Checkering this fine has to be the absolute most difficult to execute. My biggest vice in checkering is layout. Layout is difficult from the standpoint that every stock has different dimensions for the most part. Some of the checkerers will mask off the stock and then draw the pattern, while others will use a grease pensil to draw it out, and in Joe Ballickie video he cuts out his pattern by freehand with a W.E Brownell cutter (that takes a lot of confidence!).



Below are examples of fine checkering. Not sure who�s work it is but it came from the 2002 ACGG show. About a year ago I acquired a MMC Electric checkering outfit and I must say that it did speed up the job. However mastering that isn�t like riding a bike for me. You can�t just leave it alone for awhile and then go back to it. Not like with hand tools. The lines want to get wavy on you.



I want to get a feel from all of the checkerers out there by asking a few questions. How do you layout your pattern, do you use hand tools or electric, and what is the best tip for keeping your lines nice and straight?



I�ve found that if you can keep a straight line the rest of everything else tends to fall in place (IE: nice sharp 90 degree diamonds).



Another question I would like to ask is in regards to error correction. I know some stockers will deepen their pattern, while others use the superglue/sawdust routine. What is the way you do it?









Very well executed point pattern 1





Very well executed point pattern 2



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Those look like some stocks that Jay McCament did some years ago.



Will post more but first I have to go drink 8 cups of coffee, a few beers and finish some checkering I have in front of me. ...... NOT. Will get back to you on the answers.

I couldn't resist, giving more examples, sorry Chic (since it's your work I am sure it will only create more oggling and requests for stockwork)




I also have at home some pics of Gary Goudy's checkering, I will try to find and post, some real fine work, transitioning from one lpi to another inside of a diamond if I remember right.

Chic I am going on my lunch to try to find that Dymo labeling tape.

Red

Mike,



Ugh...wavy lines - they happen to me too. I had a lot of trouble with my Dioron setup and wavy lines and at times I still cant get it right. But, I did discover that by turning up the RPM on the cutter it tended to cut those lines MUCH straighter than if I took it slow. I was extremely apprehensive about turning that speed up...scared the hell out of me to be honest, but the results were far better.



I am a jointer abuser as well. I use the Monty Kennedy one but have the Gunline version which I despise. Anyway, when a line waves even a little - I get the jointer out and straighten it. Sometimes I have to do it a lot.....sometimes not. Chic pointed out to me that some of my problem with wavy lines is due to my tendency to lay the tool over instead of keeping it parallel to the surface. It has been a hard habit to break and Im still not over it yet. Hence my abuse of the jointer..lol. Chic also taught me to layout thin masking tape along your master lines(like the kind you sent me) and cut through them as you checker. This serves as a guide for you and enables you to see when a line starts to wander before it gets way out of hand.



Keeping the stock loose in the cradle is another tip I got from Chic - you have to be able to turn the stock freely (loosey goosey is what he called it) to cut a smooth straight line.



I use the sawdust and superglue trick when I really screw the pooch or have a diamond fall off.



Thats about all I can offer - Chic is the master so I suspect he will have much more to say.

I just hate starting a new checkering job. I usually have a pattern in mind and just wing it from there. I like to draw the pattern on paper and tape the paper to the stock and use a bounce wheel to establish the general borders.



I suspect most folks are not thrilled over skip line checkering as I am but just try to overlook that please. This is a pattern I copied from another gun and then freelanced a little to make it match the contours of this stock. Once I'm an hour or so into the job it moves right along but getting started can cost more than the checkering job in total. That electric checkering tool sure takes the pain out of it however.

Ah I see you did the Curvaceous blonde out of the Monte Kennedy book in a skip line pattern. I think it looks good.

-Mike

Dago Red,
I would like to take credit for the checkering on the Ottmar Rifle but it was done by probably the best checkerer around Gary Goudy.

This is the stock that we are doing to benefit the estate of Maurice Ottmar. I did the stockwork, Mark Stratton and Jim Dubell colaborated on the metalwork along with what Maurice had started. Rober Kehr aka Scrollcutter, is going to be doing he engraving. Donations have been made by Jim Wisner - 3 position safety, Ted Blackburn - trigger, Leupold & Stevens - scope, and Talley - scope rings. Doug Turnbull has offered to do some of his color case magic and Mustafa Bilal is going to do the photography for the articles that Tom Turpin and Wayne VanZwoll have said they will write. It will be raffled off here on this site after a lot of requests versus an auction.

chic, I just about fell over when I read the bottom of your post. I had thought that this rifle was to be an auction item. I want in on this one.

