doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com Good stock making books

Dennis I can now see your pictures! I didn't do anything differently so someone must have done something. I like your stock! You don't see many Myrtle wood stocks anymore. I grew up where it still grows and have a friend that has some stash of some nice wood. I will have to try and talk him out of some as it is getting hard to find.

Norm

Dennis I can now see your pictures! I didn't do anything differently so someone must have done something. I like your stock! You don't see many Myrtle wood stocks anymore. I grew up where it still grows and have a friend that has some stash of some nice wood. I will have to try and talk him out of some as it is getting hard to find.

Norm

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.

Wow, Dennis! I think I will start with a piece of straight grain black walnut and not let anyone see what I am doing. I can always burn it if I make too many mistakes. How is Eureka? I haven't been through there in years.

Wow, Dennis!

A book about stocking looks to be superfluous for you! Beautiful job! I'm sure the pictures don't do it justice. What exactly is pepperwood? Can't say I've heard of it.

Mr. Hughes's books have been an inspiration to me as well. I ask about the book because I figure it's best to always shoot higher with each project. Any tricks of the trade and "better practices" are nice to know before I butcher up a good piece of wood!

Norm, The main thing is to follow Joe's advice and create a full-size drawing of your stock. You can then use it as a pattern to lay out the grain and mark the wood for cutting. Be patient, think ahead, and don't take any wood off unless it's in the plan. Eureka is probably similar to when you were here before. Same fog in the summer and rain in the winter.

Dave, Thank you for the kind words. Pepperwood is what we call it locally, but I have also heard it called Oregon myrtle and California laurel. It is an evergreen tree with shiny, dark green leaves that have a pungent, almost peppermint smell when crushed. I know of some people who dry the leaves and substitute them for bay leaves in cooking. The wood is slightly oily and has an aroma similar to the leaves. The blank my friend gave me has a fiddleback pattern its entire length, which I think may be fairly unusual, as most of the other pepperwood stocks I have seen are more plain.

Dennis, Dave, Thanks! the highest compliment someone can pay me is to say they have enjoyed and learned from my books!
And I still do a fullscale drawing on each new project.
Best,
Steve