Hickory stock blanks on way

[rich pierce]

Because I'm crazy I've been looking for hickory stock blanks to make a hickory stocked Bucks County style simple squirrel rifle.  I found a guy in Hickory, North Carolina who makes bows and had some thick, wide hickory planks cut.  He doesn't use the heartwood, so was happy to trade some hickory planks (2.25" thick by 8" wide at the thick end) for some osage bow staves.  He says it's wicked heavy and hard.  I hope to get them at the end of the week and that they will be worthy of making gunstocks.  They will probably have to dry for another year or so.  i'll keep you posted on this odd venture.

[sz]

Oh COOL!

Rich, if he has enough for 2 of them, I would also be interested in a blank.
Do you think that's possible?
Steve

[FG1]

Rich , I'm still interested 

[Acer Saccharum]

Hey, if the gun don't shoot good, you can play hockey with it.

[rich pierce]

Rich , I'm still interested 

You've got first dibs for sure.

[Feltwad]

Rich
Make sure your tools are very sharp you will need to sharpen them regular.
Feltwad

[Tim Crosby]

Rich,
 When you put it up to dry be sure and put some insect repellent on it, if I do it again I will coat it with 7 Dust. I put some hickory and pecan up one time . It was out side but under a lean to attached to the shop, open on three sides and after one year it looked like a sponge and was covered with dust from the worm holes. And yes I had roughed it out and removed all the bark.
Just a thought.

Tim C.

[ironwolf]

  Can't believe you're gonna' waiste all them ram rods on a durn gunstock   LOL

  Kevin

[rich pierce]

Rich
Make sure your tools are very sharp you will need to sharpen them regular.
Feltwad

Will do.  I'm going to make an osage orange over the log gun next.  Just kidding.  I work both hickory and osage orange for bows and hickory is not as hard but is harder to work because of grain.

[MRW]

This is one of my Underhammers Stocked in pecan which is a type of hickory the grain in it is really neat lots of rays but it was about the hardest piece of wood I have every worked with a Shinto rasp just about skated right off the surface!

[rich pierce]

Great looking piece of wood!  I expect the hickory to be dead plain.

[caliber45]

Hey, MRW -- that is a gorgeous hunk of lumber on your underhammer. Nice job on the rifle, too. - paul

[rich pierce]

The planks arrived today.  I'm pretty sure the guy I got them from does not frequent this forum, so I'll speak plainly.
One is but 1 and 5/8" thick, rough sawn, has a couple of softball-sized knots and is curved.
T'other looks good by comparison, is 1 and 7/8" thick, rough sawn, and the amount of curve could give me some cast off.
Cost me shipping ($50) and 3 osage staves with a lot of work in them, worth at least $150 altogether, plus the shipping on them ($20).
Lesson learned- it's hard to explain to somebody who doesn't build guns, what is needed, even with the best effort on both parties. 

Sure wish Wayne had some hickory.

So fellas I don't think I can help you with a good hickory stock blank.  Axe handles, no problem!

[sz]

RATZ!
 

[Dennis Glazener]

Rich,
I hate to say it but my experience with hickory indicates that is typical of what you get in a hickory log from around this area. Now pecan (close kin of hickory) seems to have less knots than hickory. I had 2 very large pieces of pecan and 4 of hickory at a sawmill and had asked to have it cut but the guy never did (I don't think he wanted to cut it!) and worms got in it and I gave it away for firewood.
Dennis

[rich pierce]

I'll try once again to get Steve Bailey to chase some down for me.

[MRW]

Sorry to hear about your Hickory here are a couple of pics of one our Pecan blanks it is 54"long 2 1/4" thick and 10" at the wide end and 5 1/2 at the narrow. It has a few knots but they are tight and the grain swirl around them is pretty neat, Id say if you are having trouble with the hickory try pecan although I will warn you IT IS VERY VERY HARD WOOD once it cures out!!!!! My friend and I lucked out we got two pickup loads of wood some of this was  pecan, ash and walnut  a result of a Kansas wind storm which we shared with another guy we had a little trouble with blanks splitting but most were wide enough that if we cut them in half we still had enough wood to make stock blanks. We wanted to quarter saw these logs but the guy with mill just plank sawed them but enough of them came out ok we felt we were still ahead of the game although I'd like to see what quater sawed pecan would look like I know scyamore is really bizzare when it is quarter sawn

[rich pierce]

I'd be all over it of it was 60".  If you find some, let me know.  Super looking wood.

[Randy Hedden]

MRW,

If the logs were plank sawed you would still have two and possibly four blanks from each log that would be quarter or nearly quarter sawed. Maybe these are the blanks that you said were a little better than the rest?

Randy Hedden

www.harddogrifles.com

[Metalshaper]

If that Pecan tree, hadn't been used to anchor part of a cable fence line.. the boards would have been between 8 and 10 feet long!!    as it was, we lost almost a foot of log on each side of the  line that was girdling the tree.  The  sawyers used a metal detector and erred on the side of caution,, to save themselves and their saw.

The owner, of the mill, works on the buisiness end and does the harvesting/hauling. His saw man ( Nubbie , as he was called by my then 11-12 yr old son, because he had his thumbs and one finger< or most of one  > on each hand ) did all the 'yard work' milling the lumber

The owner and I talked at great length and he understood why I wanted it quarter sawn. we even marked each log and the mill work was priced as such. Evidently there was a breakdown in communication?? but we did get a price break, on the mill time.  and as Randy pointed out,, at least a couple of planks each,, ended up quarter cut..

 I had some of the Walnut cut to 4" thick,, with the idea of making flint double shotguns,, somewhere down the road..

Respect Always
Metalshaper

[rich pierce]

Keep an eye out for me and here's to Nubby!

[JBlk]

Rich, There are allot of the portable saw mills operating here in central Illinois, and I'll bet you also have allot in Iowa.Why don't you contact one of the operators and have some planks sawed to your specs.I know a mill operator in Maquon that could probably get the job done for you.Macon is approximately eighty miles from Burlington.

[rich pierce]

I'm in St. Louis, Missouri, not so far from Central Illinois- so if you know somebody who might be able to get me some stock blank thickness planks, let me know.
thanks,
rp

[JBlk]

Rich, I knew you lived in the St Louis area,  guess that's what they call a senior moment.I will go see the guy that I have in mind and get his telephone number for you.

[T*O*F]

There are allot of the portable saw mills operating here in central Illinois

Any idea of how one would go about finding them, especially in the Danville or Champaign area?  My brother has some HUGE riverbottom trees in walnut, hard maple and sycamore.  The hillsides are eroding and the trees prone to blowing down.  He already has several that are partially down, supported by surrounding trees, with rootballs hanging on by a thread keeping them alive.

It drives me nuts, but he knows of no one in the area with a portable mill.