checkering

[moooose102]

i have several inexpensive wood stocked firearms, that have no checkering at all. i have been toying around with the idea of trying to do this my self. mostly because of the cost of having a gunsmith do it. how hard is this to do for a newbie, and what is the least expensive way to do this? i want it to look decent, and have good sharp edges. but it does not have to look like i sent it to a custom shop for a $300.00 job.

 

[Jim Watson]

Well, all the pros had to start somewhere. Brownells has all you need. Hand checkering tools are not too expensive and they have instructional books and even decals to lay out the work. Get the print catalog, you will wear yourself out trying to research a new project on their website.

 

[krs]

It's not too hard in wood.

The wood matters and Walnut is smooth cutting stuff. Some of the hardwoods used for gunstocks these days may cause more problems.

Get a two line checkering file to start with. You need to cut a master line for each direction and use the master to guide the cutter. A four line cutter will speed things up, but I think it makes mistakes more likely for beginners. Some don't agree.

Keep to simple patterns and go S-L-O-W. Impatience has no place anywhere near checkering in wood or in steel.

Practice on scrap wood before you start on the money wood.

 

[Chawbaccer]

Practice on scrap wood before you start on the money wood.

Some one some place said that wooden toilet seats were great for pracitce because of the compound curves were similar to what a gun stock would have.