Slab'n wood

[Travis]

Hi gang.
I recently got a hold of my uncles sawmill jig for a chain saw. I have had great luck with it. I have 5 great slabs of Sugar Maple from father inlaws back yard and 9 slabs of Black Cherry from the farm. I plan on making a couple great rifles for the boy's when they come of age. Getting to my question, walking through the woods at the farm i notest a lot of Black locust and Honey locust. Would these trees make good stocks and do Locust have any redeming qualitys or figure?

 

[bbassi]

I have no idea how they would look on a rifle stock, but they both make some mighty fine self bow material. Feel like sharing? :hmm:

 

[Top Jaw]

Black and yellow locust are great woods for fenceposts, because of rot resistance. However, I am afraid that due to their weight, sighting a rifle made from one of these would be like trying to hold up a fencepost!!! Also, they appear to be EXTREMELY hard when dry, and would be a bear to inlet anything into. Honey locust may be a bit lighter and softer, but still not worth the effort.

The old timers were much more familiar with their native wood species, and the various pro's & con's of each, than we are. (Eric Sloan has some great books on the topic of what woods were used by our fore-fathers for what purposes, although I don't think he addresses gunstock woods specifically). My advice is to stick with those varieties the old gunbuilders used (maple, walnut, cherry, apple, etc.). Not because of tradition, but because they understood from experience which woods had the right balance of strength, weight, stability, workability, and beauty, for gunstocks. Yes, other woods may have some of these qualities, but very few have them all. You can make a stock from birch or beech for example, but it will be as plain as a piece of cardboard (i.e., the beauty and luster factor is absent). As they say..."my 2 cents worth".

Top Jaw

 

[Travis]

Right on Top Jaw.
That's the answer i was looking for. I knew Locust was used for fence post etc. but that was some good advice. Ill look that guy up and see what he has to say.

 

[Birddog6]

From what I know if Locust, it is regarded as the Best fencepost material, however I would think it would be much too heavy & dense for a rifle stock, and there are so many more better woods to choose from.

However, me not being a stock expert, I suggest you call an expert that is in the stock business as he would know. I suggest calling Wayne Dunlap at 703-631-5147......... He has been supplying stocks to people all over the country for years & if anyone knows wood, Wayne does. Plus he is a super guy to talk to & deal with.

:front:

 

[djnye]

sugar maple runs about 42 lb. cu. ft. black locus about 46 lb. in a stock weight would not be a problem. the attractiveness might be however. and like you say it is hard to work and also hard to obtain in long straight sections.

however, i have a piece of birdseye birtch that would knock your socks off. i wish cardboard looked that good.

take care, daniel

 

[rich pierce]

There's more to stock woods than weight, hardness, attractiveness, and strength. Dimensional stability is at least as important as any of those, and perhaps moreso than weight or attractiveness. Some woods swell and shrink a lot with moisture content changes, some do not. A wood that swells a lot will bind patchbox lids, locks, triggers, barrels in the channel, lengthen so much the lugs will bind, nosecaps will pull off, etc. Inlays will fall out when they dry and shrink, wooden patchbox lids will rattle, gaps appear around everything, etc. None of that matters for fenceposts.

 

[GobblerKnob]

I can't vouch for its use as a gun stock, but it sure makes a fine turkey call!

 

[Travis]

That's a beautiful box call. Since i have this chain saw jig and plenty of tall straight Black & Honey Locust on the farm i'm just going to take a couple nice slabs of each and in a couple years find out what we have. I have my eye on a nice walnut and cherry im going to drop. If i can figure out my dad's digital camcorder ill post some pictures of the cherry tree i slabed out.

 

[reddogge]

When I moved into what was left of an old farm 16 years ago the place was piled high with old locust fence posts. I cut and burned them in a wood stove for years. I still have some standing out in the field along with tons of living locust trees, some of which I planted when I moved in.

It provided good BTU's/pound and splits nicely but I don't think I'd like a gunstock out of it. Although that box call is mighty handsome.