What kind of wood are these targets?

[r3captain]

Picked up a 17-6 today with these target stocks and don't recall having seen this type of wood being used before. Anyone here familiar with these? Fully dressed pix in post 19.

 

[arjay]

Looks like pau ferro,but I didn't think S&W used that.

 

[r3captain]

I'm sure they're factory made, so I wouldn't think they're too exotic.

 

[Culina]

Probably GA, short for Goncalo Alves, sometimes called Gonzales Alves.

 

[r3captain]

Probably GA, short for Goncalo Alves, sometimes called Gonzales Alves.

Really? Is it just the staining that makes them look so much different than other GA's?

 

[Laketime]

I beleive standard target stocks of this time frame used either Gonçalo Alves or walnut.

 

[muddocktor]

The graining of the wood reminds me more of GA than walnut. And GA can have a much varied color, from light to dark.

 

[Tom_R]

Color looks like walnut of some sort, but I don;t know about the graining.

Maybe they are GA's that have been stripped and stained.

Regardless, I think they are very handsome, and I hope you have a nice revolver picked out to put them on. They will look good on a blued, Nickel or Stainless gun, but I think they will look best on a blued gun.

I'd love to see the pics of whatever you put it on.

 

[r3captain]

Thanks Tom, they certainly have at least a walnut colored stain but the almost black graining is what's unique to me. The 17-6 was purchased with these and a set of what I think are original combat stocks as well. I'll post a better picture with them mounted in a day or so.

 

[muddocktor]

Here is a pic of my 27-2 with some factory GA footballs installed on it. Tell me if that looks somewhat like the stocks on the first post. These are how they look now and are in factory finish. I've read that GA darkens with age. These stocks came off a 29-3 bought in the early 80s.

Left side

Right side

 

[Jim NNN]

Not from a gun standpoint, but from many years of working in a guitar store, I'd say the wood looks a lot like rosewood, to me. But I have no idea if they did checkered target grips in rosewood.

A cursory web search just now told me that goncalo alves is a type of rosewood, so that would be my guess, as well.

 

[VM]

There are MANY variations/appearances to Goncalo Alves.
Another vote of G.A. from me.

 

[r3captain]

They are lacking the usual orange-ish color of most GA's as well as the pores that I usually associate with rosewood.

 

[scooter123]

My hunch is that it's Black Walnut.

 

[murphydog]

Unless they were special ordered (unlikely in the speedloader cutout era), they are darker-than-usual Goncalo Alves.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

I have a pair just like them. They came off a factory new 586.
So that eliminates exotic after market.
Of all the topics discussed here in the Forum, I find grip lip to be the least satisfying.
I have learned a tremendous amount about revolvers. And many times they are wheel guns that I think that I already know a bit about.
But when it comes to 'what wood is this?'
What did that ugly little Brit dude say?
'I can't get no satisfaction.'

 

[walter o]

Wood characteristics vary from piece to piece of the same species . Take a slab of lumber and at one end you can have tight burl in the middle a complete different grain structure and color. That is the fun of grip -wood working you never know what you will end up with

1&2 are COCO BOLO 3 is AMBOYNA BURLL both 1&2 are the same blank split in 1/2

 

[Laketime]

I've had blond-tan- golden- orange- lightbrown to dark almost black brown- dark red.....wide stripe...ribbon strip..swirls like Coco Bolo.all where Goncalo Alves. I've even owned after market factory Rosewood that didn't have long open grain, or absorb oil and instantly darken like rosewood of many years ago.Im not 100% sure that the factory had not miss identified certain piles of wood in their wood shop over the years.

 

[r3captain]

Sorry if I'm boring anyone, but here's a couple of pictures in full uniform.

 

[ahrends]

arjay had the correct answer. It's Pau Ferro, Morado, Moridillo, or Bolivian Rosewood. All the same wood just different names. I remember someone with Smith mentioned that when they used it there were too many people allergic to the sawdust so it was short lived.

 

[rburg]

So far, no one has suggested "Fruit Wood". Its my bet. S&W has made grips from it off and on in the 1980s.

 

[Tom_R]

Wood characteristics vary from piece to piece of the same species . Take a slab of lumber and at one end you can have tight burl in the middle a complete different grain structure and color. That is the fun of grip -wood working you never know what you will end up with

1&2 are COCO BOLO 3 is AMBOYNA BURLL both 1&2 are the same blank split in 1/2

I love amboyna burl on nicely blind 1911s. They just go great on those guns.

 

[05CarbonDRZ]

Screw the Targets put those Combats on!

 

[r3captain]

Screw the Targets put those Combats on!

Beauty is in the eyes........