let's talk about wood stocks

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gaseousclay

New member
the vast majority of rifles (and other firearms) I see with wood stocks invariably use walnut. Is there any particular reason why walnut is the preferred choice of wood on a firearm? Are there any instances where a specialty wood is used for a custom rifle? My guess is that economicaly speaking, walnut is the cheapest to mass produce. I love the look of claro walnut on a firearm but i'd be interested in seeing something different every now and again. does anyone have any pics of rifles or shotguns that use a different wood other than walnut?
 
From my limited knowledge/memory:

American Walnut is a strong, attractive, fine-grained wood that holds checkering well, is fairly light weight and "relatively" stable.

Other woods that have been used include birds-eye maple, yellow birch, cherry, and walnuts from various parts of the globe, including Circassian walnut, French Walnut, etc. Birds-eye maple is very heavy and hard to shape, but it's pretty.

Rosewood is popular for grip caps and forend tips because it's dark and makes good contrast to walnut.

Yellow birch is used almost exclusively for laminated stocks these days, but I've seen maple/maple laminated stocks also.
 
Ya can use maple, but walnut is verry stable strong easy to shape and will dent rather than crack. you can use veniers on a fiberglass stock too.
 
Are there any instances where a specialty wood is used for a custom rifle?
Click to expand...
Some unique custom stocks I have seen that really stand out are various maples. Do a google image search for "maple rifle stock" and check out some neat looking stuff.
 
Perhaps the biggest reason for using walnut is that it is a good combination of looks, workability, durability, toughness, and stability.

For instance, pine is cheap and very workable, but neither tough nor stable. For those who are woodworking challenged, stability means that it resists changes in phisical size as temperature and humidity changes.

Birch is often used as a gunstock. It is workable, fairly tough (but not as tough as walnut), and stable. However, it is pretty plain looking.

Maple is very stable, very good looking, very hard (doesn't dent easily) and generally affordable but it is hard making it more expensive to work.

There are some exotic wood species that would also have all the right properties. However, the cost would be more than a production line company would be able to recoup in sales.
 
Walnut has the right combination of toughness, density, hardness, flexibility, fine grain, and availability (from commercial walnut orchards). So yes, hardness and toughness matter, but availability is important for any industrial production raw material. Walnut has been used for applications requiring similar qualities for centuries (furniture, doors, columns, etc). Various fruit woods have also been used satisfactorily for gun stocks (apple, almond, pecan, cherry, mulberry, etc), but usually do not grow to the size that a walnut tree will grow, limiting their suitability for gun stocks. Maple is good for gun stocks, a bit heavy, very hard and tough, but only available from wild stocks (not usually commercially cultivated, since it has no nut), as have beech, birch, hickory, acacia, mesquite, purpleheart, rosewood, and various furniture hardwoods (poplar, bass wood, tulipwood), usually in smaller caliber or cheaper guns. Whatever wood is chosen it must resist warping, impact/concussion caused when discharging a firearm without splitting, and be easily workable (sanding/shaping/checkering).

Since the OP mentioned Claro, I will mention that although I love the look of Claro it is nowhere near as strong as American walnut or Black walnut wood, limiting its suitability to softer recoiling rifles.
 
You also have myrtle, screw bean mesquite, teak, as well as many more exotics that make excellent stocks, but are expensive and in limited supply.

I have seen an oak stock and a white ash stock, both looked like they started with an old table leg.
 
I have noticed that quite a few cheaper stocks are made from birch.
They do hold up pretty well though, I have one on an older Savage 110, sanded it and stained cherry, it turned out well, and makes all the blued parts on the rifle stand out.
 
Walnut has the best average density and grain pattern for strength and endurance, Birch is a cheaper product better for economy mass produced guns but an excellent wood as well.

Any hard wood will work as long as it has a tone, all lumber will play a tune when you tap it with your knuckle. Softer lumber will "thump" when you tap them, no good, no density, too absorbant and likely to change it's shape a little or split.
 
I been a Carpenter since 1970 and would like to know what happened between you and teakwood to make you feel that way about it?

I have never heard anything negative about it from anyone.
 
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