Damn! I am sooo sorry Chic, I must have forgotten. I will find some pics of your work later and post them, I know I have some of a stock you did with great fleur de lis.

Now on the bright side, I would say that telling a difference between your work and Goudy's is very very difficult! Does that make the mistake a little better?

I went and picked up that Dymo tape a few minutes ago, will play with it tonight. Do you use 3-1 for your diamonds?

Red

Red, not a problem, I just did not want to take credit for Gary's work.

The Dymo labelling tape that Red mentioned is a good tool to use to build guidelines on the uncheckered stock. Once my two guide lines are laid out, I take 1/4" dymo labelling tape, the old stiff plastic type and peel off the sticky back and lay one edge on the masterline. Then I make a scratch with the back of a knife point on the finish so now I have a line parallel to the master but 1/4" away. I leapfrog the two tapes all the way across the checkering pattern in both directions. When checkering take a look at those lines as you get near them. You should be coming in parallel. If not you can start correcting for what ever it is that is making you warp the lines.

It is much easer to get this warp with an electric tool. it cutter has to remain perpendicular to the surface. If not it will end up with a wider or narrower line. Usually you are going to be consistent as you go over the transition on the shape of the stock and this will create a bend at that point. It can be very tough to see where you did it. If one end of the line is getting further away from the guide lines then you are making that end of it somewhat narrower. Start to go the other way where you see the line diverging and you can get it back as it should be.

If you have an obvious error, go back and fix it right away. Go back a few lines to where the checkering was good and start "over" and cut the lines again. If it is the electric "cant" then adjust appropiately and recut back through the whoopdedoo.

When you come to borders be very careful not to bend your tool as you come into the end. The already cut border tends to make you go towards the side that hits he border first, in essence creating a hook at the end. I find it best to hold back with my cutter, be it hand or electric and cut each line in with a jointer. If I get in a groove I can do it well with the electric but it can also come back ro bite me. Ofen this "hook" will then come way from the border as you use that line as a guide to create the next line and so on and so on.

Lay off the coffee and get your mind in what you are doing. Inspect as you go along and correct immediately. Small errors grow as you go across a pattern.

Another point. I am in the middle of checkering and am deepening lines. If you use an electric and are right handed, of course you lay out the lines initially from right to left. Once laid out, do not go over them in the same direction. To deepen, go from left to right. This will not start any new errors as the line you just cut does is not used as a guide for the next cut. Deepen from left to right.

Another thing. Make sure your hand cutters are set up to cut on the pull. Do not push a line into a border. Cut it away from it. Do not try to cut the border below you into the line by pulling into it either, turn it around and pull back away. If I am extending the line to cut to the bottom border I will use the jointer tool.

You guys have shown some terrific checkering, my congrats to the workmen.

I do layout by tracing around a stiff paper pattern for fill in patterns and for point patterns I draw a pattern and only mark points that will become points of the pattern. For laying out baselines I use a flexible straight edge, a segment of a broken tape measure works quite well, and trace along the edge. I cut all by hand, no electric or air, although these would speed up line layout. To keep the lines straight, I simply maintain straight as I lay out the lines. It's easy to state, but this takes real concentration and effort.

The best error correction is to make no errors to begin with. This is also easy to say, but takes much effort. Recognizing when an error is about to occur and then doing whatever it takes to correct it is how I approach it. Knocking off a diamond generally shows that one is doing something really wrong and one needs to be quite aware of what is happening. Too much down pressure on the cutter is usually the reason. Soft wood can be a problem too, but using razor sharp cutters in soft wood with very light pressure will most often preclude knocking diamonds off.

If a diamond is knocked off, the correct way to deal with it is to file the whole area around it back, refinish, and rechecker. The area needs to blend into the rest properly. It takes loads more time to do it this way, but in custom work this is to be expected. Remember, when considering custom work, the BEST workmanship is only good enough.

The two best checkerers that I have ever seen are Stan McFarland and Don Klein. Find some good photos of work done by these two gentlemen and you will have a real goal in emulating their efforts.

Best to you.

Fine checkering and how its done? Nothing could be easier. Simply have a good friend who is a top notch checker, brown nose him and ask for a discount.