CNC equipment is now commonly used to turn out various metal work, and I have certainly seen it used to shape and inlet a stock. Is there any reason that stock checkering couldn’t be done with CNC equipment?

Just thinking there might be a role for a high quality stock that sits between mass market and custom, hand finished.

Yes, but two things stand in the way; the first is money and the second is more money to buy a machine which will scan the surface and then allow for the variations which exist in all stocks. If you just programmed a checkering pattern for one surface, (5 axis), no other stock would present exactly that surface. Since most checkerers are small volume craftsmen, such a machine would be cost prohibitive. I don't see it happening. That is also why we don't see more of it in semi inletted stocks; most makers are using ancient duplicators and the good ones are using more advance models but still are mechanical duplicators.

Cost and time

And you can make more money using a cnc for other industries than you will ever make with it checkering.
Don

quote:

Originally posted by Don Markey:
And you can make more money using a cnc for other industries than you will ever make with it checkering.
Don

This

quote:

Originally posted by Don Markey:
And you can make more money using a cnc for other industries than you will ever make with it checkering.
Don

More... More like ten fold

With the set up and surfacing needed for each checkering job. Doing it by hand is still faster

The CSMCo RBL shotgun series and perhaps some of their others are CNC checkered.
Amazing machines as are the CNC stock inletting machines.

That's the only way I could see it being anywhere close to cost effective. If the stock was cut with a cnc then you have a g code file of the exterior of the stock. That or cut and checkered at the same time.
Don

It is done with CNC lasers.The checkering looks pretty good.

I thought Luxus was using something similar on their model 11 standard.

http://www.luxusarms.com/html/m11-models.html

It would take an expensive 5+ axis CNC machine, and some custom software to let you input the necessary dimensions (like drop at heel, stock pull, pistol grip x, y and taper, forend x, y and taper, barrel taper action size etc); but a properly setup CNC machine could shape, inlet, carve and/or checker a custom stock MUCH faster than a person could shape, inlet and checker a stock.
Problem is a lack of demand to keep such a machine busy enough to pay for itself; one such machine could make a custom fitted stock in 60 minutes or less on average, and that includes the checkering. So 2000 stocks a year at $500 dollars a stock is a million bucks, enough to pay for such a machine if you could actually be able to sell the 2000 custom fitted stocks a year.

Super X-1 Winchester stocks were checkered with some sort of a machine decades ago. A former co-worker talked about designing the tooling.
I have owned one of the shotguns since the early 80s.