"Fiddleback" maple adorns some of the most valuable musical instruments in the world, exquisitely crafted Strads that are more valuable and have blessed/enriched more people than any gun can or will. I consistently get grief for my loathing of checkering, and probably would cause some noses to turn up and backs to turn 'round should I dare to show up in certain circles with an antique ivory stocked wheel lock.
Also, a high gloss finish is at least appreciated, if not embraced, by knowledgable woodworkers, French polish for example bringing out the color and figure as perhaps no other finish can, and finding itself painstakingly applied to the most famous and valuable examples of the cabinet maker's art.
Walnut has been employed in gunmaking for centuries primarily due to function (density to tensile strength, insect and rot resistance, workability with tools, ability to take detail) more than form (appearance or beauty, an imperfect analogy perhaps being case colors the pleasing by-product (form) of a hardening process (function).
Whether violins or Vincis, from ebony and ivory to plastic and rubber, the "appropriateness" of material to application will no doubt provide surfeit fodder for the foreseeable future.
Mike
Last edited by wingshooter16; 12/18/14 06:17 AM.
