The verticle lines are cut w/ standard checkering tools. Don't go to full depth, just let the tool shave the sides of the taper off a bit. A 60* tool works better than a 90* as you get line depth w/o tapering the rectangle sides too much.
Then cut the horizontal wider spaced lines. A flat bottom tool w/ straight sides,,like that used for real English style flat top checkering.
A wider width to the line is helpful in the final step to form the 'beads'.
Right now you have tiny rectangles neatly stacked. The long sides of which are ever so slightly tapered. That taper is just helpful removal of extra wood that not needed.
To form the 'beads',,the entire area is gone over with anything from a carding wheel, to fine steel wool, to fine steel or even brass wire brushes. Abrasive paper doesn't work too well here as it just glides over the tops generally on these tightly packed blocks.
The idea is to burnish and wear the corners, edges and ends of the rectangles down and round them over leaving the appearance of a bead instead.
End grain stands up well on the right piece of wood and straight grain, Open grain and fancy grain wood usually give poor results.
Then to a loose sewn cloth or other mat'l wheel at slooow speed so as not to burn the wood. Burnish the wood and wearing down the edges is what you're after,,no heavy handed buffing to cause burning.
It can be done by hand alone if you have the time & like the work-out.
Burlap, sisil (sp), cloth, jute,soft leather, any number of natural materials can be used to wear and burnish the surface. The wheel just makes quicker work of it and it's one place where polishing & rounding the edges off something is the goal.
If you go too far with your efforts to bring out the desired effect, you can recut the lines carefully and blend the area back in. But as with checkering, it can show if not done carefully.
AFAIK, it is a wood carvers technique and can be found more often in the cabinet trade. It was a wood carver that showed it to me. His main trade was decoys and decorative bird carvings but he also did furniture, large picture frames and the like. A few odd checkering toolson his bench got the conversation headed into the direction of guns , gunstocks & checkering. He didn't do any gun work but then showed me a couple applications he did use them for and this was one.
Thats what I know of it. Probably other ways to accomplish the same look,,there usually is.
This one is pretty fast and ends up nice and uniform in appearance w/the right piece of wood..
