Here's some of what I've been up to... scratching some 20 lpi diamonds into a stock I've been working on for a KIDD Classic .22 rifle. A friend helped me out by putting a clear lacquer finish on the stock after I broke my left hand last year, and it has been a pain to cut over (and has been very chippy along the edges, which isn't fun) but looks nice- has lots of depth. I'm planning on buffing the gloss down when all is said and one.

















Not perfect (yet) but still an improvement, I think.

I think the fore-end went even better. Switched to using a three-row cutter tool rather than a three row spacing tool (with just one cutting row) for laying the lines out and I think it helped. Felt a lot more in control and was not plagued by runovers from the start.



Going back in time a bit, I cut the fore-end tip wedge at a 3.5:1 angle to match the angle I use for checkering.



Had to tear out and re-do the ebony tip because the first chunk of ebony just wasn't long enough. Thank you again Trez Hensley for sending me some when I needed it. Now, back to the present.



That's a brass stud installed in the fore-end to accept a swivel stud (from Brownell's).




































This stick of claro is pretty and wasn't too bad to carve, but the pores are very open in the checkering and will take some work to fill in. Here's after dabbing on the first finish.





Hoping to wrap this thing up soon and start working on the next project, which is ready for takeoff. Thanks for looking!

Looks great!

Great work, thanks for sharing.

very nice. lacquer is ok too

I am inspired!!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by Austin Hunter:
I am inspired!!!!!

And envious of your talent. Great work (and photography)!

Beautiful work! I love how you matched the angle of the tip insert.

Very nice.This looks like quality stuff.I think that some gun makers cheat on the checkering-if that is at all possible.It just seems that some checkering took a long time to do while others were done by using some kind of short cut.I`ve seen what seems like cheaper checkering on some 10-15K rifles.

Evan

Nice work. I can tell this is not your first rodeo.

Nice fiddle back claro. I have a blank that looks similar, it is very light weight too.

Every time I see one of these step by step posts on checkering I realize that I don't have the patience to do this.

My hat's off to you guys that do.

Not only great checkering but some great photography as well.

Awesome post. Thanks for sharing.

Mart

I am with Fjold. It is neat to see this on the forum by someone who knows how, and has the patience to do so.

Rich

quote:

Originally posted by Fjold:
Every time I see one of these step by step posts on checkering I realize that I don't have the patience to do this.

My hat's off to you guys that do.

Ditto!
Nicely done, sir! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks much fellas!

Evan, I'm feeling better all the time. It looks great!

Outstanding. Thanks for sharing.


.

You're doing very well Evan.

Nice checkering work Evan. Is that your stock work as well. I actually like the soft luster on there.

Thanks again!

Yes Ray that is a stock I made last year. I don't have any photos of the blank but the inlet was machined and I took it from there. The finish is a gloss clear lacquer that was sprayed on by a friend locally here- it has really nice depth and clarity. I'm planning on buffing it down to ease the shine a bit. Here's some of the rest of it:















Has a 22" Shilen varmint taper barrel. Next steps are finishing the stock hardware to match the receiver and glass/pillar bedding.

Pretty slick.

Wow!......Outstanding work. Thanks for posting

Here it is now with the checkering all finished and the stock buffed. Took some work to repair all of the chips in the finish along the border of the checkering patterns- it looks nice but was a brittle PITA to work with. I also installed a melonited KIDD 20" heavy taper barrel after the Shilen barrel wouldn't group well, even after it was re-lapped by them. I had to open up the barrel channel a tiny bit to fit the KIDD but that was all and now the this rifle shoots very well! Feels very solid with both the front and rear takedown screws bedded solid.

Pretty darn good checkering there Evan! That was a very tricky forend layout.
And that wasn't the easiest piece of wood to checker~~

Did you use a very short single line cutter in the rear border of the grip pattern. It is quite surprising how well they work on non-straight lines.
If you haven't invested in Ullman's carbide tools you are ready and you owe it to yourself. Start with the long (5/8") straight single line.
Best for the New Year!
SDH

Very nice looks a good squirrel shooter.

Looks great, you did a fine job, but you would do yourself a great justice by checkering some European, Russian, or Turkish walnut that's harder than woodpecker lips and so much easier to work with as opposed to that California cork wood your playing with. I think you would be more than surprised.

Ray,
He is getting ready to checker mine. It is a very hard stick of wood.

quote:

Originally posted by SDH:
Pretty darn good checkering there Evan! That was a very tricky forend layout.
And that wasn't the easiest piece of wood to checker~~

Did you use a very short single line cutter in the rear border of the grip pattern. It is quite surprising how well they work on non-straight lines.
If you haven't invested in Ullman's carbide tools you are ready and you owe it to yourself. Start with the long (5/8") straight single line.
Best for the New Year!
SDH

Thank you Steve, and the same to you! Yes I have a pair of short cutters (one cuts pulling, one pushing) that got a lot of work in on this stock. I've had my eyes on the carbide cutters but haven't bought any yet because I wasn't sure which to get so I appreciate the advice.

Thanks p dog shooter, it is very accurate. Lots of fun to shoot.

quote:

Originally posted by butchlambert:
Ray,
He is getting ready to checker mine. It is a very hard stick of wood.

Yes, this one is up next and is dense Australian walnut. I'll be doing similar point patterns in 24 lpi and am looking forward to it.

Great checkering job. Your layout and spacing are great. I'm building a 10/22 now also what else did u do for your build I've been on rimfirecentral looking a lot. Elton

Evan

How many hours (approximately) did it take you to do that checkering job, not including the layout or the final finishing. Just the checkering?

Nice job!

Beautifully done. You are a true craftsman!

Thank you very much all!

quote:

Originally posted by elton:
Great checkering job. Your layout and spacing are great. I'm building a 10/22 now also what else did u do for your build I've been on rimfirecentral looking a lot. Elton

Aside from my stock this rifle is all KIDD so far. Fine by me since the bolt is night and trigger is night and day compared to a 10/22, and I like the rear takedown screw feature too. Started with a Shilen 22" barrel but it never shot well, even after they re-lapped it so it was returned and KIDD selected the 20" barrel that is on it now. The meloniting looks good. A Leupold V-3 6.5-20X EFR is on its way.

quote:

Originally posted by lindy2:
Evan

How many hours (approximately) did it take you to do that checkering job, not including the layout or the final finishing. Just the checkering?

Good question, I'd have to say about 25-30 hours. Finishing the checkering and repairing the chips in the finish along the edges (nightmarish in hindsight) took a significant amount of time as well. I remember the checkering looked cratered like the surface of the moon after the first application of finish since the Claro walnut was so porous in areas.