+ Reply to Thread
Page 1 of 3 1 2 3 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 21

Thread: Question About Beechwood And Longbranch

Click here to increase the font size Click here to reduce the font size
  1. #1
    Legacy Member SpikeDD's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Last On
    08-07-2020 @ 06:05 AM
    Location
    New Jersey
    Posts
    257
    Real Name
    David
    Local Date
    03-29-2024
    Local Time
    02:58 AM

    Question About Beechwood And Longbranch

    Was Beechwood more or less commonly used by Longbranch and does anyone know what, if any, time frame Beechwood would have been used by Longbranch?

    Thanks for any assistance.
    Information
    Warning: This is a relatively older thread
    This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.
    David

  2. # ADS
    Friends and Sponsors
    Join Date
    October 2006
    Location
    Milsurps.Com
    Posts
    All Threads
    A Collector's View - The SMLE Short Magazine Lee Enfield 1903-1989. It is 300 8.5x11 inch pages with 1,000+ photo’s, most in color, and each book is serial-numbered.  Covering the SMLE from 1903 to the end of production in India in 1989 it looks at how each model differs and manufacturer differences from a collecting point of view along with the major accessories that could be attached to the rifle. For the record this is not a moneymaker, I hope just to break even, eventually, at $80/book plus shipping.  In the USA shipping is $5.00 for media mail.  I will accept PayPal, Zelle, MO and good old checks (and cash if you want to stop by for a tour!).  CLICK BANNER to send me a PM for International pricing and shipping. Manufacturer of various vintage rifle scopes for the 1903 such as our M73G4 (reproduction of the Weaver 330C) and Malcolm 8X Gen II (Unertl reproduction). Several of our scopes are used in the CMP Vintage Sniper competition on top of 1903 rifles. Brian Dick ... BDL Ltd. - Specializing in British and Commonwealth weapons Specializing in premium ammunition and reloading components. Your source for the finest in High Power Competition Gear. Here at T-bones Shipwrighting we specialise in vintage service rifle: re-barrelling, bedding, repairs, modifications and accurizing. We also provide importation services for firearms, parts and weapons, for both private or commercial businesses.
     

  3. #2
    Advisory Panel breakeyp's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Last On
    03-27-2024 @ 03:29 PM
    Location
    near Detroit Michigan
    Age
    77
    Posts
    963
    Real Name
    Paul Breakey
    Local Date
    03-29-2024
    Local Time
    02:58 AM
    I would imagine that various woods would have been used at different depending on what was available from their suppliers. Beech and Birch would have been an acceptable, but not favored, substitute for Walnut.

  4. Thank You to breakeyp For This Useful Post:


  5. Avoid Ads - Become a Contributing Member - Click HERE
  6. #3
    Legacy Member SpikeDD's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Last On
    08-07-2020 @ 06:05 AM
    Location
    New Jersey
    Posts
    257
    Real Name
    David
    Local Date
    03-29-2024
    Local Time
    02:58 AM
    Thread Starter
    Thank you, Paul. I imagined as much but was hoping to tap someones detailed knowledge and experience. In the few dozen examples I've owned or handled over the years, I can't say if I even recall seeing any Longbranch rifles with Beech stocks. The question was prompted by my discovery of a nearly complete Canadianicon marked beech stock set, less the butt, in the back of the closet wrapped in bubble wrap and brown paper. I can't remember the last time I saw it or even remember when I acquired it. I'm hoping Brian may have some input.
    David

  7. #4
    Advisory Panel
    Roger Payne's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Last On
    03-20-2024 @ 06:05 AM
    Location
    Sutton Coldfield, UK.
    Posts
    3,429
    Real Name
    Roger Payne
    Local Date
    03-29-2024
    Local Time
    06:58 AM
    Well I have learned something today. In all my years I've never come across LB beech wood. Walnut & birch seem to be the norm, with smaller quantities of maple. I gather that LB may have also experimented with other timbers in small quantities during the war. I'd not 'chipped' in (forgive the terrible pun) as there are dedicated Long Branch production experts on this forum, but if your wood is surely beech & is Canadianicon marked then it's scarce, at least around my neighbourhood it is!

    ATB

  8. The Following 3 Members Say Thank You to Roger Payne For This Useful Post:


  9. #5
    Advisory Panel Brian Dick's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Last On
    Yesterday @ 02:10 PM
    Location
    Edgefield, SC USA
    Posts
    4,040
    Local Date
    03-29-2024
    Local Time
    02:58 AM
    I'm with Roger having encountered lots of walnut, birch and some maple. Anything is possible though as Paul states.

  10. The Following 2 Members Say Thank You to Brian Dick For This Useful Post:


  11. #6
    Legacy Member CODFan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Last On
    03-02-2024 @ 03:57 PM
    Location
    Toronto
    Age
    54
    Posts
    282
    Real Name
    Michael
    Local Date
    03-29-2024
    Local Time
    01:58 AM
    What kind of wood is this?

    Attachment 61429Attachment 61430

  12. Thank You to CODFan For This Useful Post:


  13. #7
    Advisory Panel
    Peter Laidler's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Last On
    03-24-2024 @ 09:52 AM
    Location
    Abingdon, Oxfordshire. The home of MG Cars
    Posts
    16,507
    Real Name
    Peter Laidler
    Local Date
    03-29-2024
    Local Time
    08:58 AM
    If that was on my work bench I would call it birch simply because beech has a certain feature that marks it out clearly as, well, beech!

