I have a piece of walnut that was cut about 60 years ago. 1.25" thick. I am looking for a stock maker in the dfw area to turn this into a stock. I have had had bad luck with the 1 smith that I know of that is capable of making a stock out of the wood. Google brought up a few options. The 2 places that I talked to did not seem interested or capable even though they claim to make custom stocks. What would be a reasonable price on a project like this? How would I know that the wood that I provided was actually used on the stock?
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custom stock maker dfw
- Thread starter zach_
- Start date
Do you have a specific stock pattern in mind? What I'd do is send your blank off to a duplicator and have it come back as a semi-inlet. There aren't too many gunsmiths that will carve a stock without use of a duplicator out there. A nicely carved piece of walnut without the use of duplication can cost you several thousands of dollars and still can with its use but it will save you money.
Well, as a stock maker myself, I can tell you that there are a couple of issues with what you are asking for.
* First is the thickness of the piece of wood in question. You cannot make a stock 1.4" thick with a 1.25" thick board. At least not without laminating it. To make a rifle stock, you generally start with a piece 2" thick or thicker.
* Second is the quality of the wood. Walnut is walnut, right? Not so. How was the wood cut? How was the wood dried? What is the grain pattern? And what is the current condition of the piece of wood in question? Is the piece even suitable for making a stock out of?
* Third, the cost of having a walnut slab planed, sawn, laminated, and turned into a stock will most likely exceed the cost of just buying a wood pre-carved stock from any number of makers.
That said, if you are determined to have your piece of walnut turned into a stock, there may well be a stock maker out there that would be willing to do it.
* First is the thickness of the piece of wood in question. You cannot make a stock 1.4" thick with a 1.25" thick board. At least not without laminating it. To make a rifle stock, you generally start with a piece 2" thick or thicker.
* Second is the quality of the wood. Walnut is walnut, right? Not so. How was the wood cut? How was the wood dried? What is the grain pattern? And what is the current condition of the piece of wood in question? Is the piece even suitable for making a stock out of?
* Third, the cost of having a walnut slab planed, sawn, laminated, and turned into a stock will most likely exceed the cost of just buying a wood pre-carved stock from any number of makers.
That said, if you are determined to have your piece of walnut turned into a stock, there may well be a stock maker out there that would be willing to do it.
Thanks for replying. This piece of wood came from my grandparents farm. There is plenty of material. 1 foot wide by about 4.5 foot long by 1.25" rough cut. They sold several walnut trees off of their land when they expanded the farm house for offices, bedrooms, and an indoor bathroom. YAY! I vaguely remember the farm as a kid. I do remember having to use the out house. An out house is an outdoor toilet. I could not part with the wood. As in I would pay the price to watch the work being done. A stock duplicator would be fine.
Well, Zach, as I said, you will probably have to have the wood planed and laminated before carving into a stock. A stock blank is typically about 48" x 6" x 2.5", so you could rip it lengthwise, plane it on one side to have 2 smooth surfaces, then laminate the two pieces together to get the proper size blank. It would be an interesting project. Too bad I'm not in the DFW area, or I might take it on.
Good luck with your project.
Good luck with your project.
Scorch, if I find myself going to your area, I will call ahead and see what we can do. I just got in today. My search will continue. My siblings laughed about the piece of wood from the farm. Lots of family drama for about 10 years after the sale of the farm. The wood was grown in North central Ohio. Close to Lake Erie. The wood was stored in a garage in central indiana from 1969 to 2013. It was cut between 55 and 68. All of the family had furniture, wainscoating, and odds and ends made from lumber from the farm. The piece I have is the last of it.
Huffmanite
New member
Liked Scorchs reply.
Zach, I make stocks for my own rifles. Every once in awhile, a fellow range member will be able to talk me into making a stock for them.
Anyway, I too think 1.25" may be too narrow for a stock. Just measured around 5 stocks I've made, and as I suspected, they all averaged around 1 3/4* thick. Did have one for a 22 rifle 1 1/2" thick.
Just curious, what barreled action will be used in the stock?
As Scorch wrote, laminating wood is possible and you do have enough wood for that. I seldom work with a single piece of wood large enough for a stock. I use various pieces of wood to make a stock. LOL, have a stock for my Axis barreled action that must have over 70 pieces of wood laminated together.
Zach, I make stocks for my own rifles. Every once in awhile, a fellow range member will be able to talk me into making a stock for them.
Anyway, I too think 1.25" may be too narrow for a stock. Just measured around 5 stocks I've made, and as I suspected, they all averaged around 1 3/4* thick. Did have one for a 22 rifle 1 1/2" thick.
Just curious, what barreled action will be used in the stock?
As Scorch wrote, laminating wood is possible and you do have enough wood for that. I seldom work with a single piece of wood large enough for a stock. I use various pieces of wood to make a stock. LOL, have a stock for my Axis barreled action that must have over 70 pieces of wood laminated together.
Huffmanite, I assumed it would have to be laminated. I am looking at stock machines on line as I search for a local stock maker. A couple of places have their machines at gunsmith shops close by. The closest is in Gainsville. I will call them tomorrow. I don't go to Houston much. BTW, your Texans just won. Next week.... Back to guns. How does a 2 layer laminated stock look? Do you have any pics?