It was not until I started to work this stock that I realized that this piece of wood was not hard maple. After examination by several others, it was decided that it was indeed a piece of curly maple. The blank was finished in the general style of an early George Schroyer rifle. The cheek piece star and the inscription "victory or Death" on the cheek piece plate are pure fantasy. The gun finished about a half pound heavier than a comparable maple stocked gun, but handled well. It certainly should hold up to rough handling.
Curly maple can also be hard maple, aka: sugar maple.
ReplyDeleteWood loses moisture content over the time...my guess is 8 oz. would be about the right difference between the weight of an old and new stock of hard wood.