Walnut Gun Stocks

[catskillkid]

This might something of strange questions but here goes...

I have a walnut tree on my property (I believe it's a Carpathian Walnut) that is dead. I know traditionally gun stocks were made out of Walnut and was wondering if the wood would be any good as gun stock material. I realize that I probably won't know for sure until I get it down on the ground and see how rotted it is.

Anyone ever make a gun stock out of a piece of walnut?

[thughes]

Robin......You got this one?

[GUNSICK]

Cut it down and run some pieces through a band saw and see what you have.

[Cgrutt]

Definitely need to cut it down to see if its rotted through. You would want to use the heartwood (inner part) not sap wood (outer part). If center is rotted through or infested with bugs won't work. How long has tree been dead? Assuming its still good, I've got a decent band saw that you could cut a blank with. Probably will need to let it dry for a year or two before using it though. Cut the blanks over sized, seal the end grain so it doesn't check (split), stack them in a cool dry place with spacers between the boards and let it dry out. Alternative is kiln drying. You can then resaw the blanks to correct size after its all dry. Good luck.

[LibertyOrDeath]

Good luck on the walnut. Hope it turns out ok. I love the walnut stock on my Henry.

[dwa12479]

Robin is definitely your man for this one.