Wood stock blanks

[BORGY76]

What size are wood blanks for lets say a F-class stock? I have 9 really mature black walnut trees I am taking down (tired of picking up walnuts). I figure it would be kind of cool to set a few chunks aside for doing a couple stocks down the road.

 

[Paul Hilgedick]

In the past I have used a lot of air dried walnut. The key is be sure you give it time to dry. When we had 1" cut we would let it dry 4 years. On a 2.5 to 3 inch
thick stock blank I would think dry time will be 5 to 8 years so definitely will be a down the road project.

Paul H

 

[Walt Krafft]

Sell your walnut trees and buy some blanks. The chance of getting a real good blank from your trees is very low. Then the air drying takes forever with a high probability they will split or warp anf be useless.

 

[butchlambert]

If you do it be sure and dig up the root ball. That is the nice wood. Otherwise you are wasting time and money.

 

[Ggmac]

What size are wood blanks for lets say a F-class stock? I have 9 really mature black walnut trees I am taking down (tired of picking up walnuts). I figure it would be kind of cool to set a few chunks aside for doing a couple stocks down the road.

Call one of the stock suppliers. When I was a teenager, my father had a big walnut tree to cut down and called a few gun manufacturers. Marlin responded and paid a small fortune back then . They even cut it down !
I still have a piece of that tree .

 

[swd]

I would cut them at 36”x6”x3.25” you can get the shape and length of any of the current Open stocks out there. And if you want 2 stocks out of each blank 69 style and the grain flow allows it, increase the depth from 6” to 8.5”. Then give it 5 years..

 

[Bob3700]

It is amazing the size of the slab of wood u need for a stock. Once u begin cutting into the wood, there are all sorts of surprises u can encounter. Insect holes, knots, splits, fissures, mineral deposits etc.
Depending on the style of stock u are looking for, the dimensions of the blank need to accommodate that. If a laminated stock, of course u can make the blank whatever size u need.

 

[Gabe22BR]

2-1/2” x 8” x 4’ is what I started with-

 

[sparker]

Walt’s advice is completely sound.

 

[ricco1949]

Whatever dimension you decide on be generous and paint the ends of your rough cut lumber with a lumber end sealer to minimize end checking and still allow 2-3 inches excess on each end.

Sticker your lumber for drying and band it together with metal banding or ratchet straps including stickers to minimize twisting. Let it dry 5 years for the cells to collapse to minimize osmosis.

I've salvaged twisted plain sawn 1" boards by sawing into 1x1's, jointing, planing and then gluing back together as 1/4 sawn. I use these for the center laminate piece in a three piece laminate with the two outer pieces running as opposing grain. It makes an extremely stable stock.

I once had the opportunity to purchase about 1000 board ft of 40 year old air dried dimensional walnut. I only bought one piece, about 3x8-12'. I was thinking it's been there 40 years it's unlikely to get away. Well it was gone when I went back for more. Regretted that to this day.

Keep more than a "few chunks".

 

[joshb]

Have your logs cut 10 feet long . Have your boards cut 3 inches thick. Sticker them with 3/4” stock in a dry building. Wait or make a kiln. Kilns aren’t that hard to put together. The wood won’t be as good as air drying, but still OK.
As mentioned, get the root ball. It’s a lot of work but has the best grain patterns. You need a pressure washer, a long bar chainsaw and a few good chains for the saw. Most sawyers won’t touch a root ball for the fear of rocks in the wood.

 

[butchlambert]

Roger has been my go to stock blank supplier for years.

Roger Vardy Rifles & Stockwood

rogervardystockwood.com

 

[Will Henry]

I have bought from Goby Walnut in Oregon. I believe they are still in business. They have a large inventory of black walnut and some English as well. WH