Thanks again guys. You've asked some interesting questions, and made some astute observations.
In 1979, Don Robinson taught me to chequer after the second to last coat of finish was applied. There are several good reasons for this. The darkened wood shows the cut lines you've made much sharper and clearer than if you tried to do it on dry unfinished wood. The finish hardens the wood, making the cuts cleaner without making fuzzy diamonds. When you are done, as in the case of this rifle, an application of Ferric Nitrate to the now raw-again wood, a blush, and a single application of bees wax, and the job is finished. In addition to the bees wax, I applied a couple coats of hard paste wax - in this case TreWax - and gave the chequering a good scrub with a stiff toothbrush. This polished the chequering and gives the stock an overall smooth and well protected finish coat.
I used 60 degree Gunline chequering cutters. The spacing is 20/inch because that's what I have. I used a single cutter, and a two line cutter where both cut...no smooth side, as I often use with modern style chequering. These cutters cut deep and fast. I made a minimum of three passes over everything, and in some places I needed to add a forth and fifth pass. I try not to get it done in the first couple of passes...I like to see the chequering go down gradually. This chequering is flat topped - the diamonds do not come to a point. It is not so 'grippy' as modern pointed chequering, but adds a lot of stability and class to the stock, and is HC/PC. I finished each line as it ends against the border with a 60 degree parting chisel. Sam Hawken didn't bother but it seemed unfinished to my eye that way. I added the second border line because the original had the same.
The tang sight is used in conjunction with the rear and front sight. Though I have not fired the rifle yet, I have played with the diopter sight, and find that it clarifies the relationship between the two barrel sights. Also, when you elevate the tang sight, it makes the 'Kentucky windage' (elevation actually) very precise. So shooting the rifle at long range should be much more consistent...time will tell.
I did not further inletting or refitting of any of the parts after the pack hardening, except for scraping built up wax away from most inlet places...lock, triggers, nose piece, tang, toe plate, and barrel keys. I confess that the fit of the butt plate now does not seem to me to be as tight as it was prior to pack hardening, but it still quite acceptable to me.
I have not weighed the rifle yet...I'm curious about that too. I'll let you know...
