doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DIY Gunsmithing @ doublegunshop.com Checking Tools

I have some gunsmith specials (American sxs and singles) I purchased with the intent of trying different wood finishes. Some of these guns need the checking cleaned up a little. All the checkering is present it just needs to be recut. I've seen the different checking sets with 60 and 90 degree cutters, veiners, multi-line cutters, and the different LPI sets. I do not plan on starting from a blank canvas and checker a new stock just recut the existing so any input with the minimum tool(s) I would most likely need.

I always for forward to informed answers from this site.

Thanks,
Scott

I like these for that type of work, the fine cut being my preference, which is out of stock currently. The medium will work well too.

https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-...square-60-bent-needle-files-prod701.aspx

It kind of depends on the existing checkering. If the layout is 18 or less LPI then a 60 deg cutter is correct. If the original was fine enough to have been pointed up then a a 90 deg would be correct. Just remember to go uphil with your tool, you can't go straight downhill. For the first few lines at least you might want to use masking tape along the line to help keep you going straight.

Not cheap but great quality seldom is!

http://www.steveearleproducts.com/assorted%20things.htm

Re-cutting old checkering can really eat up checkering tools/heads.
The old dirt & grit packed down in there and even sometimes what was used as a stock finish grain filler is just what you need to dull a nice sharp tool edge.

Most any checkering tool is expensive now and some nearly impossible to find.

'I find the Carbide single line tools are great for recutting old work. They can do the bulk of the recutting/deepening and working through all that old crud and finish that simply wears
out a nice new tool steel head very quickly.
Then to complete the job, go over it with regular spacer tools to finish it up and bring everything into nice straight alignment.

The Carbine single line tools will last a long long time. A good investment if you are going to be doing the work for a while.
I'm still using a couple I bought in the mid 90's. One is starting to feel just a little dull now.

The GunLine style checkering heads are nice as you can actually sharpen them once they get dull and get some more useful life out of them
If you sharpen them across the face of each tooth, they respond nicely. You can resharpen them quite a number of times that way.
You need a very thin diamond file to do the sharpening.
If you sharpen up and down the full side of the V on each side it will also sharpen the head, but not as efficiently as across the face of each tooth IMO.
Also you start to loose the geometry of the V shape as you take away material in each sharpening.
Not too bad with a single point cutter. But you start to mess up LPI sharpening a multi line cutter or a spacer in that manner.

Thank you very much gentlemen for sharing your wealth of knowledge.
Scott

If the old checkering is somewhat clogged with finish or gunk, it helps to clean it before recutting. That way your tools will tract a lot easier. A small, soft wire brush works well. A solvent or cleaner helps too.