GUNSTOCK BLANKS

American Walnut Company is one of the premier American black walnut gunstock manufacturing mills in the world. To view examples of our Figured Grades and Standard Stock Patterns, click on the underlined links below.

American Black Walnut Logs	American black walnut logs are harvested exclusively from mature (30-50 years old) trees grown in the five state region of Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Oklahoma and Nebraska. Each American Walnut Company log is labeled with an inventory control tag to assure timely cutting and to negate premature drying and checking from undue exposure to the weather. To maximize the grain qualitites specified by customers, each log is opened by the chief sawyer, an exceptional judge of walnut.
Cut walnut is inspected for defects. Pattern makers trace patterns to include the highest quality grain and color. A third inspection is conducted after the blanks are cut. They are then planed to an equal thickness and dipped in hot wax to prevent rapid drying and checking. The flawless blanks are scientifically kiln dried over a specific schedule, which could last as long as eight months. American Walnut Company kiln dries each individual blank with a tolerance of approximately 3%. The blanks are equalized and conditioned to prevent any internal stress. The kiln dried blanks are then inspected for any drying flaws that would occur during the drying process. The dried blanks, with absolutely no warpage or grain separation, are then reinspected, packaged and ready to be loaded.	Seven Foot Bandmill Cutting Prime Walnut
	Over 800,000 BD.FT./ 1886 CM of Dry Kiln Capacity

Cutting Clear Gunstocks out of Green Flitch

American Walnut Company wood technologists and designers have engineered standard patterns as well as custom patterns to provide our customers with the most efficient use of the wood blanks. American Walnut Company can also provide blanks, machined on both faces, and profiled to a specific size. Gunstocks are then ready for locating machines. (See photo below.)

Loading Gunstock Blanks into Kiln	Surfaced Profile Rifle Blank Profiled to a Specific Customer's Requirements, Provided Ready to Place on a Locating Machine.
	Eight Head Groove Bed Molder

COMPARATIVE STRENGTHS As you will note from the following information, American Black Walnut is undisputably harder and stronger than European Walnut. MOISTURE CONTENT RUPTURE STRENGTH ELASTICITY STRENGTH CRUSHING STRENGTH SHEAR STRENGTH HARDNESS STRENGTH AMERICAN BLACK WALNUT* 8% 16,456 1,756,000 9,281 1430 1051 EUROPEAN WALNUT* 8% 13,100 1,540,000 7,320 1320 860 AMERICAN BLACK WALNUT STRENGTH ADVANTAGE -- + 26% + 14% + 27% + 8% +22 EUROPEAN WALNUT (Juglans Regia): Other Common Names: Akrot, Ancona Auverge, Austrian Walnut, Basilikon, Carua, Caryon, Charmagz, Caucasian Walnut, Circassian (area in Caucasus/Black Sea) Walnut, Englische Wallnuss, English Walnut, European Walnut, French Walnut, Gemeine Wallnuss, Italian Walnut, Jaoz, Nogal, Nogal America, Nogal Comun, Noyer, Persian Walnut, Persicon, Russian Walnut, Turkish Walnut, etc. AMERICAN BLACK WALNUT (Juglans Nigra): Other Common Names: American Walnut, American Black Walnut, Black Walnut, Burbank, Walnut, Eastern Black Walnut, Eastern Walnut, Gunwood, Virinia Walnut. Data Published by United States Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Products Laboratory.