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Double Rifles, Single Shots & Combinations >> Building Double Rifles & Gunsmithing
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Rhodes
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Reged: 20/09/11
Posts: 94
Loc: NQ, Australia
Australian timber suitable for stocks
      #219315 - 08/11/12 09:21 PM

I have a few friends based in North Queensland, Australia and so have access to a range of rainforest timber slabs. Is anyone able to advise on the suitability of some of these timbers for rifle stocks. I already have a couple of slabs of Black Wattle stored away that I was thinking of using. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks
Rhodes

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VonGruff
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Reged: 08/02/09
Posts: 1119
Loc: South Otago, New Zealand.
Re: Australian timber suitable for stocks [Re: Rhodes]
      #219337 - 09/11/12 05:02 AM

I built four stocks from what I was told was Brazil Bean a few years ago (Nearly 35 actually) that I bought in Queensland. Understood it to have been grown there but could be wrong on that.

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Von Gruff.

Exodus 20:1-17

Acts 4:10-12

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gryphon
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Reged: 01/01/03
Posts: 5487
Loc: Sambar ground/Victoria/Austral...
Re: Australian timber suitable for stocks [Re: VonGruff]
      #219339 - 09/11/12 05:06 AM

It wasnt Black Bean was it? The Aus timber?

I had a stock roughed out about 2/3s finished in Black Heart Sassafrass a magnificent timber,blonde with black streaks. I sent it over to a mate in NM as a gift for him to play with.

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pablo_mauser_66
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Reged: 01/03/07
Posts: 80
Loc: Australia, Sydney
Re: Australian timber suitable for stocks [Re: gryphon]
      #219341 - 09/11/12 07:41 AM

Brazil Bean is Brazilian Walnut, a few European rifle makers occasionally use it on their rimfires. Zastava being one of them. I restoked a Sav 99 with Brazilian bean a few years ago and whilst not the hardest timber it did have lovely colour and feature

Myrtle, Blackwood and Qld maple are all suitable if the correct piece is chosen.

Edited by pablo_mauser_66 (09/11/12 07:42 AM)

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VonGruff
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Reged: 08/02/09
Posts: 1119
Loc: South Otago, New Zealand.
Re: Australian timber suitable for stocks [Re: pablo_mauser_66]
      #219344 - 09/11/12 08:08 AM

Quote:

Brazil Bean is Brazilian Walnut, a few European rifle makers occasionally use it on their rimfires. Zastava being one of them. I restoked a Sav 99 with Brazilian bean a few years ago and whilst not the hardest timber it did have lovely colour and feature

Myrtle, Blackwood and Qld maple are all suitable if the correct piece is chosen.



Thanks for the clarification. I still have one of the stocks and always thought it was very walnut like in apearance.

--------------------
Von Gruff.

Exodus 20:1-17

Acts 4:10-12

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kamilaroi
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Reged: 18/12/04
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Re: Australian timber suitable for stocks [Re: VonGruff]
      #219347 - 09/11/12 09:44 AM

Problem with many Oz timbers is the high mineral uptake and thus murder on chisels. Oz blackbean (Castanospermum australe?) contains a nasty ingredient (poisonous when inhaled) as does "QLD walnut".

Oz blackwood (an acacia) is pretty good, same for QLD maple.

Edited by kamilaroi (09/11/12 12:27 PM)

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Rhodes
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Reged: 20/09/11
Posts: 94
Loc: NQ, Australia
Re: Australian timber suitable for stocks [Re: pablo_mauser_66]
      #219349 - 09/11/12 09:51 AM

Quote:



Myrtle, Blackwood and Qld maple are all suitable if the correct piece is chosen.



I have a 6.5x55 swede which which I restocked many years ago with a Phil Maston (spelling?) stock made from Blackwood so I'm familiar with that timber.

I haven't seen any Myrtle before, wouldn't mind seeing a pic of this. Is it a dark or light timber, much feature?

I thought the maple would have been a bit soft? it doesn't appear very dense but always seems to have nice fiddle back feature to the grain.

I'm looking at re-stocking a shotgun for a DR project in .400 cal so need a reasonably sturdy piece of wood.

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tophet1
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Reged: 15/09/07
Posts: 1873
Loc: NSW, Australia
Re: Australian timber suitable for stocks [Re: Rhodes]
      #219354 - 09/11/12 04:41 PM

My current 250-3000 Mauser '98 'stalking rifle' project is being stocked with a rather plain blank of Qld Maple. Hopefully it will be ready for a Roe hunt I have planned in Surrey next year.

