Applying Checkering

R

rush709

New member
So I decided to try my hand at checkering, though there is very little information online about it. Seems like everything has in depth tutorials online, though I'm not really finding any on checkering.

I picked up this book:
Checkering & Carving
And been watching these youtube videos:
Gunstock Checkering
And picked up the Dem-Bart master set (in 18 lines per inch. My order for the 20 line per inch set had been on back order for almost six months, so just went with the 18LPI set so I could get started with it)

Tried my first attempt on a scrap piece of maple last night, the results weren't anything you'd be proud to have on a fine gun, though it wasnt quite as hard as I thought it would be. I'll try a few more on scrap wood, then maybe if I can find an old table leg or something (to simulate the rounded edges of a gunstock) I'll try that, before taking it to a gunstock (I picked up an old cheap 22 recently with no checkering and refinished the stock, specifically for my first checkering attempt on a stock).

Anyone have any tips / tricks to share? Or pics of things you've checkered (or had checkered)? Any knowledge on this would be appreciated!
 
I would highly suggest that you start out "re-cutting" a few old stocks that have checkering that is worn out. This gets you actually cutting without having to worry about layout. I will be more than happy to help you out with any questions you might have. I have probably checkered in excess of 75 stocks. I would prefer that you give me a call at a time we can agree on, I just don't have time to type an entire book about it on this forum, sorry.
Don't take this wrong, I don't even know you. I understand that many people, young folks especially just cannot bring themselves to pick up a phone and/or otherwise talk to someone and they very much prefer "texting" or otherwise communicating via words typed on a "device". Again, I just don't have time to sit here and write several chapters when I can really answer and solve it better live and in person. If interested, shoot me a pm and we can set up a time when you can call me.
 
I have a 600 Mohawk that the checkering is very faint (for lack of a better way to describe it) that I wish someone could cut it and really make it stand out. I'm to chicken to try it or I might give it a shot. Would it cost much just to have it redone?
 
cOriginally Posted By: pyscodogI have a 600 Mohawk that the checkering is very faint (for lack of a better way to describe it) that I wish someone could cut it and really make it stand out. I'm to chicken to try it or I might give it a shot. Would it cost much just to have it redone?

Did you try contacting some gun smiths online or locally to talk to them about if they do it, or have someone they use?

I would imagine that it's like tattoo's and should look at their past work.

But a proper chisel and an old stock might be the way to go if you are just touching up the ones that exist. I would think that you can find 10/22 stocks for almost free.

The real trick will be the staining and finishing afterwards. I wouldn't think a Poly finish would be good and assume that they are using some kind of oil finish in many layers. Something to look up before starting..

I know that i can do a lot of wood working, but it's the finishing that really makes all the difference in the final outcome.
 
Sorry to the OP. Don't mean to hijack his thread. I have already refinished the stock on the 600 with Tru-oil. The checkering just looks flat. Its hard to describe. I didn't sand any of the checkering, I just used a stripper and a tooth brush to get the old finish out. The stock turned out great but the checkering really doesn't so anything for the looks.Its a little late now but I could still refinish it again if the checkering was nice again. I know of one guy that might be able to do it. I'll check with him.
 
Originally Posted By: Tbone-AZ
....."I would think that you can find 10/22 stocks for almost free"......

....."The real trick will be the staining and finishing afterwards.....

10/22 stocks are birch and birch is not a good wood to start out trying to learn on...it just simply does not checker very well or easily. You really want to give yourself the best chance at success. The best wood to learn how to checker on is also the best wood for a gunstock...english, french, turkish, circassian {it's all the same wood, juglans regia} You would probably not be too successful trying to checker a 10/22 especially as a "start out with" project.

Staining and finishing is no trick at all...that really is the easy part.
 
If the Model 660 has the original stock, the checkering is impressed with heat and pressure which makes it flat by it's nature. In essence it's reverse checkering. Where raised diamonds normally exist, they actually are indentations into the wood. Impressed checkering is a cheap way to "checker" a factory rifle. It's functional but not a true checkering job.

It can be cut to reverse everything but it's probably not worth doing it in terms of cost.
 
Just bought my own dem Bart set. Got a pellet gun I'm doing first than a savage 111. I've done bow building, carving, inlays, stippling, etc, but it seems checkering is disappearing. Heck, there's only 1 or 2 companies selling tools it seems! Think midway USA has a half hour video and this other guy from Switzerland has a few parts all together an hour or 2. I might call dembart and see about special order some extra heads for different LPIs and such. Show us some progress when ya can!
 
Hand checkering is an art that is indeed on its last breath. Why? Because its slow and tedious work that doesn't pay well for a gunsmith. Today, some very good custom smiths use electric checkering tools like the MMC tool mentioned below. The copied text from a "Gun Tests" article gives a pretty good description of what they use.

"Miniature Machine Co. markets an MMC-brand checkering outfit through Brownells, but even with your shop discount, it is quite pricey. I had one for about 18 months, but just never took the time to master it.

The folks who checker the stocks on Ruger rifles use this setup to finish the factory stocks from Ruger.

The outfit comes with a Foredom motor, flexible shaft, handpiece, and foot-operated speed control. The handpiece has a rotary carbide cutting wheel with an adjustable guide to set the line-per-inch spacing you want. Thus, since the cutter guide is on the right side of the cutter, you can only cut from right to left. Replacement cutters will set you back about $90 each, so if you only checker a few stocks a year, payback will take many moons."

Tools like the MMC do an excellent job in the hands of a trained person and they are far quicker in completing a checkering job than hand tools are capable of. And the quality of the checkering is generally much more uniform in depth by tool design and hence diamond sizes are more uniform than hand cutting provides. Instead of the hand cutting tools and heads like you find at Midway USA for example, think a spinning cutter with a built in adjustable spacer that can be adjust for LPI. The spacer rides the original trace line and the small rotating cutter cuts the next line and the process repeats itself moving right to left across the pattern. Once 1/2 of the pattern is completed, the stock is turned over and the process completes the other 1/2 of the pattern. Tough to reach places in intricate designs are finished up with hand tools. Maybe not surprisingly, women generally master tools like the MMC much quicker and with more precision than most men do.

Even faster, today many gun manufacturers use CNC controlled checkering machines that quickly cut a programmed pattern with extremely close precision. Some custom smith use their own CNC machines or farm the work out. Once again computers replace the hand and generally they do a better job in a much shorter time frame.

 
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