Walnut vs Laminate Finishes

[adaman04]

Okay, I have a question which may seem stupid, but who cares. I have a 93R17 with the factory hardwood stock. It is nice looking wood, with nice grain detail. I noticed on the Savage website it says my rifle has "Walnut finished hardwood" and the laminated stock says "Laminate hardwood".

My question is, what goes in to finishing the different stocks to make them look different. Are the woods the same? Is it possible to refinish an existing Walnut finished stock to make it laminate appearing? Any info would help. Thanks.

 

[Sharps Shooter]

You know there’s no such thing as a stupid question, but I’m just not real sure that when Savage says a certain rifle has a “laminated hardwood stock” it’s what you’re thinking it is. I had a laminated hardwood stock built for my old Winchester 70 and what it amounts to is very thin (about 1/32”) layers of hardwood laminated, or glued, together to form a solid chunk of wood. Then the rifle stock is carved out of that. If you look closely at the bottom of the forearm, you can actually see the different layers of hardwood. It makes for a beautiful stock; it’s very strong and not likely to warp with changes in humidity. The glue between the layers does add a little weight though.
I was showing off my rifle to a buddy a while back and he obviously thought the same as most people when it comes to what “laminated” means – like a thin layer of hardwood laminated to a piece of pressed board. He commented about how beautiful the stock on my rifle is and asked what kind of wood it’s made out of. I told him it’s laminated hardwood and he said: “Wow, it sure doesn’t look like it. It looks like real wood.” It kind of deflated my ego.

 

[cracked butt]

Most of the walnut stocks put on rifles these days have very little character, the wood with a lot of character is going to go on guns where you pay a premium for better wood.

IMHO, laminated stocks that are tastefully done are far better looking than the lowest grade walnut stocks put on entry level grades of walnut. Laminated stocks are made from veneers peeled from tree trunks and are glued in alterating layers. When the stock is carved, the layers produce what I could best describe as a 'artificial' grain pattern.

 

[adaman04]

Very well explained gentleman. I thank you.