Is there a market for custom AK furniture

[gym]

I have been trying to convince my nephew, who owns a company in CA "moving back to FL", to make some furniture for pistols and rifles. He deals in exotic woods for 25 -30 years now, mostlly custom Planked floors and "gates and fences", He has a million dollars worth of equiptment, mostlly for work on homes and the like. He actually grows forests for some of these estates to get the look they want. His stuff is unbelievable. But that market is dead now. So I had this clanking around in my head for a while and finally called him. He thought it was a great idea. He used to give the scraps to guys who did this for a living. He didn't realize there was money in it.
Now he understands that this could be a very nice business. He can make anything, "he's just one of those talented people. He also has his own tung oil that he says is better than anythin I ever saw.
Is there room in the market for a custom woodworker that makes stocks grips etc for 1 or 2 types to start, like 1911's and ak's? You will never see wood like this on an ak, or he can do the original look from the way they should have been form the factory. Thoughts?, he is waiting for a small c&c machine, because his equiptment is too big for this, But AK's may be a market alone as I never see really nice wood for them. Also revolvers.I showed him my 1911 with the burled wood, and he knew everything there was to know. I realize there are a lot of guys doing this now, but most are one man oprations using hand tools, I'm thinking Hi tech equiptment and wood that no one can get but him.
If he comes through, then he could do one of a kind stocks for high end rifles, custom made for the individual shooter, also for restored weapons.
I just have to wait for him to get moved down here and see. Here is what they were doing, it's a big difference, http://morganteach.com/gallery.aspx,

 

[Roan]

Yes, there is a market, though right now it's very small. I know the Saiga community, including myself, would be very interested in this, though there are some wood products already on the market. It would probably come down to branding, pricing, and word of mouth. But I know I would be interested.

 

[9mmepiphany]

If he weren't at the other end of the state, I'd go down to his showroom today...there is some nice wood there...and I'd like some scrapes too

The problem with making custom stocks has always been perceived value by your target market. While 1911 and revolver shooters will pay quite a bit for nice wood, will AK shooters really do the same?

 

[USAF_Vet]

Is there a market, yes, albeit a limited one. I've seen plenty of AK's with the ugliest mismatched wood, and if I owned one, I'd look into getting it replaced. The drawback is that there are so many types of grips and stocks, many of which require customs fitting, he would almost need to have the stock or whatever sent in for a match fit.

I'd like to get a custom set of grips for my new (to me) S&W469, not a lot of aftermarket for a gun that's 20+ years out of production. Or even for my Hi Point (lipstick on a pig and all).

so yes, there is a market, but the trick is how to get the corner on it.

 

[Sam Cade]

I think Ironwood Designs pretty much has the entire market.

http://ironwooddesigns.com/IWDsite/IWDHome.html

 

[Olympus]

The 1911 market is pretty saturated already and I doubt there are any woods that your friend could get that most of us 1911 makers couldn't get either. Finding that kind of wood in plank form is a lot more difficult than it is to find in small pieces necessary for 1911 grips. And the CNC equipment really only gives you an advantage interns of speed of production and uniformity. But the 1911 is fairly straightforward in design, so I doubt you would see a significant difference between hand made grips and CNC made grips. Now revolver grips are a different story. The market isn't nearly as crowded and CNC equipment is almost a necessity when making revolver grips.

Another option to explore would be custom rifle stocks. I'm sure the clientele for exotic flooring would also be interested in exotic gun stocks. And there is a big market for exotic wood stocks for the T/C Encore. The two-piece stock of the Encore would be easier made than an inletted rifle stock. Just some ideas...

 

[JustinJ]

Not one that is worth while. Who buys an AK for looks? The only time an AK is hung on the wall is for it's historic value.

I bought a romanian long ago with mismatched wood. Sanding, restaing and varnishing made it match and to the color i liked and took very little time and effort.

 

[Magoo]

An advantage he'd have that I see from having CNC capabilities in making 1911 panels is the ability to offer checkering. From what I've seen, on high end/ custom/ quality wood panels checkering is only available if it's done by hand. Most of the custom makers are smaller shops that don't have mechanical checkering capabilities and hand checkering is pricey. Not that most folks would want to cover all of their lovely wood with checkering, but I for one don't like perfectly smooth panels.

 

[Olympus]

Agreed. CNC is definitely the way to go for checkering too.