AmericanLongRifles Forums
General discussion => Antique Gun Collecting => Topic started by: delivered on February 06, 2017, 06:03:20 PM
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I have a 8-bore English gun made by Wilson & Co, London. (marked on the lock and barrel)
It has a back action percussion lock. It is stocked in Ash and has a defiant scraped finish.
The debate has been if it had been re-stock at one time?
Did they have Ash in England?
[url(https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi67.tinypic.com%2F2822ero.jpg&hash=d88e2c643c182f25bc6b9c30e4bdb82ed48e6576)][/url]
http://(https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi63.tinypic.com%2Fa1iy6x.jpg&hash=e7d6c44c3c201a84f8b5a5ac6ebff1838e9d6b34)
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Here you go; https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/trees-woods-and-wildlife/british-trees/native-trees/ash/
In the text it says Ash is the third most common tree in Britain.
John
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Back in the day in England, mythology holds that it was the "Kings wood". It dries quickly for firewood, often being burnable cut right from the stump. Only the Kings men were allowed to take it from the forest. Ash was used to frame carriages and early motor car bodies too.
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Thanks guys!
Apparently they had Ash in England back then.
Anther indication that it had not been re-stocked is there are no scratch marks on any of the metal parts; all of the engraving is still there!
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Whether ash was indigenous to the UK or not is probably irrelevant. America's largest single export product from the colonial era through the early 19th century was hardwood.
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Despite importing our hardwood, we rarely if ever see a British gun stocked in American walnut, maple, cherry.
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Probably the Kings' wood because that was the wood of choice for their war arrows, 'hits with good stripe' as they used to say.
Robin
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Yes ash is a English wood but mostly used in the furniture trade , has for maple many of the early London gunmakers such has the Mantons used bird eye maple I have restored several guns with this wood .The most common wood used in the gun trade then was both English and French walnut.
Feltwad
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Back in the day if we ran out of yew we would make longbows from ash.
So yes we have ash over here and have had it for a very long time!!!
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If Tinypic gets up and running again I will post some pictures!
Thanks for the info!
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To me this is a restock by some do it yourself amateur gun smith I have seen this type before maybe that is the only type of wood he could afford ,to be honest no English gun maker of that period would have used ash the main wood was English or French walnut.
Feltwad
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To me this is a restock by some do it yourself amateur gun smith I have seen this type before maybe that is the only type of wood he could afford ,to be honest no English gun maker of that period would have used ash the main wood was English or French walnut.
Feltwad
I have seen lots of english guns stocked in english ash and they were not restocks.
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To me this is a restock by some do it yourself amateur gun smith I have seen this type before maybe that is the only type of wood he could afford ,to be honest no English gun maker of that period would have used ash the main wood was English or French walnut.
Feltwad
I have seen lots of english guns stocked in english ash and they were not restocks.
I also have seen percussion shotgun stocked in ash of which were all restocks .Has I said English gun makers of that period used English or French walnut and on occasion birds eye maple
Feltwad
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I'm starting to feel like I just fell off of the 'tatter truck...... :o
BTW, the gun in question in the first post is a restock.