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How to checker a stock

5K views 42 replies 10 participants last post by  Zane71464 
#1 · (Edited)
Tool Safety glove Stationery Plastic Hand tool

This is a long process and I am going to give a shortened version.
So I took a Marlin 81 that was beat to heck and decided to reblue it and checker it.
This is a soft wood and that makes it ALLOT harder to checker A good walnut is what I would say you should start on that is less likely to skip and run.
So I will be doing this step by step so hold off on any posting intill I am done(Please)It is going to take around 6 posts before I am done.This way I can post the pictures with the step.
First strip your stock and sand to the almost finish stage.(220 grit paper)
Final sanding will be done AFTER it is checkered.(320 grit paper.)
When you have it done you start to lay out your pattern.
 

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#6 · (Edited)
Then when you are the point that you like.you do a final sanding of the stock (not touching the checkering.)and finish with what you are going to finish it with.I use Tru-Oil around 8-10 coats.
And that's how I do it.
Mike
 

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#9 · (Edited)
Thanks
This took about 4 hours a panel.(with out the lay out time) Then 10 days of oil.
It's not perfect but it is VERY hard to checker soft wood especially around the curves.It is much easier to checker soft wood by keeping your pattern on the flat only not wrapping it over the curves..
Mike
 
#11 · (Edited)
You turn the stock and your hand at the same time keeping the tool flat to the surface.Some like to use a "cradle" (a jig that holds the stock so it can turn) But I find it easier to turn the stock with my left hand and checker with the right. Sense the rap around changes angles to quick and the angle is more then one direction. I use my left to turn and angel while I hold my right flat.
If you look at the stock you can see that when you are checkering(the diamonds) that it not only is rounded but also angled.(if that makes sense).And I will use a skip line tool for this.It has a smoth V on one side and the cutting V on the other you keep the smooth V in the last line you cut.I use this for the first cut then go to a single cutter to deepen it (this is a 60 degree cutter).
Mike
 
#16 · (Edited by Moderator)
When you finish the wood first it makes it harder to checker.
You have to watch holding the stock AND you can not have any overrun.
When you try and fix your overrun(and you ALWAYS have overrun) you change the finish around the checkering and it will stand out.
When checkering a already finished stock(one that does not have to be refinished) it takes allot longer and cost is higher then the stock that has to be refinished.
Time is money when you do this for a living.
You should sand off the finish of the area that needs to be checkered so you do not split the grain. And you do not have to cut thru the finish first that can clog your tools and dull them with the finish.
When Checkering a finished stock Things are done a little different. I can talk about that if needed.
If you do not want to cost you time and money(for new cutters) you NEVER REFINISH THE STOCK FIRST!. On top of having to wait for the stock to cure which takes at lest a week so you do not have to re finish the stock again.
Handling a newly refinished stock(The way you need to when you are checkering) you will screw up the finish.
Mike
 
#19 ·
This is not a easy job and it can drive you nuts getting it right.
Sometimes you have to except the fact that it will not be perfect but that is why people want hand checkering to pressed checker.
each gun is a little different and that is what makes it one of a kind.
Mike
 
#20 ·
I watched a video of a guy carving and checkering a stock that TiborasuarusRex posted on his youtube channel a while back. Very interesting stuff and more difficult than I would care to try.
 
#21 ·
Mike,
Really Appreciate your thread and I hope you don't mine me doing a bit of copying and pasting?

EXCELLENT, INSTRUCTIONAL thread and a job well done!
I've been wanting to give it a go for some time now on some scrap pieces of wood and of different types.
Your Thread is much appreciated....Well Done!
 
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#24 ·
This is a stupid question:confused:
What does pasting mean?
If you are going to try it on scrap try and make sure it is a piece of good grain hard wood because it will be easier to do.Soft wood is a pain to checker and it will get you frustrated quick.
Mike
 
#22 ·
Wow Mike - looks like an awful lot of work. Wouldn't it simply be easier to invest in about $100,000 for a computer laser controlled system and let it do it? ;)
 
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#25 ·
Mike,
I can see where a soft wood would be a pain with checkering. I've got a Marlin Model 60 SB (newer one) and the stock what there is on the rifle, lol gotta have something done to it or replaced. Thin, lite and not a lot to the stock.
So after a bit of practicing as you said on a hard wood, I think the Marlin is a good candidate! ;)

As far as pasting, one can take and copy the instructions and past it onto Word-Pad then even print them out, step by step as a reference. ;)
(for older people such as myself as my memory seems to be "dwindling") :(
 
#27 ·
Mike - if you click on the Start button at the lower left then click on 'Run' a box will open. Just type wordpad and press enter. If your computer is Windows Vista or Windows 7 just type it in the box at the bottom of the menu when you click on the start button. Wordpad is a small word processor built into Windows.
 
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#30 ·
There are some good YouTube videos on checkering. It is not a one time deal. It takes time and lots of practice to train your wrist to move correctly in such a repetitive manor. Walnut is he best practice on. Softer woods take a little better to coarser checkering such as 16 lines per inch. 22 to 24 looks the best when properly executed. Checkering like bluing can not be properly taught in a forum.
 
#31 ·
Those who do a lot of checkering know this but I've never seen it in print. Some wood is kind of soft & like sponge & impossible to do a decent checkering. I had made a stock & almost finished had a spongy patch I needed to checker. I mixed clear epoxy glue with enuf alcohol to be like a loose varnish, put it on till it quit soaking in & let it set up. It took checkering very well then. I used Devcon 2 Ton, regular, not the 5 minute one.
 
#39 ·
Goofy is right that checkering is something you can learn to do by doing. I'm not the best source of checkering advice, having done maybe 6 or 8 checkering jobs in my 50+ years working on guns. Below is my very first checkering I did making my O/U perc shotgun & far from perfect. A few points were important that I learned early on. Doing practice cuts on scrap wood, I laid out designs and checkered them to learn which tool was best for whatever situation. I learned that a push cut is best in some cases and a drag cut best in others. In this case drag or pull cut means the tool as it addresses the work, in other words cutting away from what you need to protect. In various cases, switching the tool or turning it around in the handle is proper. I found it important to design your job where you start in the middle & end cuts at an edge. If you get your lines running parallel to an edge you will likely find your last cut won't match the other side. A particular skill has to be developed to end your cuts without messing up the edges by over-runs. That is where I found a drag cut (pull cut) is best.

I didn't see mention of the cutters being made special for a given number of lines per inch, like 16, 18, 20 or more. I think 18 is a good compromise in the various issues involved such as wood type, hand grip factor, time involved, etc.

 
#40 ·
Nice job!!
If you do not mind me saying.
If you use the dem-bart gauge and not go off of your outline your diamonds would be less square looking and be longer then wider this gives a better looking diamonds. It makes it harder but does look better.
Lo0k at hand checkered stocks that you have and you will see what I mean.
But again your job looks really nice.
And good advice on a drag cutter.
I have both pull and push cutters set up for this reason.
Mike
 
#43 ·
I give up:confused:
I do not know what a external hard drive or USB flash drive is and I do not text.o_O
Thanks for the help but I think this is going to be imposable for me with out a "class" on it.:confused:
Mike
Ain't to awfully hard Mike. Like the above ^^^ I took my mouse and highlighted what you just typed and copied it and pasted it into my reply. That's what you can do with wordpad.
 
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