  14. Thank You to Peter Laidler For This Useful Post:


  15. #8
    FREE MEMBER
    NO Posting or PM's Allowed
    Seaspriter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Last On
    09-23-2019 @ 02:42 PM
    Location
    Naples, Florida USA
    Posts
    718
    Real Name
    R. Porter Lynch
    Local Date
    03-29-2024
    Local Time
    02:58 AM
    Of the four woods in No.4 Enfields, a 1943 article in the Toronto newspaper said that Long Branch was running out of native Canadian walnut and switching over to Maple. Beech, while it does grow in Canadaicon, is limited to Nova Scotia and southern Ontario (it grows predominantly in the eastern US.). There are several varieties of birch (the pretty silver/white birch is not the kind used in rifles) which grow well in Canada. I suspect this is why so many Long Branch Enfields tend predominantly to use maple or birch. By 1944 (Brian will know better), the only walnut used by LB was in the snipers (only about 1,000 made).

    What is not clear to me is where the Canadian's were getting their walnut -- it only grows in the eastern U.S. (with the exception of a very, very small area in southern Ontario. (see: The Natural Range of Black Walnut ) I suspect the small Canadian growth had been stripped by 1943, and the sniper LBs in '44 were stocked with American black walnut.

    On this note, it's interesting to see how many M-1s were configured with walnut stocks during WWII -- perhaps because of the higher strength of walnut and the long butt-to-muzzle, walnut got priority. (others chime in with any opinions).

    ---------- Post added at 01:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:00 PM ----------

    Quote Originally Posted by CODFan View Post
    What kind of wood is this?

    Attachment 61429Attachment 61430
    https://www.milsurps.com/attachment....0&d=1427648178
    Definitely Beech. You can tell from the second photo (not the first photo) that shows the very pronounced light "cross flecks." The first photo could be maple, as beech and maple can look very similar. That's why you have to look at the two woods from different angles. There are no very light "cross flecks" in maple. Birch, Beech, and Maple not only look very similar, they have basically the same base wood color (unlike walnut which is dark brown) and stain similarly (making it easy to match colors on a stock). Birch has a slightly more open grain, giving it the look of a light "stubble Beardicon" while maple is tight grained. Both maple and birch can have a "tiger stripe" -- it's very rare in maple, a bit more common in birch, but in birch the striping tends to be wider, not as dark as maple stripes, and further apart than maple. You see the tiger maple configuration more in old muzzle loaders that were hand-crafted and the stocks were carefully selected by the gunsmith.
    Last edited by Seaspriter; 03-29-2015 at 01:48 PM.

  16. #9
    Legacy Member SpikeDD's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Last On
    08-07-2020 @ 06:05 AM
    Location
    New Jersey
    Posts
    257
    Real Name
    David
    Local Date
    03-29-2024
    Local Time
    02:58 AM
    Thread Starter
    Here is a shot of the forestock... First thought was Beech.

    Attachment 61445
    Last edited by SpikeDD; 03-29-2015 at 02:02 PM.
    David

  17. #10
    FREE MEMBER
    NO Posting or PM's Allowed
    Seaspriter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Last On
    09-23-2019 @ 02:42 PM
    Location
    Naples, Florida USA
    Posts
    718
    Real Name
    R. Porter Lynch
    Local Date
    03-29-2024
    Local Time
    02:58 AM
    Quote Originally Posted by SpikeDD View Post
    Here is a shot of the forestock... First thought was Beech.

    Attachment 61445
    David, you got it right. That's Beech. She's a beauty. Something about the wood give me the sense its Korean War MkII vintage.

    BTW, after maple, birch, and beech are stained and finished and aged, depending upon the cut of the wood, it can be very difficult to distinguish the three, unless you look at the wood from angles. I have a Savage Stevens that's been Factory Repaired after D-Day. It has all four woods: walnut butt, beech lower hand-guard, birch upper hand-guard, and a forend that sure looks more like maple than birch (which it's expected to be). Also, I have maple in guns that have very fine cross-flecks that resemble beech cross-flecks, but the maple cross-flecking is always much less pronounced, but it can confuse even a trained eye. So don't be uptight if you confuse maple, beech, and birch -- there are some grades/cuts of the woods that can disguise themselves to look almost like the other.

    BTW again, of course the Australians will legitimately say: "You forgot Coachwood!" which was used in the WWII No.1 MkIII guns from down under. Coachwood is a different breed of wood altogether. For the North American eye, coachwood has a more naturally "tan" color, is very close-grained like maple, and tends to resemble a darker shade of linden or bass wood. Hope that helps someone.
    Last edited by Seaspriter; 03-29-2015 at 02:48 PM.

+ Reply to Thread
Page 1 of 3 1 2 3 LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. Longbranch No.5 MkI?
    By aqbill in forum The Lee Enfield Knowledge Library Collectors Forum
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 05-18-2014, 07:02 PM
  2. Longbranch question on muzzle
    By Ben Cartwright in forum The Lee Enfield Knowledge Library Collectors Forum
    Replies: 9
    Last Post: 01-30-2013, 03:27 PM
  3. Early Longbranch question.
    By ickmann in forum The Lee Enfield Knowledge Library Collectors Forum
    Replies: 10
    Last Post: 09-22-2011, 08:24 AM
  4. West German or Austrian BEECHWOOD Stock set
    By John R. in forum M1/M2 Carbine
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 08-06-2009, 10:29 PM
  5. LongBranch 1944 Question
    By testdis in forum The Lee Enfield Knowledge Library Collectors Forum
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 12-28-2008, 08:53 PM

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
Raven Rocks