doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com Reddish colored blanks

Nah, dried blood turns black.Mr. Hughes I detect some skepticism about the possibility of manure affecting the color of walnut. I said I am not making any dogmatic statement one way or the other but something gives some trees color as opposed to others of the same species and locale that don't have it.I know studies done at the University of Michigan,I believe,show that figure is inherited in walnut,that trees of unusual figure tend to produce other trees wiith unusual figuring.There will always be some figure in crotches as that is the nature of crotch wood,the grain necessary to support a crotch will produce some figure,at least.Saying that I have cut trees that produced crotch figure that was 4 or 5 feet long and others just a foot or so.Some trees display fiddleback or flame grain in the main trunk and others don't.Maybe we'll never know for sure but that's why wood is such interesting stuff to cut and work.

Steve - you may not be so far off. There is a lot of iron in blood and iron could reasonably be expected to be picked up by a tree. And that could to the trick.

The red walnut on my property was growing along the river and was, in fact, undercut by the river. To say that it was a bottomland tree is an understatement. No cow pee or pig blood there.

Brent

No idea Steve. Never asked him where they came from, and he's long gone. The difference between forearm and buttstock is the camera. They're from the same blank, and not different color as they appear in this picture.-Vall

[quote=Vall The difference between forearm and buttstock is the camera. They're from the same blank, and not different color as they appear in this picture.-Vall [/quote]

FWIW, I recently sectioned an oversize buttstock blank into several smaller pieces, supposedly for a multi-barrel Martini Cadet set; the 2 forearms were cut side-by-side from directly beneath the buttstock belly section and none of the 3 pieces looks like it matches any of the others in either figure or color. Very discouraging, the whole reason for buying the oversize blank was so I could have matching wood for the multiple forearms and buttstock but Murphy struck again. Bah.
Regards, Joe

When I called BS on the manure, IT WAS A JOKE!

BTW, the worst forend to butt match I've had ever had, was wood from the same blank!

Ok,I thought that might be the case but there is an awful lot of folk lore and urban legend concerning walnut and it cutting and curing,so I understand any doubts. I have people tell me "it should be near dry as it has been sitting in the log for 'x" amount of time".I cut a couple dozen logs that someone bought at a sawmill auction and they had been sitting so long the bark had fallen off and several were deeply checked.I started sawing and the wood inside was actually green in color and dripping wet. The only dry part was a couple inches in on either end and that was deeply checked.Wood does not dry in the log it must be cut and stickered for that to happen.
There is a lot of stress in some logs and when you start cutting sometimes the damn thing will move,sometimes quite violently and enough to bind the blade in the cut.I had one big log practically jump in the air when I made the initial cut and released tension. I sure would like to see them saw the big,4 foot or greater in diameter,logs they cut in asia and eastern europe.They get a lot of scrap but it must be fun watching the figure come out as you cut.I love wood and really admire those, like SDH,who can turn it into something that transcends fads and time and remains something of beauty and utility forever.

Yep! Especially if the forearm and buttstock are one blank, but separated by an old singleshot action! Best to take them from a side by side piece, than to take them in line.

Hello SSG: How big a blank might you need? I have some very strange reddish wood,in planks(short) also dim. 3x4x36, HARD as hell,interesting figure as it hides in rough stage and first sand,then finish sand; it shows flecks and dots! apply oil or varnish,really gets lively. I have laminated some to a pattern mahogony stock,the mah.is very stable but weak as to spiltting with grain.I also subdue the stain as it can get really RED brown.Will try to get pics,oh the source is a series of pallets from a local industry,tropical hardwood.air dried but no checks or spilts. Not reactionary either,stays in place,Heavy also,heavier than oak,beech others natives.Dick Stack

chardy.......I need a blank at least 2 1/2 thick, 6 wide, and the length of 36 is fine. But, it has to be walnut. I do appreciate your info.

I just posted a straight-grip, two-piece blank with a reddish background color for sale.
That blank sold right away!

Quality Walnut