Best wood for recoil lugs

[Smellysniper]

The whole recoil lug section of my No. 1 Mk 3 has disintegrated ,again. It went some years ago due to ,I suspect,oil soakage. When I stripped it then ,I found that the screwed cross rod had broken and of course the wood had split down to the sight protector hole. I made up a complete block from walnut and Gorilla Glued it in. I also made a new cross rod from twisted copper wire which did not break this time but pulled out of the wood when the sides opened.I was very careful to get the lugs snug and properly bedded The walnut itself actually cracked and just collapsed ,the glue held OK,and I now wish to use something a bit harder. I see that Peter Ladler uses oak for his recoil lug repairs but what sort of oak ,there are lots of different ones. There does seem to be a source of woods on the woodturning section of Ebay. Anyone got any suggestions .Please don`t suggest a new forend,it`s matching and I can repair it easily enough but this time i want a better tougher wood and a better cross rod . I did use a bit of hickory hammer handle on my other SMLE lugs and that seems OK-so far.

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.

[Peter Laidler]

I'd use OAK or BEECH but make sure that when you insert the block, that the grain runs along the length of the draws. That is to say that the draws abut against the line of the grain and not against the end grain as they would do normally.

What Oak would I suggest........... Look, just ANY oak will do the job on the basis that it's all hard wood

[Smellysniper]

Peter, Thanks for the info. I have a suitable piece of oak and I will use that.

[Rumpelhardt]

I used white oak because that is what grows here in Maine not to mention that it is the wood that is responsible for the U.S.S. Constitution being nicknamed Old Ironsides