Just got , Amish Walnut planks ....

[Rob M.]

Darn Amish !! Charged me $100 for these two 2" thick planks ! I can only get 6 full sized trade guns and one or two blanket guns out of these planks ! How's a guy supposed to make any money when I have almost $16 in each gun stock ?! GEESH !!! ... LOL !! Just love these planks more when I know they've been drug out the woods by horses , go figure ....

 

[Rob M.]

JUST got done cutting the stock blanks out of those walnut planks ! GEESH !! They kicked my @$$ ! Final count .... 5 , N.W . Trade gun , 1 Fusil de Chasse and 2 N.W. Blanket guns ... SHEEW ! This old fat guy needs a break ! WHEEW DAWGY !!! Nice stocks though ! Sure glad I went over to talk to the man . I really didnt think he'd just happen to have any dry 2" thick walnut .... So glad !

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

Did you chainsaw out the blanks? That was always easiest for me, followed by a run through the bandsaw.

 

[Iceman]

Just love these planks more when I know they've been drug out the woods by horses , go figure ....

I think that really adds to your guns, having the story of the stocks is really neat.

You don't know how bad I want one of your guns, and you're making it really hard for me to resist......

 

[PathfinderNC]

Gosh they look pretty. Live edge planks like those are big $$$$

 

[Rob M.]

Did you chainsaw out the blanks? That was always easiest for me, followed by a run through the bandsaw.

The patterns were too close for chain saw and my saw is on the fritz . I cut twice with the radial saw and connected them with the hand saw . Then I remembered the big reciprocating saw ...got some weight off the plank so I could handle it better . Then band saw the ones that where real close or touching . Kicked my arse ! LOL

 

[Rob M.]

Gosh they look pretty. Live edge planks like those are big $$$$

Hes got a bunch of those " live edge" boards ... You couldnt give me a live edge board ....ich

 

[PathfinderNC]

The patterns were too close for chain saw and my saw is on the fritz . I cut twice with the radial saw and connected them with the hand saw . Then I remembered the big reciprocating saw ...got some weight off the plank so I could handle it better . Then band saw the ones that where real close or touching . Kicked my arse ! LOL

So, why not wait for even HOTTER weather to do all that sawing

 

[BoomStick]

Thanks for sharing. I want to always be learning, and this is interesting. I've heard more than a couple times that gun stocks should be made from quarter sawn lumber, for dimensional stability, strength through the wrist and generally better appearance of the grain. While a NW trade gun is more utilitarian, just curious how a blank through the heartwood compares to quarter sawn?

 

[Stykbow]

Hes got a bunch of those " live edge" boards ... You couldnt give me a live edge board ....ich

Looks like you’d buy a couple though.

 

[Rob M.]

Looks like you’d buy a couple though.

I'd buy a plank not a " live edge" board , and turn them into a gun blank . " Live edge " is just a modern trend and a dumb one at that . The so called live edge is nothing sap wood and bark . Neither of which is good for longevity or stability .

 

[SOLANCO]

https://www.groffslumber.com/ecommerce/live-edge-slabs.html

 

[Rob M.]

Thanks for sharing. I want to always be learning, and this is interesting. I've heard more than a couple times that gun stocks should be made from quarter sawn lumber, for dimensional stability, strength through the wrist and generally better appearance of the grain. While a NW trade gun is more utilitarian, just curious how a blank through the heartwood compares to quarter sawn?

Quarter sawn is best and best for the maker and the seller but you can't tell anyone that . If quarter sawn each plank has verticle grain which makes a very strong and stable stock but with the conventional way of sawing logs , just cutting as the log lays in the cradle , no turning of the trunk at all during cutting , the only prime cuts , planks , are the one plank on tip and bottom of the heart wood , thats it . The next two , on either side of heart wood are usually in after drying, a bit of warp but useable after dry and planed ....but the rest is usually crap .They cup so bad they are useless . Many times even the first two planks aren't any good as D.A.s expect you to use the first cut as one plank , the heart wood is junk and should never be used , cut it out if there .....use the space / plank above and below the heart wood but many times it isn't big , wide enough the make a gun stock , esp. one with lots of drop like a Fusil . People cut down trees way too early often times . Oh well . Know your wood . The Amish are darn good but even they do not understand this . I had one Amish guy wanting me to put down $ and he would cut down a bunch of walnut and dry them for me ...no way . I came back three years later and checked out one he had sawn the year I spoke with him . The heart wood slab was the only good plank ,above and below the heart wood , barely for English trade guns ....the rest were warped bad . Can't get them to understand ....oh well .

 

[Rob M.]

So, why not wait for even HOTTER weather to do all that sawing

LOL !! Yep ! And collecting firewood time too ! Country boy can survive

 

[Rob M.]

