Thank you!Walnut was mostly used. Here is a great thread we had on this subject.
Tell me more! - What kind of wood was used on Civil War muskets? | Small Arms & Ammunition
Were most muskets made from the same type of wood? Being from Michigan I know that huge amounts of lumber from Michigan was being sold to the Federal government, but I am not sure of the mix of hard woods and pine. My next question is, did wood have to season before it could be used in muskets?civilwartalk.com
That is how tiger stripes have been added to plain wooden stocks that do not have much "figure" in them. I do believe that there are some stocks modified this way that have turned up a time or two on the forums.I was told by my Daddy that the gun which was brought back from the war by an ancestor ( he traded his army issued gun for the one we have) was considered poor man’s tiger maple on the stock.
A cotton string was dipped into kerosene, wrapped around the stock and then set on fire. Once the areas were sanded down and oiled it gave the illusion of a piece of finer quality tiger maple.
Is this just a fun story or is there any truth to it?
I’ve always wondered and would be interested to hear what the experts on the site think .
Whoa Nellie!!!! The 1863 Remington Rifle had a walnut stock and the first reference to it being a Zouave Rifle was from Bannerman, who purchased the 10,000 for .54 cents each. They marketed the rifles as Zouave since at that time it was all the "rage" across America and Europe. Simply a marketing ploy.American Walnut, usually. Although Remington Zouave rifles used fruit wood, that's why the stock had the bright appearance that led to the name.
Using string and burning is a myth. To get the artficial striping it was PAINTED ON.That is how tiger stripes have been added to plain wooden stocks that do not have much "figure" in them. I do believe that there are some stocks modified this way that have turned up a time or two on the forums.
Some very high quality maple wood, and other types of wood, can really produce a wonderful looking grain and figure in the wood.
Whoa Nellie!!!! The 1863 Remington Rifle had a walnut stock and the first reference to it being a Zouave Rifle was from Bannerman, who purchased the 10,000 for .54 cents each. They marketed the rifles as Zouave since at that time it was all the "rage" across America and Europe. Simply a marketing ploy.
Certainly for U.S. army and militia musket and rifle stocks the Ordnance manuals such as that of 1841 were quite specific about the use of black walnut and how long the wood had to be seasoned, the grain, absence of knots, etc. etc.Mostly it was walnut that was used but I'm sure that any hardwood could be used if there is a shortage. Now some woods you can stain it to look like a totally different wood altogether if know what your doing.
Yep not a one was fruitwood, there was no shortage of Bladk American Walnut!I could have sworn I read somewhere it was fruitwood...although it was many years ago, so maybe I'm imagining it, misremembering, or it wasn't a very good source. lol