Choose your wood

Treebone Carving

Wood grade pictures

Click on the pictures to view a full size photo

Here are some pictures taken in the shop, you might think

it is a bit of a mess (OK, it really is a mess...) but I know where every thing is.

Currently, I have 5000 plus dry blanks in inventory...

I have put off building this page for too long.

Usually when a customer orders a stock in a certain grade of wood, they have an image of that wood in mind.

It is difficult to explain what I can offer, and this will not by any means show the full range of wood grades available. Hopefully these pictures will clear up some of the confusion, and I will add more as I can.

There is no established standard to grade blanks by (Construction lumber has a standard grading system), and most dealers have thier own guidelines for grading.

I have seen many blanks poorly laid out (cross grained) yet sold by others as high grade wood. My standards are to judge wood for proper grain flow first. A fancy blank that is cross grained in the wrist is not worthy of the class, and trouble is sure to follow.

Most of my blanks are 20 to 35 years old, and quite dark, so they do not photograph worth a hoot. These have been run through a planer and varnished to reveal the color and figure. Since most of my blanks are not dolled up for display, it is not practical to photograph each one, in general my customers trust my judgement when the place an order and

generally consider themselves satisfied. If you absolutly must see a picture before you buy, I will do so at shop labor cost for the labor involved.

Standard American Walnut

This is the walnut used by the major gun makers. It typically comes from the midwest and is kiln dried. This is a good choice if restoring an antique rifle.

The color can vary from a grey to light brown, usually an antique appearing finish can be done with dark stain and tung oil or varnish finish.

If you want quartersawn, it is considered "standard select quartersawn", at slightly higher cost.

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examples of standard walnut

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Semi Fancy (select Standard)

This is my most popular grading, maybe because it give a bit of pizzaz at a fairly affordable price. I will be adding these pictures shortly.

Fancy

This is the grade that falls between standard and special select. Compared to the blandness of standard straight grain wood, it stands out, but you should not expect something that will stop traffic. It will show better color and moderate figuring.

More pictures will be posted when I clean up some examples for the camera

Select Fancy walnut

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Select Extra Fancy

This grade will show exceptional color and figure, pretty hard to describe adequately. this piece (Claro walnut) shows full fiddleback and very good color, no two pieces are alike, but each will be remarkable in its own way.

Extra Fancy Claro walnut

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Close up Claro

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Special Select

This grade covers the best grade rare walnuts I offer. Usually Claro and Bastogne, cut from 1970 to 1980 and air dry. Most have been in my father's shop and this is the first time they have seen the light of day since he put them up. Most were cut in Northern Calif. by the same mill that cut for Pachmayr (many bear Frank Pachmayrs initials)

These are well laid out and of exceptional quality.

Usually quartersawn, both sides will display equally well.

These sell in the 500-700 dollar range

Special Select Bastogne

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Spec. Sel. Bastogne Closeup

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Special Select Bastogne

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86 Win DLX Special select Crotch

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Laminated wood

Laminates-

I can also carve these patterns in Laminates, although the selection of colors is limited until I get an idea of what will sell. These will be priced about like a select semifancy walnut. Laminates look kind of odd on a classic rifle, but it is a good choice for a weather resistant stock.

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