Black walnut is stable, dense, straight-grained, strong and easily worked. This wood is highly resistant to shock and so an excellent choice for gunstocks.
Walnut has always been considered the most traditional, if not the best, medium for stocking a sporting rifle. It can be breathtakingly beautiful in its color and grain pattern. It's relatively light in weight, strong and has a compact grain structure that holds checkering and carvings well.
Walnut stocks, or any other type of solid wood that hasn't been varnished or lacquered, can benefit from a few thin coats of gun stock oil. It's crucial to use only small amounts of oil, otherwise each coat will not dry properly and will just leave a greasy, sticky mess.
Mineral oil is the most popular choice for walnut stock because it is inexpensive and does a good job of protecting the wood from moisture. Boiled linseed oil is also a popular choice because it penetrates deeper into the wood and helps to prevent cracking.
Though a few custom rifle fanciers choose maple, mesquite, claro, bastogne or American black walnut for their stocks, the vast majority choose one of the several varieties of thin-shelled walnut, scientific name Juglans regia.
Walnut is hard, dense, and resilient. It resists warping, suffers little shrinkage and isn't prone to splitting, which is important when working with something as lively as a shotgun. It's easy to work and takes fine chequering exceptionally well.
While redwood or teak certainly qualify, five more common lumber species that also stand up well to sunlight, moisture and wood-boring insects are Western red cedar, Spanish cedar, cypress, white oak and mahogany. Red cedar tends to be knotty, but it's affordable and widely available.
Just about every popular wood is described as “warp-resistant.” Even among the most common species for woodworking, black walnut is known as a particularly sturdy wood that resists warping through a long lifetime of use.
Grade 1: Plain American Walnut. Plain straight grained, properly laid out, with no real figure. This wood is typical of original lower grade rifle stocks and is suitable for most purposes. Grade 2: Semi-fancy American Walnut. Distinguished by some modest figure, at least on the right (non-cheekpiece) side.
As a first rule of thumb, the average commercially grown walnut tree needs 1270 mm (50 inches) of precipitation every year. As a second rule of thumb, the walnut trees need more than 50% of the annual water supply during summer (June, July and August).
Walnut is lovely wood, especially when carefully air dried so as to preserve the rich chocolate, purple and black tones in the best of it. HOWEVER, It fades like mad in sunlight. Furniture is touched by sunlight. Therefore, the lovely colors of the walnut go away — and it doesn't take centuries.
Some woodworkers favour walnut oil as a finish for implements that will come in contact with food, such as wooden bowls, because of its safety. Rancidity is not an issue because walnut oil dries when applied to wood in a thin coating.
There is no better oil finish! Birchwood Casey Tru-oil gun stock finish has been the professional's choice for gun stock finishing for more than 30 years.
Synthetic stocks are stronger than any wood stock. They're made of a solid, thick and dense material, which will provide you with stability when you're shooting. They are also easier to mold to your shoulder, which will put the shooter in a more comfortable position and lead to a better shot.
This is the thin-shelled English Walnut, also called Italian, European, Circassian, French, Royal, and Russian. It's all the same wood, but color and grade vary by location of where it grows. This is the king of the gun woods and most sought after and most expensive in the gun world today.
The Black Walnut is one of the most expensive and lucrative trees to sell, thanks to its high-quality dark wood. The tree ranges from $5- $10 per board foot, although it can cost more depending on other factors.
Consequently, they have become the most well-liked and sought-after choice for home furnishings and other types of furniture. Therefore, the trunk of an old walnut tree of twenty inches in diameter can fetch up to $800, while the trunk of an old walnut tree spanning forty to fifty inches in diameter can bring in $2000.
Pros: Walnut is a very strong and stable wood that can take intricate carving. The color can be beautiful. Cons: Some may not like the variation from dark to light that's sometimes found on a single wide board. Walnut is also one of the more costly woods.
Hickory is among the hardest domestic hardwoods with a Janka rating of 1820, while American or Black Walnut is among the softest with a rating of 1010.
On the Janka scale, walnut receives a 1,010, while cherry gets a 950. Those are respectively strong woods. However, they aren't quite on the same level of strength as hardwoods like maple (1,450) or birch (1,260). While walnut is slightly harder than cherry, the difference of strength is minor.
Which Wood Lasts the Longest? Teak wood easily lasts the longest when used for outdoor furniture or decking. When properly maintained, it can last for the entirety of your life and years after.
Naturally resistant woods that are commercially available include black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia), teak (Tectona grandis), ipe (Tabebuia spp.), California redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) and bald cypress (Taxodium distichum). These have the highest resistance to rot over time.
Some species of wood are naturally rot resistant due to complex chemical compounds that they evolved to protect themselves against decay. Well-known domestic examples include cedar, redwood, old-growth cypress, mulberry, yew, osage orange, and black locust.