answer to really hard figured wood

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I'm currently building a Rupp styled rifle for my buddy Brian.  The wood in the butt stock is crazy figure and desperately hard.  A draw knife refused to shear off the wood without the danger of breaking off the entire buttstock, or tearing out shucks, even with an acute shearing action.  So I went into my drawer and pulled out "Jaws".  It is new, sharp, and 21 1/2" long.  Still slow going but much better control.  It took one and  a half days to shape up the buttstock, going to finer rasps and finally scraper.

[Justin Urbantas]

You don't act like a retired gunmaker. I have a nice hoof rasp that I like for removing wood in a hurry.

[alex e.]

A  new Save Edge farriers rasp is beyond scary sharp. I have a Nicholson rasp rusting in the corner to prove it.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Justin:  believe me, I'm trying!!  After this one for Brian, I have no other commitments...I can hardly believe it.  That'll make three this winter...I must say, I've enjoyed all three.

[Mike Lyons]

Taylor,  What barrel and caliber is it going to have?   Those Lehighs are my favorite.

[David Rase]

Taylor,  What barrel and caliber is it going to have?   Those Lehighs are my favorite.

Mike,
The barrel is a Rice "B" weight Allentown Profile 45” long.
David 

[smart dog]

Hi Taylor,
Other than a band saw to trim away excess wood, I use my pattern maker's rasp for 75% of the shaping. I use scrapers, planes, or draw knives to smooth and even the wood afterward.  My Nicholson rasp is about 25 years old and is dulled somewhat but it still works great.  I have a new Liogier sapphire blue rasp that is awesome and beautiful. I am so glad you retired from gun making  so you can make more great guns.    I am in a similar spot.  I retired but I've never been busier.  There is always a friend in need.

dave

[smallpatch]

Taylor,
I feel your pain!  I'm working on a piece of sugar maple with major flame figure in the butt area.  As Mr Martin would say.... "harder than woodpecker lips", and changes direction every ⅛".  Just happens to be a Lehigh as well.  The buttplate is KILLING me.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Dane, I was having quite a time inletting the butt plate on this one too.  It's a Reeves Goering butt plate and is very soft.  The tapping I was using to seat it must have been too hard, because I was bending it into an increasing arch in the crescent, moving it further and further away from the wood, until it finally dawning on me.  I was easily able to straighten out the crescent and went to a lighter whacker, and then things went well.  Final fitting in the crescent was with scrapers.
By retiring what I meant was not taking on any more paid jobs..no more clients.  I will still build another dozen or so for my own entertainment...projects I've been saving and waiting for all my life...a .50 cal SMR with custom Torochi furniture, a Wm Antes swivel breech with Getz .54 cal bbls, another Jaeger this time in .58 cal, a companion pistol for my Verner rifle, a double flint 15 bore with Staudenhauer barrels, a .25 cal squirrel rifle in the Western PA style, you get the idea.
I would not recommend using such a coarse rasp on softer wood...you'll impress deep gouges in the wood that will be difficult to remove.

[Eric Krewson]

I used my Nicholson 49 & 50 for about 20 years, they both seemed to cut well. I picked up a NOS #49 off ebay and then found just how dull my old rasps were.

A quick trip to Boggs tool for sharpening and they were both back as sharp as my new one.

[bama]

Nothing better than a good rasp for rough shaping a stock. That is going to be a good looking rifle when you get through.

[Jim Spray]

Back 40 some years ago I roughed out some stocks for Art Holly and he had me use a Stanley surform. Worked really well on very hard maple. I still have the one he gave me years ago.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Thanks Jim:  The stock is loaded with figure.  Here's the butt wet down with water ...

[David Rase]

Taylor, You are not letting any grass grow under your feet with this project.  It is moving along smartly.
David

[Bob Roller]

I wonder if a BIG Vixen file could manage this hard wood.In 1959,I built a
halfstock 45 caliber rifle from a piece of walnut that came from Russia and it was about
as hard as the barrel.It turned out very well and the last I knew about it the gun was
in Lexington Ky.I used a Surform on this but it was still hard work and I had no Vixen
files then.
Bob Roller

[Jim Spray]

Wow! What a great piece of wood!

[A.Merrill]

   I had a hard maple stock once, took it to my friends auto body shop and I use he's  air grinder on it. Took about a hour and I had a precarved butt stock and I was coated in wood dust.    Al

[smylee grouch]

What, no electric file grinder gizmo thingamajig    

[bama]

Very nice piece of maple Taylor and it is looking superb.

[smallpatch]

Taylor,
Hers a pic of my nightmare.  Finally got the buttplate.  I'm using Iwasaki rasps on mine.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

A really pretty piece of wood Dane.  Do I see a bark inclusion down around the toe, or just a dense bit of figure?   I have a really small one up near the butt plate return, and it'll fill with stained Aglass just fine.  Good stock wood don't grow on trees.

[smallpatch]

Taylor,
That dark area on the toe is just figure.  There is a small one forward a bit, but it's very tiny, and hope it won't get bigger as it is shaped down.
Thinking no patchbox for this one, don't want to cover up all that figure.

[smokepole45cal]

Dragon rasps!!!

Available on Stew Mac - used by a lot of fiddle and guitar makers. Worth every penny. I tossed all my other rasps. These things are like the Tasmanian devil on hard maple!