I think that really adds to your guns, having the story of the stocks is really neat.

You don't know how bad I want one of your guns, and you're making it really hard for me to resist......

Yeah , I do too bud . Most folks couldnt care less but to me it really makes a difference. Tree cut down by hand , drug out by horses ,sawn on an old style saw mill , cut out as plank , gun build by hand as old timey as possible . To me thats really cool . Whole lot better than commercial logging and stock made 85% in a CNC machine but thats just me . Nothing against kits and such , they have their place but I like the nostalgic ,old timey way .

 

[BoomStick]

Thanks for the detailed reply. So your 2 planks are cut just above or below the center of the tree, and you're cutting the stock blank from each side of the plank, avoiding the middle of the board as much as possible -if I'm understanding the photos and your explanation correctly.

The less you go into the center/heart and avoid the sapwood edge (I'm guessing less dense) the better. Basically using along the outer edge of a plain sawn board is the same as a quarter sawn board.

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

Slab sawn wood is stronger

 

[Rob M.]

Thanks for the detailed reply. So your 2 planks are cut just above or below the center of the tree, and you're cutting the stock blank from each side of the plank, avoiding the middle of the board as much as possible -if I'm understanding the photos and your explanation correctly.

The less you go into the center/heart and avoid the sapwood edge (I'm guessing less dense) the better. Basically using along the outer edge of a plain sawn board is the same as a quarter sawn board.

The optimum planks are indeed above and below the heart wood and the heart wood is junk , yes . I'm going out to the shop now , I'll show a few drawings etc. and a couple plank ends , some good , some not so good . Now , don't get me wrong , the vertical grain is optimum but ...even a warped stock , after it has dried and is stable , if you plane it down and use it , it will be ok and stable , its just a bit of work to make it so and a lot of them you just can't plane the warp out its so bad or you plane it down and by the time you get the warp out its too darn thin to build a gun out of it . Its a shame . Many times ive bough such 6' planks but by the time I get the warp out I can build one short canoe gun out of it ... So the sawyer is losing money cause I'm not paying premium for that plank ...

 

[Rob M.]

Thanks for the detailed reply. So your 2 planks are cut just above or below the center of the tree, and you're cutting the stock blank from each side of the plank, avoiding the middle of the board as much as possible -if I'm understanding the photos and your explanation correctly.

The less you go into the center/heart and avoid the sapwood edge (I'm guessing less dense) the better. Basically using along the outer edge of a plain sawn board is the same as a quarter sawn board.

The top drawing is the optimum way of sawing a log to get vertical grain in each plank of wood but its a pain for the sawyer and gun stocks are a specialized thing so hardly much demand for all that work . The bottom drawing is the standard for sawing logs . The center plank is optimum for gun stocks , best wood because of the vertical grain , very strong and stable . Only bad thing is with our young timber these day its hard to find such planks wide enough for such drop as need esp for designs with lits of drop like some rifles and Fusil de Chasse , English NW guns aren't as bad .... After heart wood and sap wood I need a 9" wide plank for the Fusil . The putter planks of wood , on conventional sawn log would be much better if they were left grossly thick so they could be planed down after dried completely , 2 -3 year min. , and they be , well , probably be useful . but they never are , usually just junk wood , so can be sold to folks that like " live edge" ! LOL !! ....You can see the phenomenon of not very wide planks on very late NW guns , there is SO little drop in the stock that many folks rap or hatched down into the comb to be able to get their face low enough to be able to look down the barrel to aim .... Either they were running out of wide planks of wood or tryi g to get extra stocks out of each plank to cut cost , more money in their pocket , and their product was suffering .

 

[Rob M.]

Thanks for sharing. I want to always be learning, and this is interesting. I've heard more than a couple times that gun stocks should be made from quarter sawn lumber, for dimensional stability, strength through the wrist and generally better appearance of the grain. While a NW trade gun is more utilitarian, just curious how a blank through the heartwood compares to quarter sawn?

Now ....the wrist ! Different thing ..... The grain flow through wrist determines the strength . Bad thing is sometimes its as easy as tilting your pattern on the plank and sometimes it can get complicated and ....it can also ruin your chance for getting a second stock out of a plank instead of just getting one . I can't touch on every detail but as your laying out your prospective stocks on your planks all of this must be taken into consideration , as you are also avoiding sap wood , heart wood , anomalies and knots in the plank . You do the best you can . I really like a plank with straight grain through the barrel channel and grain running through the wrist perfectly , planks at the bottom of the tree do this where the bottom of the tree flares out ....but you do not get this each time , naturally . See if I can take some pics of wrist and other interesting stuff ....wanna show you this original trade gun grain at butt ....