More fun with wood - Barnes Pneumatic

More fun with Wood ;?)

I've rolled this plank around for a few months. Looking at it - studying it - trying to envision the stocks inside. It was time to make the major cuts, in order to free a blank for use.

This is a plank of curly maple. Nasty heavy thing. I've carefully examined both sides ... no ... they are not the same. Flaws on one side or the other or both. Season cracks. It's up to me to read the plank and position the patterns so as best to use the wood.

You'll note that about 18" of this end is nothing but season cracks. Nothing but that pretty grain all laced with cracks. So - that comes off.

The first lengthwise cut - about 24 inches long. I finish the cut and watch ..... the saw cut steadily opens from 92 thousandths at one end ... to 302 thousandths at the other. This plank is totally dry and bone hard. Still, it's full of internal stress. You remember how I've mentioned that you have to cut and then wait for stress to relieve in figured woods. Not minutes (though this happened while I watched)... but weeks usually until it relaxes into a new shape.

After the cross cut, I could see what was not evident. That questionable crack on top ... where did it go and how deep? Ahhh ... very deep and diagonal ... ruining this stock blank.

And on the lengthwise cut ... deep interior flaws - completely unknown from the outside. Ruined another blank.

You only get to lay out the patterns once. After that, you've cut through an area. Can't stick it back together and move over somewhere else. It's toast.

Invisible from outside ... bug damage. Ruined again.

Are we having fun yet?

Here's a crack out in the field of the plank. I worked around it (and any other visible flaw) the very best I could. Wanna guess? Where does the crack go? Here's a hint .... they almost NEVER go straight down - you could plan around that.

The long cut revealed that the crack did not go that way (or up in this pic). Let's cut a wedge from a waste area of the stock pattern and see if we get lucky this time.

First you see the edge is clean. Didn't go this way.

Well ... how about that? Straight down and deep. But, if the rest of the crack runs the same, maybe we'll get one blank here to use. IF we don't find anything else.

Well ... that wedge area under the forestock pattern here was supposed to be the forestock for another pattern. BUT ... this blank ... in this position .... is ruined.

If I flip the pattern this way .... can I save the bigger stock and sacrifice the forestock pattern? Don't know. And what about the forestock I wanted ... (which was why I cut the blank now ... to get the forestock out without ruining another blank ... )

You begin to see some of the charms of figured woods.

Well sure ... (someone in the back row) ... says. Why don't you just USE BETTER WOOD!! Aahhaaaaa... great idea. Answer: Because that's straight grained, dependable, free of flaws, and doesn't warp. That's why.

..... What????

As I've mentioned before. Figured wood is pretty exactly BECAUSE it was such a LOUSY tree! Probably grew in some swampy flood plane. Grew all twisted and loppsided. Was never trimmed so ... as it grew, the tree developed tortured grain around the limb/trunk joints to offset the strain for as long as it could without breaking itself apart. Then, when stressed beyond limit, it often split and let in water .. and bugs.

So ... that was my day. Actually, one of a few I've already spent on this plank. It looked like it had potential. Still don't know. Most of it is firewood (and my day too). Two of the projects are ruined. Might get one ... but there are more mysteries inside those individual blanks.

Oh ... I weighed one blank after freeing it from the plank. 16 Pounds!!! Hummm ... what's that entire rifle supposed to weigh? Cutting the blank to the bone, it will still weigh twice what a straight grained stock would weigh.

Working around the natural flaws, I've scoped out this blank. Will it work? We'll see. But I don't have it in me now ...

Bummer? Just reality. It's the reality of life inside the trade of building rifles. I wanted you to come along for the day - (and enjoy the wood - ha ha) ... just to see why I get the big bucks ... ;?)

I need a cuppa coffee ...