Thanks guys--I appreciate the responses. A few of them I could not really tell if the posters were discouraging due to aesthetics or strength. I am not worried about labor vs whether the wood is "nice" or not, the only thing I was wondering is whether a blank cut in this manner (with the core of the log included in the blank) will be structurally sound. The rest is aesthetics--this is not a money-saving excercise, it's simply a piece of wood that an old man wanted to someday see turned into a gunstock...unless there's a good reason not to do that I aim to make him happy. It sounds like some say it's not sound, and at least one person has done it before...anyone have additional thoughts or clarification?
Thanks,
Dave
