Sawmill and Timber

General Category => Welcome! => Topic started by: Wrangler on January 11, 2011, 08:01:12 AM

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Title: Hello From East Tennessee
Post by: Wrangler on January 11, 2011, 08:01:12 AM
I just joined this forum. It looks a lot more friendly than some of the others I've been reading... I'm located in East Tennessee and have a new Timberking 1220 that I use to make lumber for my custom gunstocks. I've had a problem finding quality lumber at a price I can afford, so now I'm using ugly logs and parts the lumbermills don't want to make my laminated gunstocks.  I've got a tiger maple, walnut and black cherry blank on the carving duplicator right today. It's too cold, the snow's too deep and I'm too old for that kind of weather to saw. Heck, if I was 20, I'd still be working inside today.   

So far all I've done with my sawmill was to build a resaw to split 4/4 boards into 1/2" and 1/4" boards for the interior laminates.  My 25hp mill made short work of resawing and I can't wait to get a big walnut read to mill.
Title: Re: Hello From East Tennessee
Post by: Carl Middleton on January 11, 2011, 08:21:30 PM
Welcome wrangler. I cut 100 walnut gun stock blanks for a guy in Maryland. Wouldn't do it again too much waste.
Title: Re: Hello From East Tennessee
Post by: joasis on January 11, 2011, 08:25:58 PM
Welcome to the club, and yes, friendly, except to bullies and loudmouths. We are member driven, self funded, and don't need to brandish a club to beat the members into line..... ;D
Title: Re: Hello From East Tennessee
Post by: Wrangler on January 11, 2011, 09:09:10 PM
Carl,

 I don't have much waste.  I cut my lumber 4/4 and build laminated blanks of maple, walnut, and/or cherry. The wood that's solid, but not spectacular goes on the inside layers. That way I get to use almost all the wood. However I do endup with a bunch of shavings from planing and a bunch more from carving...  It takes 4 bft of rough shaped lumber to make one gunstock.  A blank usually weighs from 10 to 13 lbs.  I trim them on the bandsaw close to the outline of the stock I'm duplicating, that gets the weight down below 10 lbs.  After carving a sporter stock usually weighs 2 1/2 lbs and a benchrest type stock goes 3 1/2 lbs. So, I guess I do have a lot of waste after all. I've never looked at it like that. I've always looked at getting a stock for every 4 bft of lumber in a log.  I guess I end up with a lot more sawdust and shavings than gunstocks.

Hal
Title: Re: Hello From East Tennessee
Post by: Kirk Allen on January 13, 2011, 05:56:26 PM
Welcome Hal. 

I cut some gunstock stuff for our local Gunstock builder but mostly as a favor for good prices on guns!   ;D

Title: Re: Hello From East Tennessee
Post by: mike p on January 14, 2011, 03:26:21 PM
so how does one go about making the cuts in the stock that fit against the gun
i have a 1909 shotgun needs a rear stock & i dont mind making it my self but would want the part that bolts to gun to be professional fit 

 welcome glad to have you here
Title: Re: Hello From East Tennessee
Post by: Wrangler on January 14, 2011, 03:50:40 PM
Mike,

 Getting that good fit is very important for a shotgun stock.  I make mostly 1 piece rifle stocks.  I'm not setup to deep drill the stock bolt hole on shotgun stocks because I just haven't taken time to build the jig necessary.  And getting that perfect fit on a shotgun stock is tough. If the fit is loose, the stock will split.  On my shotgun, I glassed everywhere the wood and metal fit. I had a Savage Fox Model-B 12 GA that had too much drop.  I rebedded it in 1977 and it's still a perfect fitting shotgun. Too bad all the ruffed grouse and quail are gone...  Back when I was in high school (1968 graduate) I went quail hunting every afternoon after school.  I had to work summers to make enough to buy shells and other hunting supplies.  I wished I had enough money to buy a good shotgun, only I thought I was poor... Now that I'm older 'N dirt, I realize how wealthy I was.  I'd give a lot to be able to put up 3 or 4 coveys of quail in an afternoon over a good bird dog.

Hal
Title: Re: Hello From East Tennessee
Post by: Kirk Allen on January 14, 2011, 06:03:29 PM
Hal we are just starting to see more coveys of quail and this year I have seen a few dozen pheasants. 

Nothing like a good fence line walk to bust some birds!