may be you could do a head transplant with the joint hidden in the chequering, that will cut down many problems and of course the work.
Personal thoughts on a head transplant - Don't do it.
With a butt transplant you can attach a large block securely before cutting it down less room for error.
With a head transplant, a slightly different angle to original at the head can really throw out the measurements at the but end in relation to the barrel. Personally i have done it once, while the results are satisfactory and usable it did result in having to mess around with the other end of the stock to make it all as was. I came to the conclusion that this procedure is better left to others, by the time you have painstakingly inlet the head of the stock i wished i had just started with a blank canvas. - Just my experience. If i was to do it again, i would inlet the new head piece, and then alter the angle where it joins the but until the measurements were OK.
As damascus says though a small piece of wood for doing a head transplant will cost much less than messing up on a nice blank..
