Unusual wood for a surplus rifle?

[Jackal]

Hi guys. I just tore into an old Ishapore 2A that I got from AIM about a year ago. After getting rid of all the cosmo/dirt/leaves/everything else off the wood, I was quite surprised to see what I got. Everything except the buttstock is the standard dark red(ish) wood. The buttstock however, is the nicest looking Enfield stock I have seen. Front to back, side to side striping. I am going to sand it down to 400grit then finish with hand rubbed Tru-Oil. About how rare is it to find this kind of wood on a surplus rifle, let alone an Enfield? Feel free to share your stories/pics of what you have found under the grime.

 

[Float Pilot]

Be careful about sanding away too much. You can make the dents come out by using an old steam iron and a damp towell. repeated steam ironings and the using of mineral spirits , as well as denatured alcohol, will make the dents swell back out about 80% this really helps reduce the need to go nuts with sand paper.

 

[marki3rd]

It looks laminated to me, but I could be wrong.

 

[cracked butt]

About how rare is it to find this kind of wood on a surplus rifle, let alone an Enfield?

Far more commonly seen on a surplus rifle than a modern sporting rifle

 

[vzenmn]

You can be amazed at times by what you can find under gobs of cosmo and dirt.

 

[Cosmoline]

I've seen similar subtle striping in Birch stocks, and I wonder if that's the wood you have there.

 

[cracked butt]

It looks a lot like birch to me....

 

[cracked butt]

I have a few with nice wood:

My M94/14 'project'


A streaky M48




A 109 year old Mauser 96

 

[Vaarok]

Not that uncommon with Mausers, but Enfields generally don't have tigering. They both commonly use excellent walnut, but Enfields tend to have subtle texture changes or blotchy flaming, while Mausers more often have distinct striping.

 

[cracked butt]

Nice turk


I've seen more than a few 'lowly' turks with outstanding wood.

 

[shuvelrider]

Almost seems like that piece of wood came from the center of the tree where the grain is really dense, depends how the wood was milled to determine the direction of the grain in the stock. Makes for a very attractive stock.

 

[rangerruck]

could be a nice piece of birch, also looks a bit like tiger , birds eye, or blanket walnut.

 

[jrfoxx]

I've seen similar subtle striping in Birch stocks, and I wonder if that's the wood you have there.

My Savage Enfield has about that same lighter color, and has the "tiger striping" throughout the whole stock, so apparently it does happen.No idea wha tkind of wood it is, or what causes the tiger stiping, but it sure does look nice.Mine is fairly visible in decent light, and in person (my pic doesnt really show it too well, but if you know to look for it, you can see it), and showed up even better from just having wiped it down good with a damp cloth, an applying a little beeswax furniture polish to it. Really help bring out the striping nicely.Wish the pic did it justice....