Steven, I have handled guns all my life, but until I started this project I never gave much thought to what actually goes into making a stock for one. I learned the most from your book in those passages where you discuss the various good points of each rifle. Since I was designing my own stock, your insights helped me quite a bit and I made an effort to incorporate those ideas into my design when I thought it was appropriate.
Norm, We have quite a bit of pepperwood around where I live, but I believe this blank came out of SW Oregon about 25 years ago. It had been tarred on the end grain and was in excellent condition, with no checks. I was telling a friend about my rifle project and he just handed the blank to me and asked if it was good enough for me to use. My friend's father had made a special trip to Oregon to find just the right blank for a custom rifle he had in mind, then he fooled around trying to make a living and never did get to it. He died last year, so there was a little emotional thing going on when my friend gave it to me. No pressure or anything! Not sure what I would have done if the finished stock didn't turn out looking half-way decent.
