Are there any advances in gun stock checkering?

B

BumbleBug

New member
I remember when hand checkering wood stocks was almost an art form. The price to have it done added a lot of dollars to the stock makers charges. I know all my attempts were dismal failures. As best I can recall, some rotary tools were made to speed up the process. Is the best checkering still done with hand tools tracking a few lines at a time? Are there some CNC or tracer machines that will checker?

With all the new non-wood stocks I wonder if checkering is still in demand.

Just wondering...

...bug:confused:
 
Most gun companies use various forms of impressed checkering.
The early form of this was usually a "reversed" type checkering, but they soon developed ways of making it look more like traditional checkering.

A new technology is laser checkering, mostly done on pistol grips.

Commercial checkering companies use power checkering, some powered by Foredom Flex Shaft motors.
These are checkering heads that cut multiple grooves at a time.
 
I don't believe the MMC power checkering heads for the Foredom motors are available now, unless you would buy them used. I heard that they went out of business, and that someone had purchased what was left. I think they were selling the cutters. They do sell other brands now, but how good they are, I have no idea.

Winchester actually invested in checkering robots before the plant closed, and was using them on their better grade guns. The stocks revolved in a fixture, to position them, as a robot arm, with a power checkering head on the end, cut the checkering. I would say they went to Browning.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/250043/j-and-r-engineering-d-3-power-checkering-head
 
Most small shops still do hand checkering, mainly because they do so few jobs that the cost of power tools isn't warranted. Not to mention that anyone, even someone skilled at hand checkering, needs to practice a lot before going to a power tool. They are like using a Dremel tool - in the hands of an experienced pro they can save a lot of time and turn out good work. But a less experienced user can only make more mistakes faster.

Jim
 
I checker the stocks I build. A power checkering head could speed up the process, but costs about $1000. I am sure that if I looked at the numbers, I could justify the cost, but I would have to learn to checker all over again. I don't really want to try to learn a new tool on someone's XXX English walnut stock that I already have 20+ hours in. I know a couple of people who do checkering with power heads, but most do it by hand. An accomplished checkerer can turn out a wrap-around job in about 6-8 hours and make it look simple. I turn out a wrap-around job in about 12 hours. There are laser checkering cabinets that will do wrap-around checkering, but you would have to chase it afterwards to make it look like cut checkering. Remington uses a CNC checkering apparatus that does panels and wraparound. Browning does laser checkering that is then chased by hand to give the hand-cut look. The problem with most laser checkering is that the diamonds don't seem to go anywhere, they are the wrong size and shape.
 
The modern world !!
About 1970 Remington rifles were checkered by little old ladies [yes that's a real discription not a snide remark ,they would easily pass for your grandma ! ] That's for the higher grade while lower grade guns had the impressed checkering which impressed no one !
It's an art requiring practice and skill.
 
Remington's impressed checkering looked good, but didn't do much for the purpose of checkering, which is to allow a good grip on the rifle. Winchester's impressed checkering didn't work any better, and looked like heck. Savage's was simply atrocious.

Jim
 
Just get an old stock or piece of walnut and practice. That's what I did and ended up doing four of my rifles. I purchased sets of checkering tools and cutters in 18, 20, and 22lpi. Go slow, it took me about 40 hours to do each of my first two stocks.

This was my first, Marlin 25 re-chamber to .17 Mach II
M-25checkering2_zpsb95118d4.jpg


M-25checkering_zps32ce930b.jpg


H&R 700 .22 mag:
HR700-1.jpg


HampR700checkered2_zps33a46cac.jpg


Sporterized T-38 Airsaska 6.5x57mm
t-38checkering_zps36e78757.jpg


t-38checkering2_zpsf9c3fecc.jpg



I also did a Winchester 100 carbine. I know they weren't checkered, but it is my go to deer rifle and with today's fleece gloves the stock was just to slippery.
 
Jim,

Winchester and Cooey decided to spiff up their stocks with 1960's to 1970's modern designs on some of them, and they never looked good. At least Remington stayed with a Fleur-Di-Lis pattern. However, compared to some of wild designs on the ones today, I think they look better than those.

One can checker these, using the reverse pattern as a guide, but the checkering seems to set too deep.
 
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One can learn checkering pretty easy, and I would suggest Monty Kennedy's book on Gunstock Checkering. Gun-Line or Dem-Bart makes some good cutters and sets. A good set is a 6 piece in the number of lines you want. Most manufacturers use 18 LPI in the US. I would add a checkering gauge, grease pencil, and a Jointer tool to the mix, but make sure to at least have the jointer, as it will save you a lot of headache when a line goes off.
 
Laser checkering is spreading, not just handgun grips.
It's cheap, fast, and leaves a clean pattern when the machinery's set up right.

Marlin & CZ are two I know of that've gone to it in their rifles.
If Marlin has it, I'd expect Remington to be using it, too.
Denis
 
What DPris says. We have two laser engravers at school (but traditional hand checkering is still taught there as an elective). Hand checkering > laser.

BTW, what really is nice (but I'm no good with it) are those hand held powered checkering machines. Think of it as a spinning cutoff tool. You just follow the guide lines.
 
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