yep they were.

 

[user 48679]

Ya coulda fooled me - nice job ! !

 

[1950DAVE]

Purty ain't she.
Dave

 

[eggwelder]

I`ve got a flame birch stock for a tiny .22 in the que of projects. Hopefully i`ll get to see yours in person one day

 

[VA Hawken]

Very nice!

 

[appalichian hunter]

Looks good

 

[Kansas Kid]

I like it, should be a great hunting rifle.