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Thread: Need help with wood IDing

  1. #1
    Boolit Grand Master Tripplebeards's Avatar
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    Need help with wood IDing

    I cannot find a replacement forend for my R Murdock so I figured I would get a 2x2 at Home Depot for $10 and try to carve one. I have no special tools so it’s going to be a PITA I’m sure. I saw that there were forends for similar type rifles on Numrichs for around $33 plus shipping. I think they were from Stevens favorites? The stock looked to thick but said it was for an octagon barrel. I am having trouble figuring out of this buttstock is walnut or sone other type of wood. I want to make sure I buy the right piece of wood. The wood set below has boiled Lloyd seed oil on it. I just re blued the gun and sanded the wood furniture down and wiped a few coats of BLO on them. I would have thought walnut might be darker?




  2. #2
    Boolit Grand Master Bazoo's Avatar
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    It's walnut. Walnut can be dark, or fairly light. Just the difference between trees. Walnut for gun stocks is often stained to give it a darker and more consistent color.

    Another thing, is old guns the walnut is darker just from exposure to sunlight and the elements. A gun that's been hunted with a few years will have a darkening of the wood compared to a gun that stayed in a safe since new. Sanding to any degree other than a scuffing, removes that surface darkening

  3. #3
    Boolit Bub


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    Pine 2x2 is too soft and you may have difficulty finding good quality hardwood at a big box store. They generally only carry low grade wood. But getting a cheap piece of hardwood there to practice with is a great idea... better to mess that one up learning how to get the shape right, etc. than the one you want to put on the barrel of your gun.

    You need a hardwood for stocks and fore grips. You might want to consider getting it from a shop that supplies only speciality wood for woodworkers.

    Best advice I can give... Take the fore end with you to the speciality shop. They will be able to 100% ID the species and get you piece of the same species that matches the grain and other characteristics of the original.
    73’s DE
    Matthew

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  4. #4
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    Mk42gunner's Avatar
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    I agree that is probably black walnut.

    It isn't the tools that make the difference, it is the workmanship. I made a forearm for an H&R single shot rifle using not much more than a ¼" chisel and a scraper made from a bent piece of hacksaw blade. I did use an electric drill for the attachment bolt.

    Robert

  5. #5
    Boolit Buddy
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    Agreed that it is likely walnut.

    Every time I have made a stock or forend I have made the “first draft “ from pine or other softwood. Easier to work and cheaper to learn on.

  6. #6
    Boolit Grand Master Tripplebeards's Avatar
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    The 2x2 at Home Depot I was referring to is 3’ x2”x2” walnut board. I figured 3’ would make 3 of them so I could practice on the first two.

  7. #7
    Boolit Bub


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    The big box stores’ hardwood is low grade... just like their pine.

    If you look at either type of wood at a BBS and then compare it to the same species at a wood specialty store you will see the speciality store’s wood has tighter grain, is sawn properly so it does not warp (quarter/rift vs. plain sawn), is dried very well so there is little to no shrinkage, and smaller wood pore size.

    http://www.hardwooddistributors.org/...in-sawn-lumber



    [QUOTE=Tripplebeards;5133704]The 2x2 at Home Depot I was referring to is 3’ x2”x2” walnut board. I figured 3’ would make 3 of them so I could practice on the first two.[/QUOTE]
    73’s DE
    Matthew

    “Those who give up essential liberties for temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” – Benjamin Franklin

  8. #8
    Boolit Grand Master


    GregLaROCHE's Avatar
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    I’ve found that the majority of stocks I’ve had were walnut or beech. I’d check a specialty lumber yard for a good piece of hardwood. If they have a small piece available or are willing to cut, it shouldn’t be too expensive. Maybe today you can even buy it on the internet.

  9. #9
    Banned

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    Looks like walnut to me!

  10. #10
    Boolit Master
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    I have some walnut slabs that would be big enough. I dont know about color match, but that is what stain is for. I would have to look, but I can probably send you a piece. You want a straight grained piece for your first attempt. I would do the barrel channel first. Send me a PM with your address and I will send a piece. If it looks a little rough when you are done cutting the barrel channel, fiberglass and sawdust can fix it.

  11. #11
    Boolit Buddy kootne's Avatar
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    Your rifle is a late Hopkins and Allen 922 variant by the looks of it. They were marked with a lot of different hardware dealers names. You can often find forearms for them on ebay.

  12. #12
    Boolit Master RU shooter's Avatar
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    Yep walnut . If the replacement piece you get is lighter in color you can experiment with using bone black , rubbing it with a piece of charcoal or even spray it with flat black paint and rub it back to the color you like when your finishing it
    If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck!

  13. #13
    Boolit Grand Master Tripplebeards's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kootne View Post
    Your rifle is a late Hopkins and Allen 922 variant by the looks of it. They were marked with a lot of different hardware dealers names. You can often find forearms for them on ebay.
    I got the the same tip a few weeks back. I ended up getting a H&A lever spring and screw from C. Sharps arms from their re make. I found a Stevens favorite forend from Numrichs. Wondering how close it would be. Looks a little thick.

  14. #14
    Boolit Master

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    RU shooter's suggestion of using flat black paint is a good one, but I would use a wood dye and add charcoal pwd and tint it until you get the color you want.

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BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
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