Big Block of Wood

[Kentucky Colonel]

Hilljack knows I was threatening to do this... 
I bought my first wood block.

The seller lives in Pennsylvania. I should have it in my hands in a few days.

Cherry wood.

2 3/4" figured

So, any thoughts, advice, reactions, or prayers?  

 

[Muley Hunter]

Oh boy. That's going to be a lot of work. Go slow. You can't put wood back that you cut off.

 

[Marty1]

Beautiful woods!  They will certainly make for a unique smoker.

 

[patocazador]

Are you young enough to ever finish it?

I believe cherry is a harder wood than maple; I know walnut is. Many use maple because it takes less time to carve out a stock and inlet it. It's a nice-looking piece of wood.

 

[Kentucky Colonel]

Thanks Marty. Thanks Muley.

Bob, at 107, IDK if I am gonna finish this sentence! :joker:

I was told walnut can be brittle. I was told curly maple was challenging because of the grain. 
Three wood workers swore that the cherry was easiest to work with. One claimed that was why furniture workers were so fond of using it.

I like some ripple in the wood so I went with the cherry. 

I should get to chewing on it to shape it once it arrives... 
Going to tackle it naturally like God intended.
Where does one buy a pet beaver?
One should always use the right tools!  :joker:

 

[Smokin' Joe]

That should make an impressive front stuffer. 

I have a Amish Pencil Post bed made with cherry.  I love it.  Cherry tends to get more beautiful with age.

 

[Okie Hog]

Yep, that's a fine piece of flame cherry. Do good with it.

 

[exMember]

a beautiful piece of firewood indeed!

 

[Old Smoke]

Mercy!  I'd ruin that SO fast.

 

[Hilljack1]

VERY NICE!...Lay it out and chart your course...Just make sure your tools are sharp and remove what wood that hides the lady within...And the adventure begins...I will be waiting in the wings if I can give any advice...

YMHS
Hilljack

 

[Kentucky Colonel]

VERY NICE!...Lay it out and chart your course...Just make sure your tools are sharp and remove what wood that hides the lady within...And the adventure begins...I will be waiting in the wings if I can give any advice...

YMHS
Hilljack

Hell, Hilljack, I am bringing it to your place. Seriously. 
Did that swamped barrel we talked about come in anything other than a .40? 
I have misplaced that paper with my notes. (insert colorful cursing here!)

And, I have been doing a lot of snooping on the net for video of this stuff. 
Seems there are some of you that have plexiglass outlines of some of these 
stocks. That might be fun. Then you can see the grain before you pencil in the 
cut. Anybody know about that? :?:

And, I might end up goofing it up, but I find that this nice piece of wood has 
sharpened my focus in a positive way. I kinda feel a responsibility to give it a 
good effort. It would be a shame to spoil such a nice piece of wood.

Falcon's, "Yep, that's a fine piece of flame cherry. Do good with it." Kinda altered 
how serious I was going to approach this... We will see if I can do justice to it.

 

[Hilljack1]

Please feel free to come over and we can go thru the whole process and I even have some blank wood for practice...Also attached is a photo of a Small English made with figured cherry...Yours has some really nice figure...Let me know what you are missing and I'll see about gaining them back...

What are you looking for as to caliber and length...For the barrel call Joe Williams at the GunWorks in Springfield, Oregon...1-541-741-4118...Hope to here from you soon...

YMHS
Hilljack

 

[Kentucky Colonel]

Will do, Hilljack! Thanks!

That rifle has some real gloss to it.

 

[OSR]

Hilljack - Now that is some gorgeous looking wood!

 

[Hilljack1]

Thanks

YMHS
Hilljack

 

[Kentucky Colonel]

[font=Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Received the following message today:[/font]


[font=Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Kentucky Colonel, I received the funds today and shipped your blank via UPS. Tracking XXXX. Est. date of arrival is Tues. April 26, 2016. The patchbox piece is attached to the blank. Let me know your thoughts after the blank arrives. I'll let you know when I have the curly maple you need. Thanks ---------Tom[/font]


[font=Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Whheeee![/font]

 

[Hilljack1]

WOW almost like becoming a new papa...Then the journey begins...Heck I'm getting excited...

Hilljack

 

[Kentucky Colonel]

It arrived today. I confess, the idea of two rifles from this block seems over-enthusiastic. 

I also have some cherry scraps from Clay Smith. They seem to be richer than this wood. 
However, it does have some nice grain visible. I do not know enough to be sure, but I think it 
is good.

This one is blurry. Sorry. 

So, what do the experts think?

 

[Okie Hog]

Wet the wood lightly with a washcloth. It brings out the grain.

 

[patocazador]

The block may be thick enough for 2 stocks if cut sagittally.