Many moons ago I had an old .30 M1 carbine stocked in Qld Maple after the GI stock brock.

I've seen some blanks with a birds eye/swirl effect. Very stunning, very gold and quite 'bright' in a Weatherby sort of way if you know what I mean.

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gryphon
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Reged: 01/01/03
Posts: 5487
Loc: Sambar ground/Victoria/Austral...
Re: Australian timber suitable for stocks [Re: tophet1]
      #219355 - 09/11/12 05:57 PM



US FB MAPLE

http://nitroexpress.info/ezine/CptCurlFiles/MauserForum/gryphon/98_308_Norma/d3900049.jpg

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Get off the chair away from the desk and get out in the bush and enjoy life.

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pablo_mauser_66
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Loc: Australia, Sydney
Re: Australian timber suitable for stocks [Re: gryphon]
      #219358 - 09/11/12 08:25 PM

Apologies for the picture quality as it was taken with my phone, but here's my dining table. Single slab of Queensland maple opened up, built a very long time ago !



Edited by CptCurl (10/11/12 10:33 PM)

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Rhodes
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Reged: 20/09/11
Posts: 94
Loc: NQ, Australia
Re: Australian timber suitable for stocks [Re: pablo_mauser_66]
      #219393 - 10/11/12 12:49 PM

Yes the maple certainly has some nice feature and a lot of people like the slabs for furniture. I think it would look good with a bit of stain to darken it a little. I've helped slab enough logs to know that Maple is a softer and lighter wood than the Black Wattle and termites will climb over a pile of Black Wattle to get to a stick of Maple. Based on this I'm not sure how it would hold up under heavier recoil?

Here are a couple of pic's of Black Wattle, rough cut, to show some of the features that attracted me to it. I've seen pic's of Holland DR's which I liked with similar feature. Sorry about the quality as they are screen cap's from a video.

First a bit of marble, it doesn't take much imagination to see how this would come up.



This one is fairly straught grained



but wetted down shows up some subtle fiddleback, similar to the Holland on the cover of Graeme Wright's good book.




These slabs aren't from the base / buttress area of the tree but give an idea of what can show up.

Edited by CptCurl (10/11/12 10:34 PM)

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gryphon
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Reged: 01/01/03
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Loc: Sambar ground/Victoria/Austral...
Re: Australian timber suitable for stocks [Re: Rhodes]
      #219451 - 11/11/12 08:24 AM

Any black or silver wattles around here are full of wattle grub holes and i think it would be hard to find one without them.There are some big old trees 20"Plus in dia which is big for a BW but grubbed right up.

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kamilaroi
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Reged: 18/12/04
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Re: Australian timber suitable for stocks [Re: gryphon]
      #219453 - 11/11/12 09:30 AM

Australian black wattle aka Sallywood (Acacia Melanoxylon?)is the timber I referred to. Jack Millar did a few in the day.

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twobobbwana
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Reged: 25/11/11
Posts: 299
Loc: Queensland, Australia
Re: Australian timber suitable for stocks [Re: kamilaroi]
      #221491 - 13/12/12 02:55 PM

I would have thought any of the timbers from the harder, dryer areas of Australia would qualify.

Timber from trees that struggle to survive in hard country.

In South Western Queensland there is Mesquite and I once made a set of pistol grips out of "Dead Finish" that look nice. The timber came from around Tambo.

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Ckhobart
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Reged: 26/06/13
Posts: 84
Loc: Reno, NV
Re: Australian timber suitable for stocks [Re: twobobbwana]
      #231881 - 30/06/13 07:50 AM

Everything up here is softwood just about, unfortunate. Because the pine that grows up here is gorgeous. I don't believe Juniper or Elm would do the job which grow in my yard though, even for a rimfire

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HuntingSchneider
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Reged: 02/04/06
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Loc: Tamworth, NSW
Re: Australian timber suitable for stocks [Re: kamilaroi]
      #231891 - 30/06/13 05:57 PM

Quote:

Problem with many Oz timbers is the high mineral uptake and thus murder on chisels.




This is some locally grown (Dungowan) walnut. It has a reputation of being very hard on tools. But due to this denseness it is ideal for stocks.
This one is going on a .375 that is still in it's infant stages.




With a light smear of water.





.

--------------------
Liberals, stealing firearms since '96.
Steal one firearm, you're a thief. Steal a million, you're a Prime Minister.

Edited by CptCurl (01/07/13 09:17 PM)

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