stock wood - more photos added

[Jim Kibler]

Some of you probably know we have begun sawing our own logs to support our kit business.  The quanties of high quality curly maple in the thickness we need are simply not commercially available, so we were forced to move in this direction.  It's a lot of work for sure, but also a lot of fun!  Here are some logs from a recent run into Northern Pennsylvania.  Most of these are red maple, but there are two cherry logs as well.  One cherry has some pretty nice curl.

I could go on and on about this stuff, but don't know where to start.  How about if you have any quesitons, just ask!

Jim

[wapiti22]

Keep up the Good Work Jim. I really appreciate everything you do for this hobby!!!!!!

[canadianml1]

Good stuff Jim!!!

[Eric Kettenburg]

I love seeing this kind of thing! 

There are many giant - and I mean giant - sugar maples around here where I am, but unfortunately they are (1) difficult to access without cutting in logging roads and (2) full of century old + wire up to @ 4 ft.  Oh well. 

Tree hunting is a lot of fun.  At least I think so.

[Jim Kibler]

Yeah, this really is lots of fun.  Here is some wood I just got yesterday from some Amish friends.  Needless to say, I was very pleased!

[Tim Crosby]

 How are you going to dry it, air or kiln?

    Tim

[Jim Kibler]

A little bit of info...  We generally only use sap (white) wood for gunstocks.  The darker, interior heart wood is usually not suitable for stockwood and is avoided.  You can see some of this darker wood in the previous photo. 

This is one of the difficulties with cutting maple.  You need to dodge the heart wood, but it's not always clear where it is.  You can see where it is on the two ends of the log, but where it goes in the middle isn't always clear.

The lighter wood you see is some hard maple, while the wild curly other wood is red maple.

Jim

[Jim Kibler]

How are you going to dry it, air or kiln?

    Tim

We have been air drying it to at least 20% moisture in the board, blanking the stocks out and them completing the drying in a dehumidification kiln.  The whole process takes around 5-6 months.

In the future, I would like to immediately blank out the stocks when the wood falls off the sawmill, stack in such a way that it's constrained and can't move around much, allow to dry to 20% and then finish off the stack in the kiln.

Jim

[Bigmon]

Man, that is alot of work!!
I have several sawmills around her that I know the owners.  I have been asking them for years to let me know if they see any curly maple, cherry, whatever with figure.
They basically ignor me.  I try and tell them it's worth far more money than palet wood?

[Jim Kibler]

Here's an interesting piece of hard maple that just came off the machine.  I call this blister figure or just "bubbly" figure.  Some might call it quilted I guess as well.  In the log surface, this shows up as raised bumps or blisters.  I've only seen it in hard maple. 

[Jim Kibler]

So, when we're looking for curly logs, the first thing we look for are ripples below the bark.  When the bark is slipping off the log (April through about now) this is easier to identify.  You can also look for areas of the log where the wood is torn or split and look for wavy grain.  If it looks good on the surface, and the log is decent enough in size and the heart small enough, we saw a "cookie" off the small end of the log.  This can then be broken to see how deep the curl goes in the log and to get an idea of it's amplitude or intensity.

Jim

[83nubnEC]

I wouldn't call the last pictures posted "bubbly". I would call that figured wood "Champagne",  as I think it would make a top shelf stock.

[Jim Kibler]

Man, that is alot of work!!
I have several sawmills around her that I know the owners.  I have been asking them for years to let me know if they see any curly maple, cherry, whatever with figure.
They basically ignor me.  I try and tell them it's worth far more money than palet wood?

It definitely takes the right approach.  Usually $$$ and a willingness to buy in quantity helps.  Also, just talking to them and developing a bit of a relationship.  For us, most are interested in our business, so that helps.

So, if anyone knows of mills who process significant quantities of soft or hard maple and might be willing to work with us, please pass them on to us.  We’re always trying to make contacts and develop sources.

It is sad to think about how much great curly wood gets wasted.  I'd bet maybe 5% gets identified and used for something worth a @!*%. 

[Jim Kibler]

[Tim Crosby]

 WOW!

