Chainsaw Repair

They allow you to cut screwbean mesquite in Texas? I was under the understanding that it was a protected species! That wood can fetch in excess of $1200 for a piece big enough to make the stock for a custom rifle! Must be nice to have enough to BBQ with! Or are you talking about Texas Honey mesquite (prosopsis glondulosa)?

I believe that if screw bean is growing on your private property you cannot cut it without government permission. The way I understand this came about is that during the US participation in the second world war; so much was cut to make guns that the tree was on the verge of extinction in the US. So, the government protected it and still does.

I had to know what it was and what it looked like on a stock. Seems to be in use still for stocks?  Screwbean Mesquite is discontinued, none available at this time. Gordon will be cutting new screwbean blanks winter 2011. Must be using it again.

http://www.oldtreegunblanks.com/shotgunblanks.html?woodid=6

We custom cut our screwbean mesquite blanks out of half sections of logs.

Screwbean Mesquite is some of the rarest gun wood in the world. It has to be approved for cutting in 3 of the 5 states it grows in by the US Government. It is illegal to cut in the other two. For every 10 blanks that are cut, after the drying process we will end up with 1.

Our screwbean mesquite is obtained from private landowners who are clearing trees for new housing developments. As a result, there is always only a quite limited supply of this beautiful wood.

Blues, reds, yellows, oranges, browns, and some chocolates can be found throughout this indescribably beautiful wood. Birds-eye siece poket markes, smaller than a pea, are common in this type of wood, just like flaws in emeralds and diamonds. It is simply a pain to cut and dry, is very hard on equipment, and only a small percentage of the blanks cure properly, but when cured, the wood is very hard and extremely stable, excellent for big caliber rifles. The beauty is hard to beat, and the extremely tight grain allows for excellent checkering.


Is this what you all are talking about?

Yes, that is screw bean mesquite. Do you see the tiny black pock mark on the bottom trailing edge of the cheek piece? The pocks are usually filled with a mix of epoxy and graphite or powdered nickel before final sanding and finishing. Looks to be on a T/C contender.

Need to go hunting with that rifle and get a big ole barbed wire fence scratch across that stock. Then you will not notice that pock mark anymore.

Well said!