It's really a nice wood to work with. I've done @ 17 guns in Ash,and 3 were Lancaster styles with a lot of carving. Carving is a pain in the butt! Flat cut isn't too bad,quarter sawn is a lot prettier,but almost impossable to carve decently,always running into open grain. I use Ashphaltum as a stain. Road tar dissolved in mineral spirit's. My Grandfather was a cabinet maker/clock maker from Poland and we made EVERTHING at that time. You could alway's tell when he made some new brushes,the dog's had bald spot's all over!!