DIY Stock

[somethingbenign]

I recently brought down an ancient (~100 years) burr oak in my front yard. The thing predates the house and while still appearing to be healthy kept dropping large branches so we decided to be proactive. I now have literal tons of nice straight sections of the trunk and major branches in my yard. A buddy is going to help me mill the larger sections into slabs for future projects and it got me thinking what I could do with the wood. One of my thoughts was a gun stock or two. From my research it looks like oak isn't a popular choice but I can't seem to figure out why. It won't be as pretty as a walnut but should be plenty hard enough, I'm guessing there is something else I'm not thinking of. I'm also seeing a recommendation to let the wood air dry for several years so I'll have time to figure out the finer detail and snag the tools I'll be missing. Anyone make their own stocks from a felled tree? What pitfalls should be looking out for when making my cuts and storing the lumber? Recommendations on size I should make the rough cuts so I'll have plenty to work with after it seasons? I'm thinking a prairie dog rifle in a 17 or 22 hornet if that makes a difference.

 

[troy fairweather]

Oak is high in tanic acid, that will rust any metallic touches or even near. The wood could be sealed but I wouldn't trust it. Believe rule of thumb it let wood dry 1 year per inch.

 

[Alaskan Ironworker]

I have some birch slabs drying for the same purpose. Only about 5 more years to go. Wish we had more selection of hardwood up here, I envy you guys down south with hickory, oak, maple, mesquite, and the myriad of others we don’t have up here. I figure, no matter what type of wood one uses, it will be excellent practice for when you get a nice piece of walnut. By all means, carve away. Better to learn on free wood.

 

[somethingbenign]

Oak is high in tanic acid, that will rust any metallic touches or even near. The wood could be sealed but I wouldn't trust it. Believe rule of thumb it let wood dry 1 year per inch.

I was hoping that oak wasn't used because it was too heavy for the strength or something not it would corrod the gun. Well that would explain why I'm not seeing much on it, thanks for the heads up.

 

[beag_nut]

The advice from Troy is correct. Additionally, the wood may have fantastic grain figure (for furniture) when "quartersawn". Like white oak, to which it is related. Unless you just want to use it for firewood, test cut a couple pieces; someone might be willing to buy it.

Am doing an edit by sharing a link to some pics of the wood.
https://www.reddit.com/r/woodworking/comments/aoqfak/quarter_sawn_white_oak_end_table/

 

[Dale Alan]

Oak is open grain , also growth rings vary a lot . It's heavy and strong when thick , once you work it down those variable growth rings will weaken it as a whole which leads to cracking,warping, etc . . I am sure a stock would look great but I am not sure if it will be stable enough for a gun stock . Sure would be cool to have a stock made from your own tree though . .

 

[wiscoaster]

I've got a couple branches of black walnut from a neighbor's tree he cut down that have been drying out for years in my garage and this very project has been in the back of my mind, so, OP: if you go with this project, please post updates and pics!!

 

[somethingbenign]

Oak is open grain , also growth rings vary a lot . It's heavy and strong when thick , once you work it down those variable growth rings will weaken it as a whole which leads to cracking,warping, etc . . I am sure a stock would look great but I am not sure if it will be stable enough for a gun stock . Sure would be cool to have a stock made from your own tree though . .

Would using the stock for something low recoil be acceptable in your estimation? Could use it for a rimfire rifle or one of the hornets like I was planning. Just would be so cool to go "that stock you are hold...I cut down that tree and made that myself."

 

[somethingbenign]

if you go with this project, please post updates and pics!!

I think I will try and do something with this tree, maybe it will be a gun/hunting/cleaning case to brag about. My buddy has some walnut and sycamore already dried he is willing to let me use. I think I'll try and work on those first while this tree is drying. I'll get some pictures of the pile in my yard after work.

 

[Dale Alan]

Would using the stock for something low recoil be acceptable in your estimation? Could use it for a rimfire rifle or one of the hornets like I was planning. Just would be so cool to go "that stock you are hold...I cut down that tree and made that myself."

Oh yes, it will surely work for that . I would say it will be fine for anything less than a benchrest gun, that open grain may move a little but if sealed well I bet it will make for a great stock . The cool factor alone makes it worth a try .

 

[somethingbenign]

Well this is what I'm working with. No real limits with the possibility when I have this much wood on the ground.

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

Oak is high in tanic acid, that will rust any metallic touches or even near. The wood could be sealed but I wouldn't trust it. Believe rule of thumb it let wood dry 1 year per inch.

I was just reading how early American pioneers often tanned hides by cutting an ok down, hollowing the trunk to a tub and then throwing the hides in with water and the oak chips. Certainly speaks to the level of tannins within the wood.

Todd.

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

View attachment 993586 View attachment 993587 View attachment 993588 Well this is what I'm working with. No real limits with the possibility when I have this much wood on the ground.

I'd look to renting a portable mill and storing it on site to dry.

Todd.

 

[Blue68f100]

That's one massive tree. I had one taken down next to my shop that was dropping limbs. Over 40" at the base. I sold some timber off my property last year and one pine tree was too large for the mills to handle. So it was cut off to the max size they would take. Measured 50" at the base, solid all the way through.

The problem I see is curing the wood out so it does not split. Oak is bad about that if not done right. My dad tried it and his seam to want to curl, could not control the humidity.

You can buy portable saw mills setup pretty reasonable for using a chainsaw. But then again you will spend $1k on a 36" chain saw and it may not be big enough. I priced a bar and chain in 36" several years ago and it was like ~$200 back then. The ones that use band saws can get real expensive. I looked into to but decide not to get one.

 

[somethingbenign]

The milling part I have taken care of. The guy who dropped the tree for me is a friend and he is willing to use his alaskan mill and 3' saw to mill out the tree in exchange for some of the slabs. The tree is about 5.5' at the base so we will just skate by. I'm just thinking while he is going to the trouble of milling it why not get some cut larger for this stock project. The humidity is a good point, I don't have a place that is climate controlled I could store it while drying.

 

[wiscoaster]

Is there someplace you could get it kiln-dried? You've got a heck of a lot of wood there. Any thoughts of making it a profitable venture? Selling to someplace like Woodcrafters?

 

[somethingbenign]

I did ask around to the local places about selling and they basically said oak isn't in fashion right now so they won't buy. The firewood is already listed for sale so working on making a bit of scratch back there. Might do some living edge shelves to sell down the road.

 

[doubleh]

It is possible to make a nice stock from red oak. That said I don't know how well one made from one chunk of wood would stand up to time. I have made two from red oak that I laminated blanks for from 3/4" kiln dried wood obtained from Home Depot. Oak is a very heavy wood. I got around that with routing out the fore ends and drilling a couple of big holes in the butts. I epoxy bedded the actions, free floated the barrels and sealed the inside of the wood with polyurethane varnish. I have had no warping but my humidity is normally very low except for a coupe of months a year. Oak also splits easily so I wouldn't consider it for anything with much recoil. Mine were for 22 rimfire that I shoot mostly from a bench so weight and recoil wasn't a concern with these two stocks.

I haven't worked with white oak but from reading about it's properties I believe it might be better than the red variety. If I had a local source I would try it out.

 

[beag_nut]

Oak is open grain. .

The wood of bur oak is not necessarily porous. It is in the white oak family, which has been used for centuries to make wine and whiskey barrels. The reason is that the pores contain the substance known as tyloses, which effectively seal the wood. Red oak, on the other hand (used for flooring, etc.) is notorious for its porosity, and is never used for containers for liquid. All that does not justify the use of bur (or white) oak for a stock, except for considering the possibility of attacking iron/steel.