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tupelo gun stocks

jptatum
Did anybody ever make a gun stock out of tupelo wood? It is also called black gum.
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8 comments

Date Votes
  • mrbruce
    Carvers love it, stock makers don't..
    Seems like it's a wood that warps easy, and has a tendency to split..
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  • andrewsw16
    quote:Originally posted by mrbruce
    Carvers love it, stock makers don't..
    Seems like it's a wood that warps easy, and has a tendency to split..

    Sounds like just what I would want on a rifle stock. [:D]
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  • richarda
    A hundred or more years ago, Winchester stocked some models in what is referred to as "gum".
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  • MG1890
    quote:Originally posted by richarda
    A hundred or more years ago, Winchester stocked some models in what is referred to as "gum".


    I have Winchesters with gumwood stocks. The finish doesn't adhere very well, and thin sections are usually found cracked. the grain is not attractive, either.
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  • charliemeyer007
    I think it was red gum that they used. Mills really well in a stock duplicator machine.

    added Perhaps I was thinking of Sweet gum not red.
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  • jptatum
    I was back east last month and in a gun shop was a broken stock of a rifle. The man said it was made from Tupelo wood which greatly surprised me. It did look like tupelo wood; it was definitely not maple or walnut.
    Red gum is native to Australia and that was not it.
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  • He Dog
    Tupelo is a preferred wood with waterfowl wood carvers. You would think it would hold up in a gun stock if strong enough.
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  • sandwarrior
    It's called black gum. I've seen a small number of older guns stocked in it. It's kind of pretty, like you see carved pieces, but not really outstanding. It takes a longer than normal process to dry and cure it. Probably even moreso if you are drying/curing a large enough piece to make a gunstock. Why do all that work when you can get better looking walnut or maple.

    The other thing with it is to keep the stock waxed, not oiled. If oil penetrates the stock it could dry out and the warping/cracking issues could ensue. In short, because it carves well, and those pieces sit to be viewed, it works better for that. As opposed to a working (no matter how beautiful)piece of wood like a stock.
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