Several days ago, a thread titled "Superlight Upgrade" was posted in the main Double Shotgun forum.

https://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=559632#Post559632

The thread is now locked, so unfortunately, I was unable to get an answer to my question about how the near-finished stock shown could have possibly came from the stock blank that was also pictured. I think it would be useful DIY Gunsmithing knowledge to learn how to accomplish such a total transformation:

Originally Posted By: Bob Cash











If we assume that there is only one logical way any competent stock maker would lay out this blank, it is obvious that the head end has nice straight grain that flows correctly through the wrist, and the feather crotch grain and figure would be in the butt.

The blank is planed smooth on both sides, and has a coat of finish applied, so it is clearly evident what features this blank has, and what it doesn't have.

The head end also has fairly large pores, and no figure. But strangely, the near-finished stock does not have the same large pores. And somehow, there is now figure in the stock cheeks that was not evident in the blank.

The mystery gets even deeper when we closely examine the butt end. Assuming correct layout of the blank once again, there is a dark streak in the feather crotch figure that runs from the heel, and travels diagonally down to the region between the toe and the grip. We can see from the pics of the blank that this dark figure is not just on the outside surfaces, but that it goes clear through the blank.

But then, when we look at the near-finished stock with the thick shiny polyurethane finish, we note that this dark diagonal band of figure is totally absent, on both sides. We also can see that the figure in the finished stock is nothing like the figure in the blank. I know that sometimes, some surface figure can get either better, or it can even go away during stock turning or carving. But the transformation in this stock is something the Vatican should look into, to determine if a miracle has occurred here.

So I'd like to ask the experts here... How does the figure in a blank make such a transformation??? If we could learn how to do this, we could probably turn plain maple into Circassian Walnut. So....

A) Was this truly a miracle, and the grain, pores, and figure of the finished stock really did change into something that doesn't even resemble the blank it came from?

B) Or could it be that the stock maker just didn't like that feather crotch in the butt, and the straight grain in the wrist and head, so he sent it to one of those guys who paints fake fancy grain and figure on the wood?

C) Or is this something else entirely... something that would explain why the owner refused to answer these questions, and why someone cried to Dave to have the thread locked???



A true sign of mental illness is any gun owner who would vote for an Anti-Gunner like Joe Biden.