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Any money in selling gunstock???

Started by monte, December 18, 2005, 10:00:08 PM

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monte

Hello

Do any of you guys have experience in selling gunstocks.
Is there good money? what kind of wood? what is the average size of the stock block?is there a big demand?
I'm just curious? ::)
Thanks

srjones

Disclaimer, I know nothing about the process of making gunstocks from raw material, but here are the questions I would ask:

Are you thinking of selling them in Canada or the US?
Are there customs/tariff implication of doing the later?
Would they be green or kiln dried?
Would they be sold wholesale are retail?
Everyone has hobbies...I hope to live in mine someday.

Brad_S.

I've had gunsmiths interested in walnut from me but they were only interested in the flame from a crotch. They would pay from $25 on up per bdft. but it needed to be pretty dramatic looking stuff.
"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." J. Lennon

leweee

Here's a thread. ;D

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=4516.0


Guns are a hot topic in Kanadr...election time and all ::) :P
just another beaver with a chainsaw &  it's never so bad that it couldn't get worse.

beenthere

Used to be (maybe there still is) a gunstock manufacturer in St. Joseph, Missouri and they dried the walnut blanks in their dry kilns for 7 months (yep, seven).  That is a big investment. 
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

getoverit

This should give you some idea of what gunstock woods are bringing on an open market

[this link]
I'm a lumberjack and I'm ok, I work all night and sleep all day

srjones

Everyone has hobbies...I hope to live in mine someday.

crtreedude

I remember shaping gunstocks when I was a teenager. Man it was good stuff. Scared you to death to ruin a piece though!

Another possible nitch market would be small pieces for furniture rebuilders - just thinking. They don't use a lot - but it has to be really good stuff. I know the guy I knew (the father of a friend) was very picky - but his stuff was very good - sold for thousands.

I bought a kit to make a bango and instead of letting me complete it in a weekend - he made be put 15 coats of finish on it - with sanding between each one. The kit wasn't that good (sounded REALLY good) but it looked better than you would have thought was possible.

So, how did I end up here anyway?

Bro. Noble

Quote from: beenthere on December 18, 2005, 11:46:21 PM
Used to be (maybe there still is) a gunstock manufacturer in St. Joseph, Missouri and they dried the walnut blanks in their dry kilns for 7 months (yep, seven).  That is a big investment. 

American Walnut is at St. Joe.  I sold them some veneer logs a couple of years ago.  There were 'waste' chunks that included crotches that came from between and at the end of some logs.  They offered 60 cents a foot for these.
milking and logging and sawing and milking

Larry

American Walnut doesn't put much effort into there website but here is the url so ya can take a look see.  http://www.awcstore.com/  While American Walnut has always been one of the bigger stock makers, Reinhart Fagen and Bishop (now merged) in Warsaw Missouri had the reputation for the highest grade.  Over the years more people got into the business and now quite a few companies, especially on the left coast.

Sawing and drying gunstock blanks is part art and part science.  Much more complicated than what it would seem at first glance.  A good primer is Gunstock Woods and Other Fine Timbers by Virgil M Davis.  I have a library of about 10 different books on stock making.

A poorly sawn gunstock blank is called a "plank" and makes excellent firewood.  A properly sawn and dried blank with little feather crotch in the butt and proper grain in the rest of the stock is priced as "black gold".
Larry, making useful and beautiful things out of the most environmental friendly material on the planet.

We need to insure our customers understand the importance of our craft.

thedeeredude

Well, I only ever saw(with my eyes, not with a sawmill) flintlock stocks because thats what Im into.  If you get good walnut, maple, ash, cherry, you can bring some good money selling blanks. Now, I did see a precarved Lancaster style stock in curly red oak once.  Beautiful piece!  But I love those flintlocks ;)

here are a couple websites to check out and good luck with your venture!
http://www.gunstockwood.com/
http://www.trackofthewolf.com/
http://www.longrifles-pr.com/

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