Need ideas from builders about stock blanks

[rabbit03]

HI yall this is my first post (to start one) so be gentle.

I have lots of friends (well ok aquaintences then) in the sawmill bus. I would like to know if by looking at the photo attached would I be correct in assuming that I can get some good pieces from what it is I am suggesting?

The photo at top shows the tree and how is bells out at the bottm which is what I would be using for the wrist portion after it was cut. The reason I think is because the natural curve of the wood would follow very closely the curve of the wrist portion thereby making it a strong piece. The top view shows the cuts that would be made on the whole log and then the side view photo basically shows the way the blanks would be cut.

I am not sure how one would go about doing this kind of cut without say a chainsaw but I am just wanting to know if this perticular kind of cut around the tree would yield perhaps some good wood (strong) and also contain some real good figure too since it would be near the belled portion of the tree.

Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated. My idea really is to find a good tree and have it cut in this manner and let it air dry for several years or more till they could be used for rifle stocks. Not sure if I will ever make a builder or not but I can see someone that makes alot of rifles and basically having matching grains as a selling point on the rifles as a set or somethng. Like if someone was to want say a rifle, shotgun, and other things as a set.


http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b206/rabbit03/stockblank.jpg

 

[donk]

Rabbit
My brother was the gun builder in the family not me, but I am an avid wood worker and have done alot of resurch on woods. First a question. What kind of tree are we talking about and do you know if it is old growth or not. I would consider any tree over 100 years old to be old growth.

 

[donk]

The best way to cut this would probably be with a bandsaw mill or if you know someone with a large commercial band saw with a re-saw blade but this second choice is a little akward with an odd shaped piece

 

[rabbit03]

It would definitely be Sugar Maple and not sure if I could get old growth or not but that would be nice.

 

[donk]

The reason I ask this is because I've done a lot of resurch on woods Particularly on figured woods and the concensus seems to be that the figuring is caused by the compression of the wood by the tremendous weight of the tree over a large period of time. It also seems that the trees being planted now will not create a good figured wood because they are all bred to grow fast therefore dying before it has had a chance to compress the gain. Keeping this in mind I would have to say that cutting the stock from the base or root area of the tree would give you the best chance of getting some figuring. I have also found some figuring under large knots in the wood were a large branch had hung but this is usually just a small area.

 

[rabbit03]

Hey Donk what about the strength idea? I mean by using the wood like that I know that heavily figured wood is probably more prone to being brittle than say a straight grain. But I don't see anyway for the grain to bend naturally through the wrist area unless you get it from the part of the tree that does make a bend like that.

I agree though about the old growth trees too and may be able to find some up in NY

rabbit03

 

[donk]

rabbit
it only makes sense to me that if the grain follows the shape of the stock it should be stronger. If you notice on stocks that break it is usually on a spot were the grain goes across a small area like the wrist. With a wood like maple the grain is so tight you usually don't see too many problems unless there was a flaw in the wood. :front:

 

[newt]

I wished I had kept the link I once had to an outfit in Kaleforny that cut gunstock wood out of HUGE stumps of walnut.
They got maybe three to five wonderful looking pieces of wood ( Exibition) and the rest was just pretty.

Your wanting the grain thru the wrist and it should follow the wrist to be strongest.

Your saw mill guy or gal will know the best way to get the most wood out of the tree or stump IF they understand gunstocks.
I honestly think most people are better off buying from a dealer who has aged gunstocks on hand.

BUT I hope you try it and report back cause we all need to learn what works and what don't.
Good luck I hope you do it!

 

[Zonie]

The saw cuts you sketched showing the cut headed towards the center of the tree are very similar to 1/4 sawn wood.
1/4 sawn wood by the way has some of the best pattern and is usually stronger than plain sawed wood.

The prime difference between 1/4 sawn wood and your sketch is you show the cuts bottoming out slightly inward from the outside of the tree. I am not sure how you could cut that bottom cut where you show the cut stopping.
If you ran the cut all the way across the tree creating pie shaped pieces, I would think they would make excellent stock material. Just remember, the blanks should be (IMO) at least 3 inches thick out in the area where the stock wood will end up coming from.

Then again, I just design aeroplane stuff. What the H do I know?

 

[flashpanner]

hope you plan on waiting for a while after you cut your blank and start your project. It has to cure sloooowly and for a long time. I have heard up to five years. Put it in a basement and forget it for a while. It should season ok there!

 

[rabbit03]

I saw the way they quartered sawed once on that Hershal House video, he scetched it out. But that is about all of my basic knowlege when it comes to how to saw it. Your right Zonie about how to cut it out and it should be rather wide too so as to make sure you have enough thickness for the piece. And the pie shaped cuts would do it though it would not yield as many pieces I guess as you could get. Need a big hole saw to cut about a two foot hole I guess then I could just go down through there with my chain saw huh? LOLOL

I was just trying to find a way to get a bunch of pieces where the grain would run through the wrist and be good looking also. I figured since I knew people up north who could be able to help I just wanted to find out what yall thought here. I appreciate the input yall have given, thanks. Would be great to do this and end up with a bunch of stock blanks that were from the same tree. I am not real concerned with the time element really and would be more than happy with them curing in the basement for 3-5 years whatever it took. That would probably be enough making material from now on. Not sure how many pieces a big tree would yield but if you found one that was around 75 yrs old or so that might yield a bunch of slabs of wood. If someway you can cut them like this you would virtually be quarter sawing all of them if I am right about that.?? So it something to look into I think alot of work but alot less money in the long run too. If your talking about say 25 or more blanks that would be a hefty sum of money.

rabbit03

 

[Mulebrain]

Rabbit,

After you get some blanks cut, you should be able to find someone who has a kiln to dry them in properly.

I know all this from my furniture background. Wood is a living breathing thing, and until it becomes petrified, it will always be doing something ::

You could go to a furniture manufacture, and they will probably dry it for free! A vertically integrated wood furniture manufacterer, that is.

Mule

 

[donk]

Rabbit
before you store that wood to dry be sure and seal the end grain so it drys evenly and don't crack. The end grain will always dry faster than the sides and this is what causes a lot of checking in the ends. Just paint the ends with what ever finish you have around. Varnish, oil even latex paint, any thing that will seal it. I think you have a great Idea let me know how it comes out.

 

[Stophel]

I have no advice on cutting, but curl in maple (and other woods) is genetic. A tree can be curly on a straight trunk, where no knots or roots or branches are. These things do cause curl, or more correctly "burl", but a tree is concieved with the propensity to make curl and it is just going to happen. They say if you find a really curly tree in the woods, chances are, all the trees around it are going to be curly too, since these trees are probably related.