I have a CZ Model 49 double that I have recut and cleaned up the checkering on.. Now that I have bare wood what is the best procedure to keep it looking good and protect it while I refinish the rest of it. Stock is walnut. I had planned on using a French Red finish with oil. The wood does not show any real grain just plain ole walnut. I have a bottle of Dem-Bart checker oil but have never used it. and don't know how it will react with stain. Any help would be appreciated books and such would help as well.

You've gotten things out of sequence if you finish the checkering before refinishing the stock--that should've been done first. To recover, strip the stock, sand it, and then repair any small damage to the recut checkering caused by stripping and sanding. Once that's done, go to finishing the entire stock with whatever finish you like. If you do otherwise you risk having the checkering look remarkably different from the rest of the stock. If you plan to use a spray-on finish, it's relatively easy to mask off the checkering so that you don't get too much finish in the checkering. If I'm using a spray finish I mask the checkering, spray and sand until I have the desired finish, then peel the masking, sand and spray one more coat.

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Now that I have bare wood what is the best procedure to keep it looking good and protect it while I refinish the rest of it.

Ouch. What John said. I have gotten by taking a layer or two of masking tape and used a exacto knife to cut it along the edge of checkering. Then work on the rest of the stock. You might need to blend the edges and recut them to make a smooth finish.

ooops well I think I can recover I will try the masking tape and just go very carefully there is not much finish on the wood. so it looks like I can strip it fairly easily

Sure you can recover. On stocks I'm restoring I often cut the checkering first because if I sand the stock first the checkering will disappear. Just go slow and you'll be fine.