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 TYPES
OF WOOD BLANKS We stock Claro and Black Walnuts,
Maple, English, French and Turkish Walnuts. We do
carry Bastogne and Myrtle woods, however there
is less selection available. Each species of wood
offers different characteristics such as
figure, color and contrast. Careful
consideration will go into selecting a piece of
wood, factoring in the stock dimensions, type of
gun, caliber / gauge and grain flow. Always consult
the factory when your not sure about the wood type
best suited for the project.
WOOD BLANK QUALITY We
only use qualified wood suppliers who supply high
quality, stable wood blanks. There is a method to
cutting blanks so that the grain flow is correct and
will be able to produce a quality gun stock. While
we will cut gun stocks from customer supplied wood,
we will not warranty them from cracks that may
develop later.
Selecting Wood
Black Walnut
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Claro Walnut
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Maple
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French Walnut
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English Walnut
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Turkish Walnut
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CLARO WALNUT: The most widely used
gun-stock blank in the world. In this same
category is Black and American Walnut, all
mostly grown in the Western US. Claro Walnut
is a strong, close grained wood known for it
wide range of color streaks such as reds,
yellows, browns and greens. Claro Walnut is
stocked in all grades and we have a variety
of figures, such as fiddleback, color
contrasting and feather crotch.
TURKISH WALNUT: The most prized of
woods, used on fine guns world wide. While
Turkish Walnut is known for it’s strong
fiber density, stability and durability,
it’s most often picked due to it’s striking
color contrasts. This wood will typically
have marbling with yellow and black streaks.
ENGLISH WALNUT: Often similar to
Turkish Walnut, and also known for it’s
strong fiber density, stability and
durability, it is typically lighter than
Turkish and more straight grained. The
yellows tend to be more golden / brownish.
MAPLE: This is a strong and durable
wood that is comparable in density to
Walnut. It is gener-ally light in color
often with fiddle back, mar-bling and shell.
FRENCH WALNUT: Often similar to
English Walnut, and also known for it’s
strong fiber density, stability and
durability, it is typi-cally lighter than
Turkish and more straight grained with rich
and deep color contrasts.
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SELECTING GRADES We grade
blanks into 6 categories. Standard, A, AA,
AAA, Exhibition and Special Select. Although
wood grading can be a very subjective means
of grading, we do at-tempt to follow some
general guidelines. Not all wood types will
come in all grades.
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Standard Grade
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A Grade
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AA Grade
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AAA Grade
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Exhibition Grade
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Special Select Grade
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Standard Grade: Most often used for
those looking for the cheapest
replacement stock or for a test / try
stock. Available with Sap for painted
stocks.
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A
Grade: Straight grained
utility blank with little or no figure
or color. Typical low grade fac-tory
type wood.
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AA
Grade: A minor upgrade over
the above A grade. Well defined figure
(25%-50%) and color contrast, with some
fiddle. Not advised on high grade guns.
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AAA
Grade: This is where the
“upgraded wood” begins. Our AAA is often
other suppliers Exhibition. Should be
considered a minimum level for high
grade guns. Brilliant figure (50%-75%)
and color contrast, often with fiddle
back.
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Exhibition: The next level of
upgraded wood. You will see some of
these on factory guns. These generally
include fiddle, feathering and high
color contrasts. A fully figured
(75%-100%) stock with exceptional figure
on both sides.
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Special Select: A hand picked
piece of highly figured wood with full
figure both sides, these are the highest
grades of wood available. This grade is
not normally found on factory stocks.
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