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Stock making from scratch

I love wood working. I love using my axes and knives to carve wood into useful objects. One thing I'd like to get into is making stocks from scratch.

I also love reading and am looking for a book that discusses that. I know there are some that discuss how to finish an (essentially) 80% stock such as from a flintlock kit bus I want to find something that gets detailed such as wood types, grain direction etc (selecting wood basically) and going from raw materials to finished product.

Any suggestions?
 
I have no real help for you, but as an aside, my father used to own a business called Gunstocks Unlimited. I still have a beautiful stock he made and put a hand rubbed oil finish on. It's on a classic Stevens 12 gauge side by side.
I would love to see it if you don't mind sharing a picture of it. Any idea what kind of oil or wood he used?
 
I would love to see it if you don't mind sharing a picture of it. Any idea what kind of oil or wood he used?


Unfortunately I can't answer either of those questions. I am going to see him later today, but he is 81 years old now and his memory is not good so I don't have much faith that he would remember. I will ask him though.

Here's the only picture I have of it. It's not a close up or anything, but you can zoom in and see it pretty good. Keep in mind I was maybe 10 or 11 when he made the stocks ( he made and finished both of them) and I put many, many years of quail hunting in Missouri brush behind me since then.

JgqURE6.jpg
 
For some reason Linseed oil seems to stick in my head, but I honestly can't be sure. And on recollection I believe I was about 15 when he did it because I remember hunting for several years with a stock he put on there so the gun would fit me when I was very young. He bought me a Savage break action single in 20 gauge when I was 8 years old. I hunted with it for 2 years and after saving up my allowance and birthday money and whatever he kicked in the difference and found me this one. He always hunted with a 20 gauge Fox side by side but for some reason I always wanted a 12 gauge and even though he thought I was just being a dumbass kid begging for the biggest and baddest, he allowed it. It's not a decision either of us ever regretted. To this day I have no use at all for a 20 gauge shotgun although I did somehow end up with 3 or 4 of them.
 
Linseed oil is extremely common win wood working. I use it on all my wooden tool handles. (GET RID OF THAT VARNISH) Other very common oils are danish and tung.

The stock is absolutely beautiful!
 
Most older military rifles were usually cleaned and protected using boiled linseed oil. As for the M1 Garand Rifle, it is believed that the original manufacturer’s finish utilized boiled linseed oil into which the stocks were dipped and then dried. Depending on the temperature it may take linseed oil several weeks to property cure. Most of us have never waited that long to take our restored M1 out to shoot. :)
 
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