Well first off when a customer comes into my shop looking for a custom rifle to be built I will probably ask more questions then them. After all for me to build them the rifle they are dreaming of I have to see that dream and know exactly what they want. However there are some basics which can not be comprimised on such as the lay out of the stock blank. I do not know how many times I hear " this is a beautiful blank and the grain is OK for a light caliber rifle." You never sacrifice strength for figure, that is one reason why good blanks cost as much as the do. The grain must run through the butt into the grip and on up into the forearm if you want any strength. A pretty broken stock is fire wood no matter how nice the grain looks. I deal with this all the time and in general will not work with a stock blank that I do not know the age of and never a blank with poor grain lay out. This brings up another point. You want a blank that has been air dried for at least five years and if kiln dried this also holds true and though I can not say for sure I have been told that kiln dried wood is more brittle.
If this picture which I used in an article I wrote comes out you will see proper grain lay out, if not I will scan it in again and repost it as this is important to see and understand when looking at any rifle.