Wanted

[Blackpete]

Hi all,
I would like to know if anyone can get me a piece of Tas Blackwood, Myrtle or Qld Walnut. I am a long range (1000yrd) competition shooter and will soon be building a new rifle. I would therefore love to use the nicest piece of Australian timber I can get. The slab size I need is 900mm long x 200mm wide x 100mm thick. If any one can suggest another type of timber suitable for this job I would very much appreciate it as I don't know much about timber at all. I have been told that the timber must be conditioned correctly and must be a type not affected by moisture. If you wish to contact me directly my email address is [email protected].

Kind regards,
Pete.

[glock40sw]

G'day Pete.
Mate, Most of the Full-Bore shooters around Grafton That have built their own rifles, have used lots of different timbers. I had a Spotted Gum stock on my Omark M44D. Other blokes used Mango, laminated hardwood marine ply from Big River Timbers in Grafton.
Other people have used Flooded gum. But they inletted an Aluminium bedding block for the action to bed against. What action are you going to use?

I found that the Omark and the M17 actions were good to bed directly to the wood with minimal Devcon used.

Hooroo
Regards, Trevor
Grafton

[Blackpete]

Hi Trev,

Thanks for you reply, I too will use an Omark action in the new rifle. The guys up here also use a vast range of timbers including marine ply. I will prabably sleeve the action and i intend to run two>three pieces of aluminium plate through the entire stock (before machining). As i don't know too much about timbers i thourght i would get as many oppinions on the subject as possible.

I want a show piece as well as an accurate rifle, therefore, I want to get the very best piece of (Australian) timber available. The stock will have a highly polished finnish to bring out the grain and the alum will appear to be inlaid.

Kind regards,
Pete.

[Toymaker Len]

Pete, I don't know if you can get it but I picked up some Weeping Myall or Scented Myall in the South Aust. desert a few years ago and the first thing I thought of when cutting it was that it would make an amazing gun stock. The grain looks like honey and molasses combed together in a tight ripple. Its very hard and heavy and takes a high polish. A classic desert acacia with a creamy white sap wood. The trouble is that it is relatively rare but if anybody offers you a bit grab it. Whatever happens post a pic for all the rest of us to look at. Cheers, Len.

[Ben from Vic.]

Pete.

A lot of the harsh climate timbers would suit your needs (I think), most of them are dense, stable and beautiful.

Weight isn't a problem is it?

You could try any of the timbers use by HNT Gordon for their planes,

HNT Gordon (http://www.hntgordon.com.au/)

Also any timbers used by Colen Clenton for his gauges/squares would do the trick. Have a look at "Australian made" at the top of the list for Colen's stuff.

Look here for Colen Clenton. (http://www.mik.com.au/)

All the timbers used by both guys are stable and dense. The Rose Sheoak used by Colen is said to be like a natural ply wood, with the grain running in two different directions.

You should have access to some pretty nice timbers up there, you've just got to find someone who sells them.

Ben.

Ps. Don't let my avitar fool you, I have no experiance in making rifles. :o

[PAH1]

I would stay clear of the "oak" type timbers for a high power rifle stock. The medullary rays running accross the grain would weaken it considerably under the sudden shocks of the rifle firing. Any of the desert acacia's would be good, but do not forget that there is a weight limit for almost all shooting comps (except bench stuff) and so dense timbers are good but the volume of the stock will be less. Cooktown ironwood as used by mr gordon would probably be a good bet.

All timber stocks move with changes in humidity, if you are in the one location all the time and the humididty is stable then it is not that great a problem. However if you move to competitions in different areas then consider either a marine ply type stock or a synthetic one. I used to shoot smallbore and going from a dry inland site to Brisbane for competition caused all sorts of havic.

[Termite]

Grit your teeth or bite the bullet or pre-chill your Mastercard and shop around for some old well seasoned Walnut, the real dark stuff, no sapwood. This is very stable and if you pick the right piece, can have some very nice grain features. From my days of pistol shooting and making grips I can assure you that it will take fine chequering and decorative carving.
Kind regards
Termite

[Blackpete]

Morning Guy's,

thanks to all of you for taking the time to reply to my call. Ben, i have to say "Love ya 50 cal", these hard target rifles are capable of removing a head @ 2-kilometers or more. They are used for disrupting things like small radar/communication installations and are very accutate.

Back to the timber, guys i will take on board all your suggestions and i thank you for them. I would like to ask Bill if he knows where i would start looking for a piece of walnut like you suggested, also can you tell me what your definition of "old" is. Do you mean the age of the tree (and if so how old should it be) or do you mean the time it has been curering (don't think i spelt that right).

Len, with your Myall where do you suggest i start looking for a piece remembering that the size i need is 900mm long x 200mm wide x 100mm thick.

Kind regards & many thanks to all,
Pete.

[Different]

Blackpete

2 possible sources for the wallnut
Richard Parsons see link http://www.woodworkersnsw.org.au/Events/VisitWoodMill.html

Or possibly Trend Timbers here in Sydney.

However I would be looking for some Fiddleback Tas Blackwood

[Blackpete]

Thanks Different,

I will get on to them.
Pete.

[Termite]

Blackpete.
By old I mean not some of the new stuf that has been treated (especialy the sapwood) to make it go dark. The good stuff is very tight grained and very dark chocolate in colour (expect to pay through the nose). A lot of the good stuff actually used to come from your area.
Yellow pages mate, let your fingers etc.
Happy shooting, I shake too much now. 40 years after a dropshort my nerves finally packed it in.
regards
Termite

[Blackpete]

Many thanks Bill, I will get on to the couple of mills up here to see what they can get. I really appreciate the knowlege you more senior guys can give me, my grandfather was in the timber business for years running a sawmill for the Qld Gov. on Palm Island and had a world of knowlege on the subject. I never had the interest in timber when he was alive and I now regret never getting it from him, never mind, things go on.


All the best,
Pete.

[Toymaker Len]

Sorry Blackpete, I don't have a clue as to where you might get some myall. But more on the 50 cal. an old mate of mine was a sniper in Vietnam seconded to the US army. He mentioned one day that his last shot in anger was at a target 3500 metres away and that he had three bullets in the air before the first one hit !!!

[Blackpete]

G'Day Len,

Mate I shoot 1000 yard targets every month and I know how hard that is, i would hate to try 3 & 1/2 times the distance, although using the 50 cal would help (a little).

I hope your friend is doing well as i have all the respect in the world for the guys who went to Nam, they put up with a hell of a lot of **** only to come home and find jerks abusing them and calling them all sorts of vial names. I too have some very good friends who were over there whom i met while in the CMF (late 70's) and some of the things they told me would make your head rattle.
Kind regards,
Pete.

[AlexS]

Pete,
I believe the woodwork on the old SLRs was made from Coachwood - possibly because of its light weight, strength & stability. Might be worth checking out, & you'll probably find it up there with no difficulty.

[Blackpete]

Thanks Alex,
The rifles i use need to be heavy as it is a benchrest competition and the caliber is 30-338, therefore, the heaver they are the better (less recoil), however, thanks very much for your input. I remember using the SLR's when i did some time in the CMF (late 70's) and found it to be a great rifle.

I remember my times at the range where i was always in the top two or three shooters, i then progressed to the M60, now that was fun, i loved shooting with tracer, however, fires were a bit of a problem.

Anyway mate all the best,
Pete.