Red Oak gun stock

[bryon knapp]

I have a Rifle, that I am looking to trade and have been offered a very nice fowler. The gun is stocked in red oak and looks amazing to be sure. But I ahve never really heard of many guns being stocked in oak...is red oak a suitable wood for a gun stock? This particular stock has lots of Grain variation and "curl". It is on a .62 fowler and I would be using it on turkey, deer , bear. so I would say that Yhe possibilty for shooting heavy loads exists although not too frequently.
so is oak a decent wood for a gunstock? http://i713.photobucket.com/albums/ww137/kingsax26/received_139354489752839_1.jpeg

 

[ddoyle]

handsome looking.

Red oak is not really a stock wood. It will suck up water like a sponge. I made the mistake of installing red oak gunnels on a boat. Only do that once.

Maybe that stock has been sealed in some way or maybe that piece of red oak is in some way special but as a rule i'd avoid it.

 

[Vaino]

My hat's off to whoever made that LR....not for using red oak, but for somehow actually making a rifle out of it. One question....could it possibly be ash?. Don't think you'll get many opinions on using red oak for a gunstock because it's not considered a gunstock wood.....heavy, very coarse grained and whether it warps or twists, you'll have to let us know.

With all the woods better suited for gunstocks, I'd not consider using red oak....it's meant for woodwork in a house like baseboards, etc.

The grain looks like it's wrong direction in the wrist.....easy to crack.....Fred

 

[ZUG]

I agree -- red oak is not a wood I'd be using for a gunstock that will be subjected to the elements. Do this experment -- get a piece of red oak about 1" square or round 6" to 8" long then take a bowl and fill it with water, place one end of the red oak in the water and blow on the other end -- you will see air bubbles coming from the end that is in the water -- red oak end grain is POROUS. Have a read on the tall ship Mary Celeste it is believed that some of the oak storage barrels that contained alcohol were made out of red oak and the alcohol evaporated from the barrels and the fumes were overcoming the crew who then "abandoned" the ship.

 

[Zonie]

IMO, I would be concerned about the direction the grain is running thru the wrist.

It might be OK but notice that it is running parallel with the guns bore, not parallel with the center of the wrist.

That could, under some circumstances, cause it to split under heavy recoil or from ramming pressure when the gun was loaded.

 

[tenngun]

I asked on this forum about using oak. I wondered if a southern gun might be made of one. Several posters pointed out that the high tannin content of the wood is hard on ironwork. I can't confirm this from experince but looking at the chemistry it seems oak ain't good for steel, I don't know if you can seal it or not, looks awful pretty though.

 

[Zonie]

I asked on this forum about using oak. I wondered if a southern gun might be made of one. Several posters pointed out that the high tannin content of the wood is hard on ironwork....

That doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

Walnut for instance has a very high tannin content but it is a favorite wood for gunstocks.

Also, there are a lot of oak wagons, carts and wheelbarrow's, all held together with iron or steel bolts.

Yah, the bolts get rusty but I suspect being left out in the rain might be a greater cause than the tannin in the wood.

 

[tenngun]

I haven't confirmed it my self, it was common answers on the thread. It would be a little heavier then walnut, just don't know.

 

[Treestalker]

Years ago, Leon Miller in East Texas got in a couple of 1/2 stock percussion guns that had been put together back in the day in Louisiana that had cypress stocks. I didn't get to see them, but they would have had merit on the bayou, as cypress hardly ever rots. Probably not too pretty a stock, but practical and available. My father's house had cypress 2x6 studs in the walls. That house never did rot, :haha: george

 

[tenngun]

Well today we see walnut, maple,cherry and a few ash. Beech was common in the past used in the south but I have never seen a modern made ml with beech that I know of....maybe some older cva? I have read but can't confirm that teak is used in Indian made guns. The ' five civilized tribes' had gunsmiths restocking broken guns. They may have used available wood, and they were used to working hickory and wild fruit woods. I saw one gun in Washington that was fitted with a northwestern carved western cedar, light for sure but I would worry about it being fragil.

 

[Spikebuck]

I don't know about red oak gunstocks, but having helped my Dad for many years in his side business of cutting, splitting, drying, and delivering firewood, red oak was a "hated" wood because it was so tough and stringy it was very hard to split. I would think it would make a tough gunstock if done correctly....BUT, as Zonie and Fred pointed out, one of the first things I noticed is the grain is all run out in the wrist, which would be of concern to me on this particular gun.

 

[necchi]

cutting, splitting, drying, and delivering firewood, red oak was a "hated" wood because it was so tough and stringy it was very hard to split.

What?
Are you sure your not confusing this with Elm?
Oak, splits just sweet,, wait till it's cold out and even a half-hearted swing with an axe will pop an oak cut with ease.

 

[Eric Krewson]

Yep, that's why they made shingles out of it, so easy to split off a shingle from the log cut with a froe.

 

[Spikebuck]

cutting, splitting, drying, and delivering firewood, red oak was a "hated" wood because it was so tough and stringy it was very hard to split.

What?
Are you sure your not confusing this with Elm?
Oak, splits just sweet,, wait till it's cold out and even a half-hearted swing with an axe will pop an oak cut with ease.

Yep...when I was out walking the dogs today I was thinking about the post and realized I had a brain fart and it was red elm that was so tough and stringy, not the red oak. :surrender: Seems this kind of thing is happening more and more to me. At this rate I'll be drooling on myself and peeing in my diaper in the alzheimers unit soon. :redface:

 

[Skychief]

:haha: :haha: :haha:

 

[talkingamoeba]

Regarding the tannin in oak, once the oak has seasoned there is little reaction with iron/steel and the application of a finish prior to final assembly assures no reaction/stain. When I saw oak logs, red or white, the wood will stain blue just resting on the bunks during a cut. When planing seasoned oak I have no issues with stain. I had occasion to plane some white oak that was needed immediately for farm implement repair, the boards were sawed from the log and then planed the same day. My planer bed will never be the same, stained it and the wood. Luckily the wood was for a floor in a manure spreader so the blue stain is no longer noticeable.

 

[bryon knapp]

spike, I work as a geriatric certified nurse. If you want I will offer mt services free....you can pay me with your guns.