UTILIZATION" OF BLACK WALNUT. 69 



able, for it is said that the heating of the rifle barrel will cause suf- 

 ficient warping to make the gun shoot inaccurately. Figured walnut 

 is highly prized in the butts of sporting rifles on account of its at- 

 tractive appearance. Such stocks must be finished by hand, however, 

 because the machine tool will follow the grain of the wood, inaccurate 

 cutting of the stock will result, and the metal parts will not fit 

 accurately. Army-rifle stocks are manufactured by very specialized 

 machinery. The rifle blank (PI. XI, fig. 1) is subjected to between 

 40 and 50 different machine operations ; it is then dipped in stain ; the 

 excess stain is rubbed off; and the metal parts are fitted to it. 

 Sapwood is used with the heartwood without discrimination. Ameri- 

 can walnut was the standard gunstock wood in the United States 

 during the late European war, and was also used extensively by Eng- 

 land and other European countries. 



In 1861 the subject of stocks for guns was formally discussed at a 

 convention of gunsmiths at Atlanta, Ga. The consensus of opinion 

 among those present was that black walnut was superior to all other 

 woods for muskets; after walnut, maple was to be preferred, and 

 persimmon was ranked third. It was then claimed that no artificial 

 seasoning would suffice, and that gunstock material should be air- 

 dried for 20 years. Walnut for gunstocks was, therefore, procured 

 both in the North and South by taking floors, beams, and joists out 

 of old barns and mills in which some of the walnut had been seasoning 

 for a quarter or half of a century, and also by purchasing miles of 

 fence rails. Modern methods of kiln drying the wood have largely 

 taken the place of air seasoning, and with much more satisfactory 

 results. Black-walnut stocks are now dried from the green state in 

 special kilns in about 60 days. The modern rifle and shotgun re- 

 quire much less wood for the stock than was used by the old-style 

 long musket, which was incased in wood nearly its entire length. 

 Gunstock blanks for the United States Army rifle are clear cuttings, 

 approximately 4 feet in length, made from 2^-inch flitches, sawed 

 from the log, and equivalent to a little better than the No. 2 common 

 grade. 



Although black walnut is the best wood for this use, yellow birch 

 has been found to be an excellent substitute. Yellow birch is about 

 equal to black walnut in weight, strength, and toughness, but is not 

 quite so good in holding its shape, shrinks more, and is more apt to 

 be cross-grained. It is light in color, but may be readily stained. 

 Gunstock manufacturers report that birch, when properly seasoned, 

 makes as good a stock as black walnut. Bircli is more difficult to 

 " machine," however ; the production is slower ; and there is more 

 waste in the : ' machining " operation than with walnut. Birch tim- 

 ber is quite often wavy and cross-grained, and that kind of stock 



