African Hardwood for Gunstocks

[skydiver386]

Bubinga is a beautiful wood… I’ve used it extensively for handles on knives and also have used it to make cutting boards…

The challenge I think in using it for a gunstock would be it’s weight (as Bob mentioned earlier) it’s an incredibly dense and heavy wood… kiln dried it’s about 5lbs per board foot compared to walnut which comes in about 3.5 lbs per board foot..

It would make a super sturdy and beautiful stock I believe.. but it would be heavy like a laminate as opposed to most hardwood stocks ..which as skydiver points out, might be welcome on a DG rifle…)

Were I looking to do an African hardwood stocks, I’d go with bocote… it’s typically extremely figured… it’s also got a lot of contrast with very light colors around the outer portions of the tree and super dark portions closer to center… it’s very hard and is somewhere in between bubinga and walnut in weight… usually about 4lbs per board foot if I recall correctly…

Bocote generally looks like the block below

View attachment 710528

Looks like some Bastogne walnut blanks. Depending on whether it was flat or quarter sawn, you'd have some really nice looking figure.

 

[mdwest]

Not trying to high jack the thread but would teak work for a big bore? Heavy wood which is good for recoil and weather resistant. just curious

Teak could work.. plenty hard… good weight (about the same as walnut), etc..

My concern with it is for some reason it’s hell on tools… it would be tough to work with (but I’m sure could be done)

 

[skydiver386]

Not trying to high jack the thread but would teak work for a big bore? Heavy wood which is good for recoil and weather resistant. just curious

I have thought of African Teak. I'm sure it would be a strong wood, but I've been told it might not take most gun finishes. Teak is most often kept in a natural surface and oiled when it starts to dry out. I'd have to look into this a bit as I may be wrong. My only experience with it was on a Trojan cabin cruiser with teak trim back in the 1980's that my uncle owned. Several times a year, I helped him put Teak oil on the wood trim when it started to dry out and turn gray. Absolutely beautiful wood with straight grain, and dark as the blackest walnut.

 

[Nhoro]

Teak is about 50 % heavier than walnut. I think it is harder as well and more prone to splintering. It also has high silica and so dulls tools.