Minimum blank size for a skinny rifle

[Justin Urbantas]

I have some small Rocky Mountain maple trees growing on my property, and was thinking about cutting one for a gun stock.  They are not very big. What do you think a minimum size blank would be to build a skinny rifle like a southern mountain or a golden age Pennsylvania? Probably using an A weight swamped barrel or a 13/16" straight.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Plank size - after drying - 10" wide x 2 1/8" thick x 64" long ( or appropriate length for barrel length)

Justin:  I admire your 'the hard way' approach, but maple is so cheap, it seems to me you're looking for work.

[smart dog]

Hi Justin,
I would not waste my time on Rocky Mountain maple.  It has about the same density and specific gravity as silver maple and other soft maples.  The small boards will likely cup on you during drying and the resulting lumber likely will not make a strong skinny gun stock.  You risk stock failure after much work.

dave

[Dennis Glazener]

I have some small Rocky Mountain maple trees growing on my property, and was thinking about cutting one for a gun stock.  They are not very big. What do you think a minimum size blank would be to build a skinny rifle like a southern mountain or a golden age Pennsylvania? Probably using an A weight swamped barrel or a 13/16" straight.

I used to think it would be great to cut your own tree and cut out a good blank then build your rifle out of the wood your harvested. Well its not as easy as it sounds. You have to get it cut in proper boards, then rack it up to air dry for about a Min of 4 years then dodge the insect holes/cracks/knots/sap wood and orient the grain right for the wrist. By the time you do all this you could have easily paid the $70 or so for a top grade sugar maple blank ready to go.
Dennis

[Justin Urbantas]

I mostly wanted to do it to say to the kids and grand-kids years from now that I built it from a tree that grew on the farm. I do have plenty of time to let it dry, and a chainsaw mill to cut it into planks after it dries.

[smart dog]

Hi Justin,
Except because Rocky Mountain maple soft and relatively weak compared to sugar maple, the gun may not last to be given to your grand kids.  In fact, it may not last the building process.

dave

[Daryl]

This rifle is made with "Western" Maple - seems fine to me.
I like it - a lot.

[Daryl]

As for the Trigger Guard, you could start with a sand-cast guard, then with a bit of filing, you end up with this - or the design you need.



Like this:



 I'm not really bragging, well, HA! that's not quite right - I am bragging, but I didn't make it, Taylor did. I am blessed, however with owning it, and getting to shoot it - even though it is Western Maple. If that is Rocky Mountain, maple or not, I don't know - sounds similar.

[Marcruger]

Taylor did you right.  That incised carving is CRISP.  Really crisp. 

[smart dog]

Hi Daryl,
That gun was probably made from Bigleaf maple, which is sometimes identified as "western" maple.  It grows fairly large and you can occasionally get hard dense lumber from it, often with good figure.  Rocky Mountain maple is a different species that rarely grows taller than 30ft or 10" in diameter and is usually no more than a shrub.  The best use of Rocky Mountain maple is browse for deer and moose.

dave

[WadePatton]

Hi Justin,
I would not waste my time on Rocky Mountain maple.  It has about the same density and specific gravity as silver maple and other soft maples.  The small boards will likely cup on you during drying and the resulting lumber likely will not make a strong skinny gun stock.  You risk stock failure after much work.

dave

If anyone ever likened any wood that I was considering to silver and soft maples, then I would completely disregard it as stockwood, and probably even firewood.  Soft maples I won't even cut up for firewood. 

Can you not find a Walnut, Black Cherry, Red Maple, Sugar Tree, Pear, Apple, or Ash?   The best trees come from the North side and deep in the cracks where they have to grow long and straight to get up to sunlight.  North side catches less sun and doesn't get as dry in hot Summer.  Trees near water get big fast, but that's wide-spaced growth rings and less density than those that struggle.  Just some ideas about where to find the best timber. 

[Swampwalker]

Mr. Sapergia likely used bigleaf maple, Acer macrophyllum, described as hard, not very strong, but used commercially.  The rocky mountain maple is Acer glabrum,  is described as hard and heavy, but usually not big enough to produce logs.  If you've got some big enough to produce a board of sufficient size, it might be worth a try.  Or maybe get a pistol blank out of it.  The smallest board you need for a rifle blank would be a dried size of 8 inches wide by 1 7/8 inch thick, lenght dependent on your barrel length.

[Justin Urbantas]

The problem where I live in Montana is finding hardwoods at all, let alone decent gun stock material. I have acres and acres of fir, spruce and pine, but as far as hardwood there are only  a few birch trees, and little stands of that shrubby maple.  I could probably get a 10" plank from one. I may just cut it and set it aside to make boards, and see in a few years how it is. If no good, I'll just put it in the firewood stack. Nothing lost but a bit of time

[Joe S]

Or perhaps make a nice longbow if it's not gun stock material.