Newest stock in the stable.

Northern Bowhunter · Post by **Northern Bowhunter** » Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:36 am

Very nice Mark!! What did you use for a stain and finish?
Darrin

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Fri Sep 24, 2004 12:22 pm

NB ,
I used a stain made just for maple , it is an acid stain ( rubber gloves and old clothes ) and must be neutralized with steel wool and white vinegar to stop the coloring effect. The acid will burn skin . The wood turns a near black color from the stain and the vinegar wool pull color off untill you reach the color you want ( lotsa rubbing ). The finish coat is a hard satin poly made for the outdoors by Cabot.

Mark

GaryM · Post by **GaryM** » Sun Sep 26, 2004 4:59 pm

Mark, I admire you for all the work you put into shaping and finishing those chunks of wood, vs. finishing an inletted stock. I always did pre-inletted jobs and never tackled one like you, other than some pistol grips or something small. One thing I did tackle though, was cutting my own walnut trees and making stocks from them. I also dug two walnut stumps by hand and stocked a M-42 Wincherster I have with the wood. I still have quite a bit of walnut in the barn that I cut that is in 2" slabs, but it is mostly the straight grained stuff. I made up most of the crotch and fiddleback pieces a dozen years ago. Where do you get you maple?

Northern Bowhunter · Post by **Northern Bowhunter** » Sun Sep 26, 2004 5:44 pm

The reason I ask is I may do a muzzle loader with a curly maple stock. Yours looks just how I'd like it to be. It wouldn't be Aqua Fortis that you used, would it?

Again, very nice!!!!

Darrin

gametrail · Post by **gametrail** » Sun Sep 26, 2004 5:46 pm

Mark, they are great.

I will have one as soon as i can save up the $.

Something like that you cann't just find any where. They only come from a master wood worker.

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Sun Sep 26, 2004 6:53 pm

Darrin, you have an e-mail.

Gary i do alot of surfing the web looking for the good curl, i have a few people who build guitars that do not mind selling some of their private stock now and again. Basically Luthier wood and a few exotic wood suppliers that carry about anything you could want.

Gametrail , any time , i will be around

I took my emag to a local archery shop Saturday, it had the lighter maple stock on it. A gentelman took interest in it, after telling him i didnt really care to sell it he continued on to propose a deal only a fool would turn down, and he had the cash to prove it. So the search for more maple starts again

Kind of sad to see it go, that was my favorite to date. :

I hope it brings him as much enjoyment and luck as it brought me!!!!!

Mark

Northern Bowhunter 1 · Sun Oct 03, 2004 8:26 pm

Can you send that e-mail again, I ve had computer problems
Thanks,
Darrin

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Sun Oct 03, 2004 8:59 pm

Darrin, resent the link to you.

Mark

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Oct 04, 2004 7:39 pm

Are you sending it to [email protected]?
Darrin

Northern Bowhunter1 · Tue Oct 05, 2004 11:37 pm

That's me!
Darrin

perdrix · Post by **perdrix** » Wed Oct 06, 2004 12:57 pm

WOW, this crossbow is beautiful!

Partikle · Post by **Partikle** » Mon Nov 01, 2004 7:20 pm

Sweet, very nice stocks Mark. I have to ask, how much heavier are the wood stocks over the plastic stocks?

Nick

morepowr · Post by **morepowr** » Mon Nov 01, 2004 7:47 pm

Wow! those are a work of art. Just curious how long it takes you to make one of those.

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Mon Nov 01, 2004 8:46 pm

Partikle , The maple stocks are about 1 1/2 pounds for the large thumbhole and 1 3/4 pounds for the stocks pictured. The laminated birch is slightly heavier. This small amount of weight and the density of the wood help the bow to reduce vibration, reduce vibration and you have a quieter bow.

morepowr , the first stock i made took me around 25 hrs or more, it really didnt look that great either, but worked awsome. After a year or so of making these stocks i have found better ways and faster ways to get things done. i havent really kept tabbs on how long it takes me but i would say an average of around 8 hrs on a laminated birch isnt too far off. The maple takes about 4 or 5 hrs more due to the staining and finishing required.

Mark