M14 Chu Wood

Well I have kept mine as original for that "as issued look" and being lazy didn't hurt! :rolleyes: But after seeing Master-G's stock I think it's time for a make over! Interesting how much of a two tone it has.

What exactly is Chu wood any how? :confused:

Mine might not come out as nice though as it has a bit of dark wood filler just behind the bolt lock. Looks like they miscut it and filled it in a bit. But we'll see.

Master-G, how much sanding did you do before those holes at the back of the stock showed up? No evidence of that on my stock...

What kind of black paint did you use on the hand guard?

And dh79, that SKS is way cool! Not sure I want to do it to my M14 as it won't look too military but I'm thinking about it! How much time did that take?


Fudd
 
ElmerFudd said:
What exactly is Chu wood any how? :confused:
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It looks like a type of poplar, some call it elephant ear poplar but IDK. Whatever it is it sure isn't a true hard wood. From what I understand wood is a very valuable item in Chu and Norc will use anything they can get their hands on.
 
ElmerFudd said:
Well I have kept mine as original for that "as issued look" and being lazy didn't hurt! :rolleyes: But after seeing Master-G's stock I think it's time for a make over! Interesting how much of a two tone it has.

What exactly is Chu wood any how? :confused:

Mine might not come out as nice though as it has a bit of dark wood filler just behind the bolt lock. Looks like they miscut it and filled it in a bit. But we'll see.

Master-G, how much sanding did you do before those holes at the back of the stock showed up? No evidence of that on my stock...

What kind of black paint did you use on the hand guard?
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I have heard that the wood is catalpa. I was surprised at the two-tone appearance--I like it. The holes actually were drilled by the previous owner--it was for a Rooster cheekpiece--so sand away! If you look hard at the "before" picture above you can sort of make them out. For the hand guard I just used flat black tremclad spray and krylon clear coat. After all the kind comments in the thread I'm almost embarrassed to admit I've since replaced the stock with a Boyds :redface:
 
Here's a couple of my M305's, one in minty fiberglass and one in USGI Maple. LOVE the Maple, took a lot of work, but wow is it an amazing piece of wood, total sleeper, was grimy and dark when I got it.

P1030893.jpg


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And a done up Norc:

P1030899.jpg
 
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Calum said:
Just try to get some Chu wood aka Qiumu, or Chinese Catalpa at your local specialty wood store in the size of a rifle stock blank, and you will be surprised at how expensive it can be.

It really isn't that bad, and I find it holds a stain quite nicely, but it is a softer wood, handle like white pine or spruce.

http://www.antique-chinese-arts.com/chinese-furniture-info/chinese-furniture-wood.html
http://www.windsorplywood.com/nam_hardwoods/catalpa.html
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There's an idea then on how to make some money for a fiberglass stock. Take the chu stock, cut it into blocks and advertise as rare Chinese carving wood!:dancingbanana:
 
canucklehead said:
However, it's NOT worth the effort to bed the stock... the wood is too soft.
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I disagree. It's excellent practice to bed the stock. Most of us will only ever own one M14, so bedding a stock is something most of us don't get to do too often. That way when it comes time to bed the USGI stock, we'll be, if not experts, at least not virgins.

Mudpuppy said:
It's the same principle as pillar bedding a bolt gun.

The problem with all wooden stocks is that they can compress in the bedding areas when subjected to clamping forces. On the M-14 the areas that start compressing first are usually under the trigger group: the rear bedding pads behind the trigger and the wings on either side of the magwell. This is why it is recommended to store a bedded M1/M-14 with the trigger guard unlatched to relieve the pressure.
The softer the wood the quicker it will happen and change your bedding and your groups.

So to pin the stock you drill holes/cut grooves to insert metal rods that are cut to the right length and epoxied in, that transfer the clamping force from the trigger group bedding points to the receiver. Then you do a regular bedding job on the rifle.


If you have done bedding work before it's not to hard to figure out how to run the
pins.
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The pins are an excellent idea. I did nearly the same thing with pour-in-place epoxy pillars; but the pins are a much better idea as they would allow you to precisely adjust the stock/bedding dimensions.
When I finally get around to doing the USGI stocks, that's what I'll be doing, even on the fiberglass.
 
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