Give New Life to an Old Stock

Although hand-cut checkering is almost a thing of the past, it’s still very much in vogue on premium-grade firearms. This type of checkering is easy to spot because of the outline and the fact that handcut checkering almost invariably has some inconsistencies. Most modern production firearms have machine-cut checkered stocks, of course, or the unmistakable pressed checkering. Like most types of hand work, hand-cut checkering requires a certain amount of skill, dexterity, and—most importantly—experience.

Learning to lay out and hand-cut a checkered stock is almost a science in itself, and I understand this will be examined in detail in these pages in the near future. But what better way could there be to practice or learn checkering than by redoing what has already been done? And that’s exactly what we’ll be doing in this "preview" to the art of checkering. When refinishing an existing checkered stock, a certain amount of sanding will probably be required to remove small dings and blemishes.

If the checkering on the stock is worn or in disrepair, why not try to save it? After all, it’s already messed up, so what’s to lose? Getting Started The first step is to remove the stock from the firearm. For this project, I used the stock and forend from a Winchester Model 71 that was refinished many years ago. Apparently, when this M71 was reblued, the original wood finish and its checkering were well worn.

When the stock and forend were refinished, it looks like oil was applied over the existing finish, because the wood does not appear to have been sanded, and the checkered pattern is filled with stock finish. In this case, both the stock and forend had cracks in them that needed to be repaired, so they proved to be a great way to gain some experience. Stripping the Old Finish Once the wood has been removed, we need to strip the old finish off first.

Paint and varnish remover is very nasty stuff and all warnings and precautions in the directions must be adhered to. To the left are cutters for 20 LPI, and below the box is the checkering gauge. These spacings, along with 18 LPI, are probably the most commonly used. For this particular application the whole stock and forend are not going to be stripped, but the checkered patterns will need to be, or should be.

I did not strip the old finish and, in cases where the affected area is a repair or a clean-up to enlighten the checkering, stripping may not be necessary. The Checkering Tools Checkering tools come in different spacing or lines per inch (LPI), usually between 16 and 32. The average spacing seems to be between 18 and 24 LPI. For some simple repairs or touch up, a single-line tool will suffice, but to redo or cut new patterns, you’ll need the right cutter for the spacing required. Dem-Bart Checkering Tools, Inc.

Snohomish, WA 98290; www.dem bartco.com) sells a checkering guide as well as checkering tools. These products as well as other checkering tools and hardware are also available

from Brownells. The checkering guide is used to simplify the layout procedure, but it’s also very handy for determining the correct LPI, which is obviously very important to know. The checkering tool itself has a wood handle and a bent steel shank onto which the cutter attaches. The cutter has teeth very much like a file but form a V-shape. The cutters are interchangeable, so it may not be necessary to have tool sets in every size.

Anyone involved in stock work would undoubtedly want to own Dem-Bart’s "master set" or the equivalent. For general repairs and getting a "feel" for checkering, the "starter set" and a few different cutters should be sufficient. The checkering tools and how to apply them are basic and self-explanatory—at least for our purposes here. There are several different tools or cutters. The no. 1 cutter, which is a single-line tool used for layout and to deepen lines, is available in coarse and fine tooth.

The no. 2 tool is a double head or two-blade cutter used to deepen and mark the rows. The no. 3 and no. 4 cutters are left and right spacing tools that are also two head cutters, but have one smooth blade. When working on full-length stocks like the ones found on almost all bolt-action rifles, a checkering cradle is a must. If you haven’t already built one, you might want to refer back to Dennis Wood’s article, "Build a Lightweight Checkering Cradle," that appeared in the June 03 issue.

Recutting Old Checkering At first glance, it might seem that recutting existing checkering would be a cakewalk. And for someone who is trained or skilled at checkering, it probably is. But, for the rest of us, a little time and patience are required, as this kind of work can be tedious and sometimes frustrating.

The only way to learn is to practice, and by redoing an existing pattern, the necessary dexterity can be developed. (Of course, you don’t want to practice on granddad’s Grand American.) As can be seen in the photos, the checkering on this Model 71 could use some help. Someone in the past had tried his hand at redoing the left side of the grip with the wrong tools, leaving me with a pattern over a pattern that didn’t match.

Pick an area of the checkering that looks good and, using the single-line cutter, trace the existing cut. Move over one line and do the same thing. Once a pattern is established, the double-row cutter is very efficient for recutting the checkering, and helps to keep the lines straight and evenly spaced. The double-row cutter must be the same LPI as the stock in hand, and in this case that was 22 lines per inch. Have a toothbrush or a clean brush on hand to sweep the dust out of the checkered pattern.

Cut or deepen the lines all in one direction and then do the other direction. Don’t be surprised to discover that the existing checkering may not be perfect. On production guns, the checkering was usually done by an apprentice or journeyman, while the premium-grade stocks were done by the master checker or stockmaker. The fellow that did the job in the first place may have made a few mistakes; production guns are never perfect.

I redid the checkering on a Remington Model 8-C that had factory hand-cut checkering, and it had its flaws. My Remington Model 700 stock had skip line checkering that was machine cut, and when I redid this stock I found some errors, and added some more of my own. Even machine-cut checkering is not necessarily perfect, but gunstock oil hides a lot of sins.

Applying the Stock Finish Once the checkered pattern has been recut and all of the cutting dust has been removed, a light coat (very light) of stock oil needs to be applied. For very fine checkering, the oil will need to be diluted, usually with mineral spirits. In this case a soft, well-worn toothbrush was used to apply the stock oil, brushed around, and then (continued on page 15

AGCC56T AGI 56-tape course, new revised coming directly from Belvoir

AGCC56T AGI 56-tape course, new revised coming directly from Belvoir

the excess was mopped up with a cleaning patch, and brushed again to clean the grooves. Make sure to brush the checkered lines in both directions. The first application will generally be absorbed by the wood, and a second coat will be necessary. Don’t apply so much stock finish that it starts to fill in the grooves of the checkering.

Conclusions Our faithful editor tells me that indepth articles on hand checkering and stock finishing/refinishing are in the works and will appear in American Gunsmith over the next few months. This article is not intended as a substitute for those, but rather to get you thinking about the possibilities of adding stockwork to your repertoire. Practice makes perfect, and you have to start somewhere. By starting with checkering that has already been done, manual dexterity and confidence can be established.

And if you’re working with an old clunker, you can’t hurt anything if it’s already screwed up. What I did with the old Model 71 is not 100-percent perfect, but it’s a far sight better than what I started with. And I think I just might be ready now to try my hand at a "from-scratch" checkering job. ■