Here is my pattern for the grip. What should I do different? I know it is a little rough and needs "cleaned up" around the edges.





Next question, How do I transfer it to the other side?

Im laying out a pattern tomorrow. I will take pictures of how I do it step by step.

Wes

I don't know anything about laying out patterns, but I do know that Joe Ballakie, in his video on checkering, suggested to use large format film or plastic mylar instead of paper for making pattens. Looks like you had a little bit of trouble with your paper.

Yeah I had a little trouble. However I found a better cutter and redid the whole deal. Here it is.

many ways to skin a cat. I lay out the gap between the grip panels by centering a piece of tape from the lower tang to the forward tip of the grip cap. This keeps a uniform margin between the two panels. You can make this space as wide or as you choose, but it will at least be uniform for both panels. the margin above the grip cap is layed out with a pair 0f deviders. The top curve is layed out with a french curve or just by bending the edge of a piece of posterboard till I get the curve I like. This is transferd to a piece of poster board and cut for a patern. flip it over for the other side. Use your diamond to lay out the master lines and points. Knowthing to it !

on grips, i lay out where I want the forward parts of the open "Vee" to be, lay out the intersection of the master lines that make up the Vee, and then I freehand the rest. I use a little "depth scribe" (for lack of a better word) to evenly scribe the pattern above the grip cap. I cut pieces of transparencies and lay out the line in front of the grip. Everything else is just freehanded with a wax pencil.

Then on the other side of the stock I lay out the ends of the "Vee" and the intersection of th emaster lines. I prick a small hole at these 3 points with a sharp scribe that only gets used on wood. These points are all determined by very, very careful measuring and a lot of eyeballing.

Next I lay out the entire pattern on the one side. I then start measuring and eyeballing and get the borders of the other pattern laid out. Use a flexible rule and a sharp scribe. If you take your time doing this, you will get as clsoe to a mirror image as your stock will allow. I always have my patterns meet at the top of the grip, so I start making measurements from there. I make a center line with the wax pencil on top and bottom and measure from those. For some parts of curves, i will make small and partial "templates" of the pattern and accurately cut them out of transparency film. I have accurate measurements of where these templates fit in th elaid out pattern, and I transfer it to the other grip between 2 points measured to be in the same spot on that side.


All of this is a lot easier to see than to type. If you posted what yuou have been using to learn, I missed it. If you do not already have the Balickie video and Kennedy book, then get those BEFORE working on this stock. If you do not understand the fundamentals before you start, I can promise that you will not pick them up by osmosis as you go. The basics are shown in great detail in the Balickie video. And the Kennedy book gives a lot of written instruction with many pattern ideas to boot.

Steve's suggestion of working on finished, flat pieces of walnut first was the best suggestion I have seen on this topic. I did the same thing when I was learning and still have the little piece of wood in my shop. I can promise you this-if you can't checker properly on a flat piece of wood, you WILL screw up your stock with its compound curves in an incredibly short period of time. In 3 minutes of clod checkering you can literally piss away 2 weeks of sanding and finishing.

I am very glad to see soemone so eager to learn this part of gunmaking. I would hate to see you get discouraged and give up if the first job goes all to hell. If you slow down and put away the stock and pick up learning aids, the odds of the job turning out OK are much higher.

If you are still ahving trouble figuring it out after the video and book, then consider finding a checkering person in your area and pay them for 2 hours of their time.

And just as a style note, look at a lot of pretty checkering patterns by excellent stockmakers before you start. The way you have the smaller parts of your Vee could use some help.

quote:

Originally posted by Marc_Stokeld:

I am very glad to see soemone so eager to learn this part of gunmaking. I would hate to see you get discouraged and give up if the first job goes all to hell. If you slow down and put away the stock and pick up learning aids, the odds of the job turning out OK are much higher.

If you are still ahving trouble figuring it out after the video and book, then consider finding a checkering person in your area and pay them for 2 hours of their time.

Thank you for your help! I would love to find someone that I could spend some time with. However here in hillbilly heaven the closest thing to checkering is when someone carves their girlfriends name in the stock with a pocket knife!

I have a history in jumping into things with both feet sometimes with out looking!