Chinese Wood

[daveshoot]

Was reading elsewhere about various theories of what Chinese stocks are made from. When I dug into my old B26-2 stock, I knew it wasn't walnut, or what most of us mean by "beech",but it was OK with only a small amount of filler.

Best guess I have seen is "red qiu" (reference on BB's blog and elsewhere) so I went on a hunt for info. I found this, from a Chinese wood suppliers site:

"Qiu wood(Catalpa bungei): Qiu wood grows widely in our country, mainly in the flatlands of the north. Its lines are plain and straight and the gaps between the lines are quite small. The structure is fine and the texture is light and soft. It is easy to process. The elasticity of this wood is small and not easy to shrink, so it is nice for making furniture."

We see colloquial references to "monkey wood", etc., but I thought this was interesting. It is sometimes described as "rare" but there seems to be plenty around. Now, I am not sure whether this is the same wood as the B3s and cheaper rifles, but the description seems to match what I found under the unbelievably tough and resistant finish on the B26. It would be interesting to know for sure.

[Gene_SC]

Very interesting Dave, thanks for the information and sharing with us.

[steveiep]

It's the Chinese equivalent of beech.
Sometimes criticized for being a bit plain looking.
So far as I'm concerned it's just a nice tight-grained hardwood.
You see it used quite often in bedroom furniture that's exported from China to say Australia

[PeakChick]

Very good photography Dave!

[Jaymo]

Nice stock, Dave. It does seem to have that overlapping grain pattern seen in beech. I refinished an SKS stock back in '94 with tung oil and was absolutely blown away by how beautiful it became. Nice shades from honey to heart pine red.  Think I'll take it out and give it a few more coats of tung. I think 15 years is long enough to let it soak in. :-)