Curley Ash

[frogwalking]

I have obtained a curley ash stock for a gun I am putting together.  I know very little about this wood.  Someone please tell me about it.  The stripe is very close and so even it looks like it was applied by machine.  I want a light finish, but want the grain to look good.  What do I use, and how?

Thanks,

Frog

[volatpluvia]

Frog,
It is a heavier wood than dense maple.  I believe it is good for making stocks, if you don't mind the extra weight.  It is used in making furniture and is considered to be quite strong.  I believe that you won't have any problem staining it like  one does with good hard maple.  Make sure your tools are sharp to make it possible to shape the stock.
As with staining on any wood, try a piece of leftover from the wood to see how it will look.  I think you will be pleased.
volatpluvia

[Curt Lyles]

 Frog  I have 2 rifles with curly ash stocks and I think like them better than maple (I cant believe I said that).They are strong and stain well with nitric acid but Chuck Edwards said he not ready to carve another for a looooong time.If you want pix I can sendya some thru email  ..Curt

[Keb]

I'm in the aqua fortis camp. Don't forget to neutralize it or it'll get very dark real quick.

[Pete G.]

I just finished one. They can be difficult due to the differences in hardness. The growth rings were so hard that you almost had to drill and tap for a screw, but the area between was soft and porous. only one application of A/F left a very dark muddy brown color. After neutralizing and scrubbing back with a scotchbrite pad it had a really striking figure, but it was still very dark.

[WadePatton]

My next one is Curly Ash, I expect it to be challenging in a couple of ways-but Southern Style requires no carving.  I'll most likely acetic acid or nitric acid stain it.  Putting 44 inches of A-wt forty caliber into it.  Hope the light bbl/"heavy" wood balances out.  Wood is from the Harrisons.

The general feeling i get from gunmakers is that it's a bit more difficult, but can be very rewarding.  Many say "one then done".  IOW they made ONE and won't make another.   Consider yourself (and me) forewarned. 

Also, as mentioned in archives, the ash borer is active in the Southeast, i've seen some great trees ruined, but there is yet good timber coming out of the woods.  That borer leaves holes not much smaller than Carpenter Bees do!  The forestry guys said "cut all your marketable ash" as it may not be there later.  (And this should slow the spread of the bugs).

I've been studying on it for a while, here are some previous ALR discussions on the subject:

http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=5156.0

http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=2805.0

http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=11638.0

bonus material from archives:

http://americanlongrifles.org/old_board/index.php?topic=11078.0

http://americanlongrifles.org/old_board/index.php?topic=10078.0

http://americanlongrifles.org/old_board/index.php?topic=5253.0

http://americanlongrifles.org/old_board/index.php?topic=4892.0

http://americanlongrifles.org/old_board/index.php?topic=8746.0

http://americanlongrifles.org/old_board/index.php?topic=6745.0

http://americanlongrifles.org/old_board/index.php?topic=8003.0

[Acer Saccharum]

I've heard folks say it's tough to carve well. The strong grain pattern tells me that fine carving would get lost visually.

However, just to throw some gas on my fire, Chis Laubach did a gorgeous gun in ash, fully carved. He had this at Lewisburg last year, or the year before. Beautiful gun.

[frogwalking]

Lots of wonderful information.   Thanks folks.  Tip had a nice figured walnut stock there on the table too, but I selected the ash.  I was beginning to think I may have made a mistake, but  now think I did right.  Finishing is going to be a booger, but most of my best experiences were like that.

[Gene Carrell]

Ferric nitrate in solution with alcohol is easy to control and can leave you with a light colour while bringing out the curl and grain in curly ash. Use of a good filler (such as the one sold by Chambers) will help with the finishing also.