I have a Walther match air rifle that has stipling instead of checkering on the grip.

What is this and how do they do it?

Thanks

Minkman

It’s usually either punched, pressed or rolled in. Depending on the material it can also be molded in.

you take a nail, hold it in your offhand, with the head on the palm side of your hand, tapping the head with a hammer.. to make a patternless shape of bumps.

imho
it's not as good as checkering

jeffe

quote:

Originally posted by jeffeosso:
you take a nail, hold it in your offhand, with the head on the palm side of your hand, tapping the head with a hammer.. to make a patternless shape of bumps.

imho
it's not as good as checkering

jeffe

He's right .It's better if done right. roger

It's like knurling, but different.

You can take a punch and grind any pattern on it. Diamond, pointed square etc. It needs to be held just off the surface and you go rapidly, TAP, TAP, TAP with a hammer. Moving it around as you go. Also usually at an angle to the surface.

Old timey way to get a better grip on metal. I've seen it on wood too.

Don

quote:

it's not as good as checkering

Depends on the application. It has it places it can be used and it works out well. Unfortunately none of these are on a rifle.

I prefer serrations to the stipling effect, even on pistol platforms. Ted Yost finished up a Delta Elite for me a few months ago and it was cherry. Christianson also does this work and needs to be seen to aprreciated, get on his website and check out the photos of what kind of work he does.

Thanks guys,

The parkerizing thread got me thinking about this again. Maybe I have the wrong name for it, but what is on the LGR is different. I do not have a dig cam, but here's a bad angle pic from a site. If you had to do it by hand it would be more time consuming than checkering.


http://www.k12.nf.ca/stjosephsallgrade/images/Shooting/range/walther.jpg

http://www.k12.nf.ca/stjosephsallgrade/images/Shooting/range/rifles1.jpg

Thanks

Minkman

quote:

Originally posted by Minkman:
Thanks guys,

but here's a bad angle pic from a site. If you had to do it by hand it would be more time consuming than checkering.

Minkman

Those might have been bad angles but clearly you can see the utilitarian value of the stipeling on two of those stocks.It really is a non punishing anti slip grip and there is a place for it on rifles. Now if you are into pretty rifles than I do agree the checkering a large percentage of the time looks better.It is ,to me, a question of good -better and not pretty vs. ugly.

Around 1957 or 58 I fired 50 rounds in a than new S&W 44 mag. The sharp attractive checkering turned my palm into a bloody pulp. Had that been a fine stiple it would not have happened. On and off through the years I have enjoyed stipling; all of it on rifles.Of course I do not consider myself a sophisticate. roger

Checkering and stippling really do the same thing, and it depends upon the eye of the beholder. Also, the genre or purpose of the firearm has a lot to do with whether one stipples or checkers. It seems that the vast majority of the paper puncher guns are stippled, such as Bullseye pistols and B/R rifles.
Most action and hunting oriented pieces seem to be checkered. Anybody else notice this?

It's easier to stipple on a mulitple curved surface. The target folks frequently want to get that ultimate hold, and it is fairly easy for them to stipple what they want, whether wood or metal.

I've seen both stippling and checkering on firearms that could double as meat tenderizers and the shooter's hand reflects this. Either method can be made as sharp as you want.

With stippling, it depends on the shape of the point of the punch, the angle it is held off the surface and the depth of the strike. You are trying to lift minute, sharp pieces above the base surface to provide a non-slick surface to grip.
There is a lot of technique involved here as it's done a lot by feel and muscle memory. This technique is similar to engraving.

With checkering, you are filing (most mill now) the base surface down, leaving diamond shaped sharp points. The height and LPI of the checkering determine how coarse the pattern will be.
As bartsche found out and I can concur, an agressive 20 LPI checkering job can turn a firearm into a meat tenderizer. On defense guns this can also tear up coat linings, etc.
I've found a 30 LPI pattern to be a very good way to go about it. A person can shoot a 150-250 round match comfortably and it feels like you are stuck with no slippage. You are adding more gripping surface area with shallower and less pointed diamonds. Checkering a 20 LPI pattern can be a RPITA depending on the surface. A 30 LPI pattern is much more so.

Having done both, I feel that stippling is much easier. There is much less concentration involved than in a well done hand-cut checkering job. Once you have your favorite punch point, and have developed your technique and rhythm, you can pretty much do it on auto-pilot as the pattern is random no matter the surface or layout.
Hand cut checkering is technique and visual. It is more important that the pattern is pleasing to the eye and follows the lines of the piece. Every line cut has to be thought of indivually and cut that way because if there are any variations or miss cuts, the mistakes will stick out like a sore thumb. The finer the LPI and/or variation in the surface profile, the more concentration it takes. Slow is the word. If you try to rush it, you'll screw it up.

Anyhow, this has been my experience,

Don

quote:

Originally posted by stdon:
Checkering and stippling really do the same thing, and it depends upon the eye of the beholder. . Slow is the word. If you try to rush it, you'll screw it up.

Anyhow, this has been my experience,

Don

Nicely done ,Don roger