[t.caster]

YOUSSA, YOUSSA, YOUSSSSAA! NICE STUFF!

[MuskratMike]

I know that I speak only for myself but I thank you Jim for all you do for our sport. The good Lord broke the mold after you.
"Muskrat" Mike

[mountainman]

Interesting stuff! So I'm curious as to what thickness you actually prefer them to be for gunstocks?
I've gotten quite a few blanks from sawmills, that it didn't seem to be an issue as far thickness, minimum about 2 3/4" and 3" at the most.

[HighUintas]

I have a question, Jim.

What is it about the heartwood that prevents it from being suitable stock wood?

Does that apply to all species (walnut is my concern) or just some?

[Fly Navy]

I love beautiful wood and that bubbly wood stock is to die for. I hope who ever gets it would post pictures when its finished. Jim, thanks for all you do, and please don't give yourself a hernia lifting all of that wood.

[Niall]

I have a question, Jim.

What is it about the heartwood that prevents it from being suitable stock wood?

Does that apply to all species (walnut is my concern) or just some?

I think with walnut it's the heartwood that's desirable, the lighter coloured sapwood is to be avoided. The darker heartwood in some species like ash and maple is brittle and hard to work..I'd be interested in what Jim Kibler has to say.

[Jim Kibler]

I have a question, Jim.

What is it about the heartwood that prevents it from being suitable stock wood?

Does that apply to all species (walnut is my concern) or just some?

So, heart wood in maple is often quite dark.  It can also be pretty light and not too different in color than sapwood, but typically it's dark and nasty looking.  It has different characteristics than sapwood and often develops cracks when drying.  I've also noticed it works different than sapwood.  I remember carving a rifle with some heartwood and it dulled chisels quickly.

As mentioned, we try to avoid heart.  Sometimes a rifle might end up having a little bit and it's not the end of the world, but we try to avoid it.  On occasion, the heart will be much more similar to sapwood in appearance and workability and we will at times use this for stock wood.

Yes, in walnut and cherry we use the heart, but not generally in maple.

Jim

[Jim Kibler]

Interesting stuff! So I'm curious as to what thickness you actually prefer them to be for gunstocks?
I've gotten quite a few blanks from sawmills, that it didn't seem to be an issue as far thickness, minimum about 2 3/4" and 3" at the most.

We need 2 3/8" for our Colonial rifle kits.  With this the case we typically saw to around 2 5/8"-2 3/4" to allow for shrinkage when the wood dries.  You can get just about any rifle style out of a 2 3/8" blank.  Thin blanks seem to scare some people, but they're usually not much of a problem.  I like that it makes the wood go further.

Jim

[Jim Kibler]

I know that I speak only for myself but I thank you Jim for all you do for our sport. The good Lord broke the mold after you.
"Muskrat" Mike

Thanks.  Doing something good for the growth and progression of this culture is a nice thing, but at the same time, we're just working hard to just run a successful and profitable business. We have around 14 employees that depend on us for their living, so this certainly keeps us focused.

On a personal note, it's great to be able to make some changes and push the boundaries with these longrifles.  I guess it's really kind of a challenge and game for me.  Speaking of improvements, we've begun making production stocks for the Woodsrunner kits on a brand new 6 axis machining center.  The improvements from new processes and this machine are astounding.  I believe we are going to be able to provide stocks where zero wood is going to be required in fitting parts.  Litterally, the kits should just be able to be pinned and screwed together.  We're also working on trying to do some decorative carving on the machine.  This is going to really shake things up!

Of course, not everybody has appreciated our business, but I really don't care.  I enjoy what we do, we've had a lot of happy customers and brought a LOT of people into this traditional blackpowder world.  Some might not like our somewhat agressive approach, but that is just our style.  People would often talk about expanding the market, what to do to bring more people into this world and then not change a thing in their approaches.  This goes for businesses and organizations.  It's still happening at the very moment.  Some don't have forsight, and I guess others are just content with the status quo.

Anyways, enough rambling have a good weekend everybody.

Jim

[bob in the woods]

My friend operates a mill, and I have spent some time helping him.  Watch your fingers !