I will post some pictures of my ways of checkering. Power veiner tool is done with the Ngraver hand piece which is driven by the same Foredom motor used for the MMC tool. A power veiner is easy to control without all the energy needed to control the palm veiner. Engravers will tell you about the stress in their hands when using a palm graver to push while cutter lines. Years ago I started using a small hammer to drive the veiners. The hands are more relaxed and less likely to make a slip. The angle of the power veiner is curved so that you can control the depth of the cut. It follows the line and by moving the Ngraver up or down will allow you to control the width of the line. The veiner is made of drill rod and hardened. I use 90 degrees for checkering and 60 degrees for carving.







I use air on all of my checkering tools to blow the dust out of the lines. It is always cleared away so you can see the lines without stopping.

I have done a lot of carving on muzzle loader stocks and found none of the factory carving tools cut for beans. I make my own from triangle files and tool steel. I can slice wood like butter with my home made tools.
One thing I have never figured out is how to checker around things like the Fleur-de-lis, leaves or acorns. How do you cut in those tiny spots? Hand tools don't fit!
I have stayed away from those patterns.

Thanks for sharing your expertise, Les!

Clemson

Bfrshooter,

I can space in short areas with the electric MMC, but only to about 3/16 line length. I have made a couple of short Veiners to get into chose areas. Spacing at the areas can be done with the veiner. Here is a veiner about .150 th long. These are made from 1/8 drill rod and hardened, but drawm to light straw. I like some of the early type Fleur-de-lis with a space between the curves and the checkering.