# How to saw birds eye gun stock wood



## sprucegum

I have made quite a few gun stocks most stock blanks are quarter sawn with the quarter sawn grain showing on the sides of the stock. To saw birds eye maple and have the most eyes showing flat sawn is best. I have a birds eye maple log and I would like to make a few stock blanks to use and sell which way is correct?


----------



## Kevin

I cannot answer that because I never saw maple that yields birdseye, but I might be interested in a blank or two if the eye is really good. I think we definitely have some sawyers who mill it so you should get some answers I would think. 

Best of luck.


----------



## DKMD

I don't mill, but I'd say saw it for the best figure... If that's flatsawn for BE maple, saw 'em flat.


----------



## Kevin

That's what he's asking, how to saw it. 

I just looked at some BEM I have and it is all flatsawn. I bet you have to flat saw it to get the most eye. None of the quarter sawn sides show any eye at all only the flat. I know quilted maple won't show the quilt except on the flat, so I bet BE is the same.

*This* isn't what you're asking but it's still a good read.


----------



## phinds

Yeah, it's my understanding that rotary cut (veneer) or flat cut is the only way to get the BE figure. QS just won't do it. It's like the BE circles are laying on the growth rings and QS just slices through them so you see nothing but flat or rotary shows them whole.


----------



## sprucegum

sprucegum said:


> I have made quite a few gun stocks most stock blanks are quarter sawn with the quarter sawn grain showing on the sides of the stock. To saw birds eye maple and have the most eyes showing flat sawn is best. I have a birds eye maple log and I would like to make a few stock blanks to use and sell which way is correct?



BE is not extremely rare in our Sugar maples here in the NE. I will keep you in mind if the tree turns out good. I have not even cut it yet it is big probably close to 4' on the stump which will require me to split it with a chainsaw just to get it on the mill. It still has a few live limbs on it so it is not going to rot away and fall over for a while. I chipped off a little bark and it is pretty pimply underneath indicating a lot of eyes but no real way to tell till I saw into it. I hope to get to it this fall a tree like that will take me the better part of a week to cut and process by the time I skid it out saw and sticker the lumber and process the fire wood. I am getting older and slower by the day.:wacko1:


----------



## sprucegum

Kevin said:


> That's what he's asking, how to saw it.
> 
> I just looked at some BEM I have and it is all flatsawn. I bet you have to flat saw it to get the most eye. None of the quarter sawn sides show any eye at all only the flat. I know quilted maple won't show the quilt except on the flat, so I bet BE is the same.
> 
> *This* isn't what you're asking but it's still a good read.



That was a good read some of it I knew through experience but a lot of it was new to me, I was totally unaware of the shape of the tree indicating BE. Because the BE radiates out from the heart of the tree I bet a riff sawed blank would show a lot of figure and still be quite stable like QS. I am sure of one thing BE maple is tough stuff to work I bet a BE gun handle would be a challenge.


----------



## HomeBody

I've been stocking guns since '82 but have yet to tackle any maple or cherry...I've only used walnut. I'd be up for the BEM challenge if you get some stock blanks from your tree. Gary


----------



## sprucegum

HomeBody said:


> I've been stocking guns since '82 but have yet to tackle any maple or cherry...I've only used walnut. I'd be up for the BEM challenge if you get some stock blanks from your tree. Gary



Cherry is not too bad to work with for stock wood I did one several years ago I wish it had a picture but I traded the gun away. I did a butt stock for a old H&R shotgun from plain maple also traded away. Plain maple is pretty tough stuff. I have worked a little BE Maple on flat work the eyes tear out pretty easy when jointing and planing. I have a friend who bought a BE maple blank hoping to get a custom gun stocked in it but all of the smiths the contacted to do the work either were not interested or wanted huge money. Last time I talked with him he had given up and wanted to sell his blank, he paid pretty big money for it but I am pretty sure he is ready to take a loss. If it is anything you are interested in I will find out. If he wants to let it go I can post it for sale here.


----------



## HomeBody

Is it a 2-piece shotgun blank of a 1-piece rifle blank? Gary


----------



## sprucegum

HomeBody said:


> Is it a 2-piece shotgun blank of a 1-piece rifle blank? Gary



I have never seen it but I am pretty sure he was building a rifle.


----------



## HomeBody

Sounds good. Let me know what he wants for it and maybe a pic or two if he decides to sell it for sure. Gary


----------

