Mahogany

[Z. Buck]

well i have determined my wood isnt teak, not enough natural oils in it the closest swatch to he grain structure mine has that i can find on the interweb is referred to as african mahogany, whatever that means, no explanation or scientific info just the name

[E.vonAschwege]

I'm pretty sure it's not osage orange, the grain feels much more like walnut or (a very twisted) mahogany.  Mahogany doesn't fit into the story that it was cut in the US though. 
The crack is a drying crack, and fortunately isn't too severe.  If I lay two halfstocks in opposite directions, it clears the crack entirely.  It'll be beautiful to finish, but a PITA to inlet. 

[smart dog]

Hi Folks,
The great furniture wood in the late 18th and early 19th centuries was Cuban mahogany (Swetenia mahogoni).  It is dense, hard wood that works well and finsihes beautifully. Unfortunately, it was virtually logged into extinction. You can still get small quantites from places like the island of Palau, where European colonists grew it in plantations. Cuban mahogany would probably make a pretty strong stock and work fairly well (although not nearly as well as English walnut). Wood marketed today as mahogany may be Honduras mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) or wood of closely related genera from Africa and Asia.  None can replace Cuban mahogany but you can still find lumber that is dense and hard, even from plantation grown trees. I am using plantation grown Honduras mahogany to build a case for pistols. The wood is wonderful to work and finish.  The figure and color are gorgeous, but the wood is fairly soft (like beech) and would not make a good stock.  However, it is not junk and for my purposes is entirely satisfactory.

dave

[George F.]

If Hondurus Mahogany is soft, can it be softer than domestic cherry?  ...Geo.

[Dan'l 1946]

Around here, beech is very hard and makes great plane bodies and other wood working tools.  Too heavy for a gunstock though.

[Z. Buck]

Goex, where is "around here"? not trying to invade your privacy, just curious about what region beech would be too heavy for a rifle stock

[LynnC]

Eric V - my 2 cents - Looks like stump or crotch cherry to me....................Lynn

[smart dog]

GOEX4fg,
You are right.  I was thinking of butternut and basswood, not beech.  In fact, many military gunstocks in Europe were beech. The mahogany I am working with reminds me mostly of working with butternut.  Both have similar density.

dave

[Dan'l 1946]

Western Massachusetts--Connecticut River Valley. Beech trees that I've seen  here are hard and heavy. They grow slowly and have thick trunks. When it's seasoned and ready for use, you need to use sharp tools to work it.  If you check the better tool catalogues, many of the wooden planes have beechwood bodies.

I suppose that there could be several types of beech trees throughout the country with different qualities stemming from soil conditions, rainfall etc.

[Dan'l 1946]

Hickory, black locust, osage orange and beech are rated the heaviest American hardwoods. They all weigh 56 pounds per cubic foot of seasoned wood.  Beech has long been used as a stockwood in Europe, especially for military weapons, because it was less costly than some other woods. But I'm not sure of the density of European beech, it may be lighter than ours. Northern European birch was popular to and often has some figure to it.
                                                                               Dan

[George F.]

Hi Fellas!.... When I started this, I had no idea there would be such a great response. Some more questions and talk about other woods, which I think are great talking points. It' great to know, that I'm not the only one thinking about such matters.  ..Geo.