Is wood grade more than just decorative

[Cory Joe Stewart]

Hello all,

I have never really gone all out and built a rifle with a stock that has full curl throughout.  The pieces of maple I have worked with have always been in the mid range of grade and price.  The current piece I am working with is the same, it has some curl, but not consistent throughout and is a very attractive piece of wood.  However, I am having a heck of a time keeping my carving clean.  I have noticed that where I am having the most difficulty is in the spots where the grain is more open and less curl.  The wood is having more of a tendency to tear instead of cut cleanly. It is also unfortunate that one of these spots is where the tang carving is. 

So my question.  Is the choice of the grade of wood a decorative decision or should one look for a specific grade when choosing stocks that will be carved?

Coryjoe

[Captchee]

It depends a lot on who you purchase from . But I find anymore that  more times then not , the grade is more about figure then it is about  quality .
Add into that , everyone seems to grade differently . What’s a grade 5 from one , maybe a grade 3 or 4 from another . Then you have the whole A, B,C thing ?
 Then you  have the whole pre-carve grading thing  of % of curl .  that’s not to say that  a figured wood cannot be hard  . Factually it can be very hard .  Its however a roll of the dice as to if your going to get such a piece unless you hand pick it OR  buy from a retailer who is willing to  hand pick one for you .

 Some of the most wonderful stocks I have  ever worked on , had no figure at all . Yet were so had a Farrier rasp would struggle . At the same time I have worked on some high end  burl walnut that was so hard ,  I thanked the lord above  when the stock was done .  That and those are often very hard on the wallet if you screw one up .

 Today im lucky in  that I have a place where I can go pick through planks .
 But ordering wise . One of the best Maple planks I ever  received , was hand picked by Barbie Chambers

[Pete G.]

As a general rule, the more curl in a piece the more difficult it is to work, obviously there can be exceptions to that rule, as your case illustrates.

[Acer Saccharum]

I find that density matters more than figure. A piece of hard maple is very heavy, while a softer maple piece will be appreciably lighter. If both have the same curl pattern, the hard maple will carve better and cleaner.

There are different kinds of maple, too, so one must pick carefully when choosing a stock for carving. Sugar maple, Red Maple, Big Leaf Maple(West Coast) and Silver Maple are some of the varieties you'll find in this country.

Generally speaking, Sugar Maple will be the best for stocking and carving, but you will find occasional piece of Red or Big Leaf that are hard and suitable for carving. Silver is way too soft.


Secondly, sharp tools are a must. Bright polished cutting edges yield shiny cuts in the wood. A coarsely sharpened tool, or a burr or tear in the cutting edge leaves a rough mealy finish on the wood.

[smart dog]

Hi Cory,
My experience is that grade is largely cosmetic.  I am building a gun from a highly figured plank of red maple.  The blank is a high grade because the figure is intense and even but the blank is considerably lighter than another blank I have of lower grade plain sugar maple.  The weight difference is striking.  It is much less dense than the sugar maple plank and would be horribly subject to tear out if my tools were not scary, razor sharp.  I spend more time sharpening my tools cutting this stock than I do with a harder, denser blank.  In addition, if I finish it by scraping alone, I'll have to be very careful and thorough or the ripple effect will be much too pronounced.  I am using the red maple stock because my gun will only have simple carving appropriate for this particular gun.

dave

[Mike Brooks]

Speaking in generalities.....plain wood is generally stronger than super curly wood, in my experience. I have had super curly maple snap right through the curl while taking a barrel out.

When I Hand pick blanks I first lift it to see if it is heavy. If it is I check the grain through the wrist. Lastly I look at the curl.

[Cory Joe Stewart]

Thanks for the information everyone.  I am keeping the chisels sharp, I did notice the other day that I would not go to the strop as often as I should.  I usually try to take it to the strop after every two or three passes.  I have dulled them on the strop if I don't have it held at the proper angle.  If I can get a good picture I will post it.  This is also my most ambitious carving project as of yet, so it is a challenge for me. 

Regards,

Coryjoe