clarionflyer

You'all are gonna laugh at me, but I've never had much experience with Hickory. Holy B- well you know. That is one tough wood! I was trimming a Hickory the other day, and I'm still vibrating from the first hit of my axe.
So what's good to make out of hickory?

BHOFM

Gun stocks! Wood of choice for mussel loaders!

GeorgeC

Bar-B-Q smoking material.

G

Daren

Well...they make ax handles for one thing . And cabinets, flooring, furniture.

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knotscott

I've worked a lot of hard maple and only a little hickory....hickory is the toughest wood I've encountered. Haven't yet tried ipe, mesquite, or some of the exotics that are tough as nails.

clarionflyer

I think I may have enough to try a few gun stocks (maybe an axe handle too). Yet another winter project. Thanks for the ideas.

firehawkmph

baseball bats, walking sticks, broomsticks, tool handles.....
Mike Hawkins

Kirk Allen

Anything you can imagine! Its beutiful wood and if you have "sharp" tools its not to bad to work with. I tend to wait to do any hickory work for when I get all my tools re-sharpened.

I know the Byrd spiral cutter head on my planer made a "world" of difference in planing the stuff. Not a single chip out on the boards I did last week.

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mart

You are right it is tough stuff. I have seen it in tool handles, cabinets, flooring and the like but never a gun stock. I have been messing around fixing, making and repairing gun stocks all my life and have yet to run into one from hickory???? Most muzzleloaders are stocked with maple (though occasionally cherry or walnut), most modern rifles with walnut or in the case of the less expensive guns, "walnut finished" hardwood, usually birch.

Mart

red

I second that! Red

It does make nice cabinets and flooring also.

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pianoman

I think Hickory is great for alot of pieces. Traditionally, like Daren stated, Fence, striking tool handles, hunting bows, speaker boxes,The Middle Ages Catipult? Rick

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clarionflyer

Brother-in-law needs a new gun stock for his 1925 ".22". I think we'll give'er a go next year (depending on the wood moisture). I'll add it to the list. If only I could make some money from this stuff. I'm starting to become a "jack of all trades but master of none".
Seems to me, the folks that master a couple of wood ideas make the money. But the others (like me), run around chasing their tails!
I'm not complaining, it's fun and I'm learning a ton.

So I guess I'll start studying up on gun stocks. Anybody know of some good books? Hints from you, folks, are even better.

Thanks again,

Dave

mart

Dave,

"Professional Stockmaking", by David L. Wesbrook is probably one of the very best books on the subject of stockmaking. He gives very detailed photos and text. It should be available through Amazon or Wolfe Publishing. Hickory makes great tool handles but I have never seen it used in gunstocks. Good luck.

Mart