Indians For Guns

TwoRivers wrote:Don't know what wood is referred to as "African teak".

Burma teak saplings planted in African colonies during the times of the Raj

i like to made stocks in PAHARI SHEESHAM ,i have 3yrs old pahari sheesham wood it is light in weight and the grains are dark ill post some pics of stocks i have made .

winnie_the_pooh wrote:There is a ban on the movement of walnut wood out of Kashmir..

There is ban on the plank, but if the wood is already given shape, then you can take it out.

I think the Arshad, they make the butt from walnut and sell it too, i have seen their .22 bruno stock. They ship it through gatti. You can try them also.

TwoRivers wrote: True teak is quite a bit heavier, very stable, and hell on tools. Indian rosewood is also heavy, and has a tendency to develop checks and splits

I think that your statement might be misinterpreted. You have said teak is quite stable and this is true but heavy it is not compared to other Indian woods which may be used for a gunstock. It is easy to work with and can be carved or cut to any shape but as you say edged tools just get blunt a bit faster with this wood even though it does not need much effort to cut or form it this is just due to a presence of a silica like substance in its grains, also it is a quite oily wood.

The best teak comes from India (MP) or from Myanmar. The Indonesian and African varieties that I have seen are cheaper, less stable and do not have such a beautiful grain structure.

Rosewood is basically a wood from the Dalbergia genus. Most of the woods from this family are termed as Rosewood. The wood I had mentioned above as Sheesham belongs to this family and the botanical name is Dalbergia Sissoo. It is not so heavy being almost the same weight as teak (may be just a wee bit more) and also does not have the tendency to develop cracks and splits. In fact is teak is seasoned too fast (I mean in too much heat) it has the tendency to split more than Sheesham. The heartwood also has a beautiful rich colour ranging from medium to darker brown and has a beautiful grain structure and pattern.

Of course the drying process has to be right ans as slow as possible to get the best results from both of these.

Since these Indian wood might be a bit heavier than the European and American Stock woods we can simply use some weight reduction techniques in the making of a gun stock.

i have been working on teak wood (for the house) what i found out is that teak planted in different parts of the country tend to have different colour shades. naga teak is light with streaks of white. Assam is more on the red side. Burma in deeper red (banned) so one needs to check out the colour and pattern before going for one as some are ugly.

one option is to import blanks from the USA or else where, (depending on the law) as they will be cut dried for a single purpose.

Katana wrote:Thanks Amit, for your offer. Bear in mind that the IOF has a two piece stock. This might require some more quantity than would be necessary.

Hi Katana, dont worry,will take the measurements from a GS ( Gun Smith) and then only pick it up,will be coming to Jodhpur and a cpl of other places by 20th of Feb and am sure you can come there, and collect them/or will use GATI to send it to you,there is a very old Pahari walnut tree in my land in the hills and it is drying up,so thinking of converting it all into 30-06,22,12 Bore etc,etc,etc stocks,dont worry to IFG friends it will just be courier charges

Hi Brother..I am desperately searching walmut for my .22 IOF purchased new in 2000. I have contacted some dealer in Kanpur through my friend there, but they denied to give it blank...rather advised to bring the rifle to them & to get it fitted by them. Anyway...it will be too nice of you if you would arrange one for me.Let us see Amit Bhai....luck favours me or not.
Pradyumna

Rajat: Thanks for the info. Should have left no doubt that everything was compared to walnut, the "queen of gunstock woods".

Amit,

Don't know how to thank you!

Hi Katana am off tommorow and will be back by Friday,will try and arrange the Walnut and will mail you from there,Prad,hi guess the same size plank as required for the 06 would work for the 22,will try and arrange and let you know too.T C ,Amit. P S Prad if A/A Dealers start providing Walnut Planks,without fleecing you for the complete stock,who is the gonna pay for the Car Loans,Housing Loans,other loans and various activities incurred by your friendly A/A Dealer

I am speechless for the gesture you have shown Amit Bhai. Now- a-days nobody comes forward to help if he has no personal benifit. Giving you THANKS will be too less.
Pradyumna

Have arranged a Tru-Oli kit from Birchwood Casey for the stock finish. Have also spoken to some people for making the stock on Vertical Milling Machine, something like a CNC machine. Of course, I will have to have it designed on CAD-CAM first. Checkering would be then done by laser. I believe the cost should not exceed 4000 rupees for all this. Should anyone be interested, please keep in touch with me.

Modern Gunsmithing by Clyde Baker was published in 1933, and revised by John Traister in 1981. This book recommends Walnut as the best all-round wood for gun stocks. The other woods discussed are Apple, Beech, Cherry, Mahogany, Maple, Myrtle and Rosewood (Brazilian and Indian). Of these, I believe Apple, Beech, Cherry, Mahogany and Rosewood are available in India.
The book also recommends using "board sawed" planks, with grain running parallel to the grip and bottom line of stock for two piece stocks such as the IOF 30-06.

Hi Amit Brother.... I am waiting for your kind gesture.

if you say then I will prefer to have no1. choice will be wall nut
and the second one will be teak.
if you talk of seesam then this wood very heavy in comparison to other woods available for making butt.