DIY Checkering

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  • BigDaddy

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 7, 2014
    2,235
    What's the learning curve on do it your self stock checkering? I am thinking of doing some handgun stocks, but if I have to do 100 before it looks decent, it's probably not worth my time.
     

    dontpanic

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 7, 2013
    6,631
    Timonium
    It is very hard to do well. Start with flat pieces of scrap and work til you are comfortable. Then go to curved scrap pieces. About 100 test pieces is about right.

    I'm still practicing. Someday I hope I'm sure enough to cut into a $50 used 10/22 stock from ebay. (That's my planned next step)

    Good luck
     

    E.Shell

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 5, 2007
    10,242
    Mid-Merlind
    Get ready for carpel tunnel syndrome if you use hand tools to do it. It is a lot of very fine and repetitive work. Cutting good lines with those tiny files takes a LOT of strokes with a fair amount of palm pressure.

    It's an art like many others. If you're good with your hands and somewhat creative, you can probably learn to do it.

    Layouts can be done on tape, which you simply cut through with the tools. The cleanest work comes from using flexible steel straight edges to guide the first cuts. Once the first 'guide' cuts are done, it becomes easier. The checking files have multiple rows of teeth that guide each other in the grooves and you just follow along carefully.

    The suggestions to learn on scrap material are good ones. Differing wood species cut differently, so buy or beg a few scraps of the same material you expect to work on. Cutting around a curve, like a grip or forend is also different, so practice on some smoothly contoured stock as well.

    A good way to practice is to recut the checking on an old stock that has impressed work already done. Lightly sand the tops off the existing diamonds, but leave the majority of the checking intact. Then practice re-creating smooth, sharp and even diamonds.

    Achieving/maintaining uniform depth, so it looks smooth, was probably the hardest thing for me and kept me from being very good at it. As soon as you cut one set of lines even a tiny bit too deep, they all have to be reworked. Borderless is tough too, really requires a lot of control and the grain is always wrong, LOL.

    The guys that do it all the time use power driven cutters these days.
     

    Cavery

    Member
    Sep 23, 2013
    19
    Like they said... buy and kit and practice. It would be worth your time and a added skill set. ;)
     

    oupa

    Active Member
    Apr 6, 2011
    859
    It's like any skill, you either have the ability or you don't. Takes good light, good eye's AND a good magnifier in my experience. Also takes considerable concentration skills but above all else it takes PATIENCE!!!!!:innocent0

    Good checkering is done deliberately. Not fast, not slow but plodding. You find a pace that's comfortable and just do it. Many do not realize it is also done in a very precise manner. Lines laid out according to a specific ratio. Read the instructions that come with the tools set or better yet get a good book on it and study before trying it out. Good (sharp) tools are important. A secure cradle can be very helpful and certainly recommended but some of the best have worked without one. By all means, if interested order the tools and try it!
     

    trickg

    Guns 'n Drums
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 22, 2008
    14,590
    Glen Burnie
    Zombie thread! I'm bringing it back to life from the dead!

    I have a 25-06 Mauser sporter my Dad put together, and recently I've been thinking about doing a quality refinish on the stock, and I was also thinking about maybe adding some checkering - it's a beautiful stock, but it's completely smooth, sans checkering. I know that my Dad did most of the stock work by buying a stock, and then doing the fitting and finishing, so I'm thinking that the lack of checkering isn't necessarily because he wouldn't have wanted it, but rather a pragmatic thing - the lack of checkering didn't really affect how the rifle functioned, he didn't feel confident enough to dive into it himself, and he probably didn't want to spend the money to have it done.

    I'm a DIY kind of guy, so I've been looking into it a bit. After looking into it, I've decided two things:

    1.) I'd like to learn how to do checkering myself.
    2.) I'm not going to touch this rifle - I'll send the stock elsewhere to have it checkered. It's going to cost, but it will at least be done well. If I do it, I'll screw it up.

    As for the stock refinish, I'm confident I can do that - pretty sure he used boiled linseed oil on it originally, and I think I'll be able to do that.
     

    Doco Overboard

    Ultimate Member
    Small checkering jobs are relatively easy to master with a little practice. Just make sure to choose tools that are not too fine for lines per inch. Just like painting,prep and layout patterns mean everything for best results.
    Probably the most important thing is having a cradle to support the work that can be rotated for best access. Moving left to right is one thing, being able to reach the obverse side is the hard part so you can continue to use your leading hand/arm to maintain dexterity.
    Soon I’m going to do a simple pattern on a Krag I have benched, I’ll put some pics up in the GS forum to give a general for the steps.
    I have used Dem-Bart tools a few times in the past and prefer them to gunline which I also have set. Cradle is homemade out of a 2x4 and some steel strap. I just lash a dowel with surgical tube to the barrel channel and the buttstock is supported with an all thread pin to the recoil surface which also doubles as a break.
    A piece of pipe with a 350 Chevy connecting rod once padded will allow a fore arm to fit through it and then buttstock to a simple clamp will also work. Just fix the small end of the rod firmly to a plank of wood and then have a cupped shaped fixture to support the butt end that can be turned to meet the best angle for the work.
    A couple of checkering files and a veiner are also must haves to keep lines straight, sharp and neat.
    Practice on shovel handles, base ball bats and plain flat wood to learn how to lay out diamond patterns and skip line borderline techniques. That’s primarily just to become familiar what each tool will do so you don’t pick the wrong one up by mistake.
    It’s fun to do, keep it simple and don’t try to be Frank Mittermeir the first few times you do it, anybody can do modest jobs with good results if your patient.
     

    Doco Overboard

    Ultimate Member
    I want to take a moment to clarify a wrong statement regarding the 35o chevy connecting rod cradle. It's the big end of the rod that clamps around the piece of pipe and the small end that a dowel fits through to the barrel channel.
    By adjusting the bearing cap, is how you position the work. The other end for the buttstock is a cup with foam padding and adhesive tape to have to squeeze the stock toe into. Clamping the cradle into a radius vice gives even more flexibility. Screw two wooden uprights of the same plank material to support either end. Sliding the rod back and forth along the pipe accommodates different stock types.
     

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