checkering on wrist

[P.Bigham]

I am building a .54 rice dutch profile rifle. Cherry stock, chambers early round faced English lock, brass mounts and wood box. Friend would like checkering on the wrist. All I know about checkering is the early was wide spaced. Are there examples of this on a american longrifle or would it ever have been?

[rich pierce]

Some late Lancaster rifles by Fordney and others had checkering. Have not seen it on early rifles.

[Dennis Glazener]

I don't checker but the last 2 cherry stocked guns I built would have been a bear to checker. All you had to do was look at the wrong and the wood would chip out!

Dennis

[bama]

I have seen a few original Longrifles that had checkering. Jacob Kuntz, Fordney, Crain are a few that come to mind.

[Craig Wilcox]

P.Bigham, All that I have seen were wrist only, and 8 or 10 lines per inch.  They form squares, and it is typically called flat-top checkering.  So you don't want to use your vee tools with a lot of "oomph" behind them, lightly does it.
Sometimes the squares will have small circles or dots in the middle, but I made one with silver round-headed nails.
You could probably use a "skip-line" tool as I did - I did one with a 16 lpi, used an 8 skip for that.  The 20 lpi, you would use the 10 skip, thus giving you 10 lpi.
Like my customer said, ain't no place for fancy skip-line or basket weave patterns!
Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

[smart dog]

Hi,
Checkering started to become popular in Britain and to some extent, Europe, in the 1770s.  I don't believe anyone can point to an example of it on an American longrifle until near the end of the 18th century.  Other guns, such as copies of British fowlers may have some checkering but I don't believe you can find many examples until the 19th century.  The earliest checkering was coarse and flat topped. It was done with a vertical or saw-like cutter rather than the 60 and 90 degree file-like cutters we use today.  Cherry is easy to cut but it is also easy to chip. You have to go very easy and lightly on cherry and you want to first have cured finish on the gun before starting to checker.

dave

[Tim Crosby]

 Take a look through this, may find some help:

  http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=14904.msg139881#msg139881

   Tim