I just had a stock checkered and need some guidance on the best option for sealing the checkering. I assume I want something thin (so that it soaks in) and that I brush it out with something stiff, like a toothbrush, so it doesn't build up - am I thinking this through correctly?

I just use BLO, I find it works well.
Brush it on, let it soak for 5 minutes then remove excess with a rag.
You can give it another coat later if you want.
Cheers.

Watco Danish Oil

Thin about any good finish 50-50 with it and it will run the diamonds with a Dober or small brush touch.

Dembart Stock Checkering Oil.......they still make it??

Kevin

quote:

Originally posted by Kevin Gullette:
Dembart Stock Checkering Oil.......they still make it??

Kevin

^^^X's2 ^^^^^^ love that stuff for all my stock finishing and checkering sealing . But cant get it in Canada anymore thanks for Obama .

quote:

Originally posted by metal:
I just use BLO, I find it works well.
Brush it on, let it soak for 5 minutes then remove excess with a rag.
You can give it another coat later if you want.
Cheers.

I should have said thinned BLO.

If you think you can seal a checkering panel using anything your are barking up the wrong tree. By putting enough of it into the pattern to seal it, you will have built up the surface to fill up all the diamonds Just put enough finish to soak it a bit and leave it, you won't seal it enough to stop any moisture from getting in. Just my humble opinion

My experience tells me Mr Kobe is very close to the mark there.

Those who say thinned modern stock "poly/alkyd etc resin-based" "oil finishes" penetrate deeply into a stock, it sounds good but try this: get some scrap from the stock, rub it down then apply the finish you are using to seal the wood as you'd finish the job (finish it all the way if you will). If you want to try various dilutions of the finish, that is a great idea so do it and compare. Let the finish cure thoroughly, then leave it another month or so. Scrape it back to see how far the finish actually penetrated. Look under magnification (Zeiss stereo mic in my case) and see how far the actual finish penetrated once the solvent has gassed off. Wood is an effective filter - it's the solvent that penetrates not the modern finish. Finish it look like it is "in the wood" and it's just a thinner finish - not a deeper finish with these modern finishes. If you have soft, punky, porous walnut in your hands, you'll get a bit more penetration but that is no reason to use shit wood for a stock. If you sit the stock in modern finish in a pressure vessel and pull a vacuum, you'll get some more penetration and a heavier stock....but wood is a good filter especially if fine pored. I'd guesstimate that the only place these finishes penetrate deeply is in your body if you get the stuff soaked into your skin if you hand rub with no PPE. I have done the above test many times, with a variety of finishes. It taught me a lot. If you weigh the samples seasonally (stored say in a hay shed) and record the data c.f. relative humidity etc you'll learn much more about how quickly the moisture gets into the wood. If you go that far, an un-finished sample or two is your Control to compare against.

These modern finishes need a film to act as a moisture barrier. The thicker and more complete the film, the more effective the barrier. Even a thick film still passes moisture seasonally, though it is reasonable in the rain for a day or so.

One coat (two if the wood is porous) is a barrier, but a minor one, and it will pass water fairly freely as Jim Kobe states. Up front the moisture goes right into that forend you might have carefully scraped the bedding in unless free floated.

BLO, depending on the brew, I have found it prone to "water spotting". It is also a fine substrate for mould when hunting in the tropics or constant damp (more on that below). BLO can be made to work, but then it's not "BLO". I suppose BLO does "feed" the wood in those areas a bit, a replacement of sorts to the inevitable loss of natural oils from the stock wood (especially in modern steamed/kilned blanks). BLO can also seep under the finish proper and give a bleed line that doesn't look right.

Some people wax their checkering. I really don't like checkering with remnant wax to trap dirt and grime.

Mineral oil from oiling metalwork penetrates deeply, though. This is why I wax my metalwork.

One thing I noticed doing the above tests, is that different suppliers Control wood samples (multiple blanks, sometimes dozens to hundreds from samples from machined stock jobs) respond quite differently to seasonal moisture fluctuations. I relate this to seasoning technique as well as genotypic and phenotypic variations. In short, some suppliers blanks respond in a more stable fashion to seasonal and short-term moisture fluctuations. I'll probably never divulge what I learned and why, at least not in public, because I've learned the hard way that some blank suppliers are parrots that need to make a sale.

Also, if you cut blanks from a tree that had some fungal rot, the fungus extends far beyond the limit of what you can see with the naked eye - give them some moisture and an oil bath and the fungus just loves it unless the blank is treated a certain way. Fungus springs from sealed or un-sealed checkering first, and the inlet is often about as bad when inspected. I'm lucky enough to have the letters after my name (quals) and experience to be able to inspect and identify such blanks, but most folk won't ever know. Walnut blanks with the first stages of fungal attack (invisible to naked eye) also respond differently to moisture, all else being equal....

I hear that tung oil is about as good as it gets....