Hello all.
I was wondering if anyone sawed the muzzle loader stocks on their mill. The old, long type like the Kentucky rifle flintlocks, fowlers etc. I know the highly striped maple is the most sought after when one has a custom rifle built, or purchases a factory gun for that matter, but I was just wondering about the process if anyone does this on their mill. Thanks for any input.
I am a gunstock maker. I cut the blanks regularly. The biggest issue with the entire project is cutting slightly oversize then drying the wood long term slow but very dry in the end. If you do not get it down and stable at around 6% with maple in the kiln the long stocks will warp over a short time after you have made the stock and all the work wasted. You must wait. We like to have Maple dry for a good year both ends waxed and wrapped in plastic for the first 6 months then pull the plastic for the last 6 months in the kiln then let it sit in a cool dark dry shelf for another year before we can even think of making a long gun stock from it. So if you are in a hurry just buy a blank already done. if you are not in a hurry then mill it up and get it drying. I take each log and mill according to the figure as it looks. Quarter sawn for sure gives the most figure. But work with the crotches and flaws in the wood. Maple will show figure from just about all angles unlike Walnut which is a bit more critical. Cut 4 good blanks and you can hope to get one maybe 2 good stocks from that. I cut at 2 3/4" thick and whatever length you are wanting to do.Lay and old stock on the wood and draw a good margin around the outside for the shape. Band saw that out and dip the ends in wax about 1 inch deep. Two to 3 times in the wax for a very good seal. It needs to dry a bit slower at first so seal it up. Here is a recent gunstock I just finished with tiger striped maple and claro walnut.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/35477/100_0359.jpg)
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That ain't your Daddy's Oldsmobile. :o Thanks golddredger for sharing those pictures.
thats some AWESOME work golddredger. Would love to see some more samples when you get time
mark
What is the large dial/circle on the scope?
That is a range finder on the scope. You dial in the target by focussing that ring and the recoded range line up with the pin and you then adjust the turrets for zero on that exact range. These are airguns. We shoot high end Field target matches. basically a 3/4" hole at 55 yards down to 3/8" hole at 10 yards. Very precise shooting and all hand held no rest both sitting on the ground and standing. You have to range set up the shot and hit the knockdown target. These guns hold 3000psi of air and are filled from Scuba tanks. They get 80+ shots from a fill in .177 caliber. We also hunt with the same models but lighter stocks and in .25 caliber.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/35477/100_0354.jpg)
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That stock is amazing. I really appreciate you sharing that. That explains a lot about the value of the pretty maple stocks. I had no idea about the complexity and longevity of drying the wood. Thanks for the lesson and thanks for the beautiful pictures.
Your welcome. It is fun to do. But does take time. I hate waiting and when I get a good tree it kills me to wait years to be able to use it. I just got this one last week. It is a silver maple trunk 7ft across and all crotch wood that is loaded with flame, quilt, and tiger stripes. This one will make some amazing guns for sure but not anytime soon. The wait begins.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/35477/100_0489.jpg)
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Nice work on the gun stocks, b,e,a,utiful!
that is one beautiful gun right there.... great work! :)
nice pics guys, lanec I have sawn walnut slabs for gunstocks like you speak of. even sawed a few extra large for a wall gun. my buddy in Shawnee builds guns.
Thank yall for the input. Is that a carbon fiber barrel? That log I guess will be " beauty in the beast" :D Hard to believe something so pretty could come from something so ugly huh? That is good to know you can mill blanks on the mill. Thanks for filling me in on the possibility of cutting blanks on a mill. Is it difficult to mill? What type of mill is it? Thanks for all the input.
Thanks a bunch ELY. I bet walnut stocks are pretty also. Do they require as much drying time as the maple?
That is sure a tribute to the tree that mother earth has given us .
Show quality work thanks fore showing us .
while that stock does look good and is probability ok for what it is used on it is to weak in the wrist area for a muzzle loader, high power rifle or shot gun use.
the wrist area needs a strait grain to be able to handle the recoil.
I can't add much as I have just recently started sawing planks to get blanks from down the road. I build flintlocks, strictly amateur skills. What has already been said is good info. You will want to saw the planks in the 3" thickness range or a little more to allow for lay-out of cast-off or (rarely) cast-on. The plank needs to be thicker for muzzleloaders to allow for wider buttplates on earlier guns as well as for the cheekpiece. While a 6' plank would seem to be long enough for most any barrel, cutting the plank at 8' gives room to maneuver the pattern around to get the best grain flow through the wrist.