Wood Strength? Figured vs. Plain Maple’s Wood

[Panzerschwein]

Well how dee, yall?

I’ve been studying up on Hawkens and apparantly many originals had a plain straight grain maple’s wood stock. Supposedly this is conjectured that customers desired the strongest wood possible so the guns would survive the Rockies and dangerous wildernesses out west. Supposedly the figured beautiful tiger stripe flame maple wasn’t as strong as the plain stuff.

How much truth is there to that? Is figured maple weaker and if so, by how much? Is it considered a bit delicate for stockwood? Just always been curious. God bless,

-Panzer

[David Rase]

Strength comes from how the stock was cut out of the log, not figure.  For optimum strength you want a flat sawn stock.  For optimum figure exposure you want a quarter sawn stock.  You can increase the strength of a quarter sawn stock through the most vulnerable section of the stock, the wrist, with grain flow but ultimately flat sawn has more strength properties through the wrist, hence why most military stocks were flat sawn.  Lots of info on the internet about wood grain strength if you do a search.
David

[smylee grouch]

I'm curious, is there any documentation that customers asked for plain straight grain stock wood. Is it possible that the plain wood was used more often because it was more available and maybe cheaper. Just curious.

[rich pierce]

I guess it’s possible that the Hawken brothers thought, or their customers thought, that plain maple was stronger than highly figured maple. I think that curly was getting more scarce during the 1840s and so on, as that’s when we see faux striping.

[Jim Kibler]

I think that wood suppliers, who only typically sold slab sawn wood, liked to overemphasize the strength difference between slab and quarter sawn wood.  I think some will know who I'm referring to.

In practice 99.9% of the time it makes no difference.  Figure makes little difference as well.  Get a decently hard piece of wood with reasonable grain flow and you'll be fine. 

Jim

[Panzerschwein]

I got the idea from Doc:

whitemuzzleloading.com/article.php?id=96&title=The+Truly+Traditional+Hawken

[Jeff Murray]

In reading through trade goods orders from several sources that were involved in the fur trade, I don't recall ever seeing any reference to requests for fancy wood grain in the stocks of rifles ordered.  That situation may have been different for orders placed in St. Louis and other towns directly with the makers of plains rifles.  There are a couple of original Hawken rifles in the Cody Museum with nice figure in the stock.  It could have been like today, the wallet and eye of the buyer made the decision.

[Hungry Horse]

Come on guys you’re trying to impart some kind of high artistry to a gun that was 90% of the time considered a plain Jane tool, like a grubbin’ hoe, or and ax. Good quality, but no work of art. In fact some of the finishes on well used maple stocked Hawken rifles show that either the Hawken brothers didn’t care much how well the finish lasted, or just plain didn’t know how to put a fine finish on maple.

  Hungry Horse

[Mike Brooks]

I got the idea from Doc:

whitemuzzleloading.com/article.php?id=96&title=The+Truly+Traditional+Hawken

That guy is full of-------.    You fill in the blank.

[rich pierce]

Louie Parker, Bob Browner, and Herb seem to have gotten the Hawken rifle styles figured out. Great advice Louie gave me was to not do a generic Hawken rifle but to select one that really appeals to me and have fun modifying or fabricating parts to really emulate a specific original.

Mountain Meek, though not a prolific builder, has done more research that is well synthesized than anyone I personally know.

[Stoner creek]

I got the idea from Doc:

whitemuzzleloading.com/article.php?id=96&title=The+Truly+Traditional+Hawken

That guy is full of-------.    You fill in the blank.

Well How dee y’all?

[Panzerschwein]

I got the idea from Doc:

whitemuzzleloading.com/article.php?id=96&title=The+Truly+Traditional+Hawken

That guy is full of-------.    You fill in the blank.

Well How dee y’all?

Are you Doc White?