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Checkering grips

29K views 37 replies 21 participants last post by  JordanR 
#1 ·
I would like to learn how to checker 1911 grips. Is there anyone out there that can give me a few pointers? I can find stuff on rifle cherkering but not on grips. Thanks for any help anyone can give, Mirando
 
#3 ·
Hi Mark,

I have been doing my own checkering for almost a year now. It is easier than one would think, and is very rewarding. I had no experience until I read the post by Mr. Science. His thread taught me the basics, and I refined the process by trial and error.

If you have some patience and some determination, anyone can do it. These are a few of my latest pieces. Of course full, double diamond is great, but it takes away a lot of the beauty of the wood. I make all my own grips too. Between making grips and checkering, I prefer checkering them! Once I start checkering a set- it is almost like an addiction, I spend all my spare time working on them. I haven't tried rifle stocks yet- only pistol grips.





It's really not that difficult, and I find it very relaxing. I would be happy to help you get started! :)
 
#6 ·
Thank you for the kind words Seraph & Randall! It is something I believe anyone can do. I never thought I could do it until I just jumped in head first.

Like anything else it takes some practice- then one day you just figure it all out, you learn a few techniques and tricks. I sure enjoy it!

Mr Science made the tutorial that says a lot of how to do it. I give credit to him! :)
 
#7 ·
Grips

Your grips a beautifull. I would love to do that. I have made several smooth grips out of exotic woods and they are all great looking but I feel like I am missing something by not checkering. I love the ones on the Ultra (I think) Carry. They are some of the best looking grips I have ever seen, Mirando :rock:
 
#8 ·
F16DCC,
You know I'm a fan of your work. It's all beautiful! Can you give me an estimate of how long a set of half checkered grips would have taken you when you first started, and how long it takes you now? I'm not ready (chicken if you really want to know) to take the leap, but am curious about it.
Keep up the gorgeous work man!
Sarge
 
#9 ·
I would love to be able to checker pistol grips and rifle/shotgun stocks. For years I have stripped and refinished the stock on every rifle and shotgun I owned including a Grade VI Browning Citori O/U where I cut 1/4" off the top of the comb. To date I have tried checkering two rifle stocks. One stock was so bad I trashed and replaced it with new stock. On the other stock I sanded ALL vestiges of the checkering from the stock. I can clean up existing checkering using a riffler but can not cut new checkering properly without botching it. I can spend hours sanding and refinishing a stock with up to 10-12 coats of TruOil but can't master a set of checkering tools. What gives?
 
#10 ·
mrlk_54,

Thank you for the kind words. I didn't think I could ever checker grips. You should give it a go. If you can make grips, you can checker them. Thanks again! :rock:

Sarge43,

At first it maybe took me 3 hours or so for one panel- not sure since I would work on them for 20 minutes and then put them down. Now I think I can do one panel in an hour to an hour and a half. Not certain. All I know is when I am checkering a set, all other hobbies get put aside, as it is very addictive until I get them done. The tools aren't too expensive- give it a shot!

LHB1,

Very interesting to refinish stocks- that is not something I have done. I must say that trying checker over curved surfaces or completely over a round edge is VERY difficult. The problem is that if the lines get slightly off parallel, then the process is screwed up. I tried checkering a billy club before and once I got all the way around to the beginning, the lines didn't match up at all- huge gaps and it looked like a 3rd grader did it. So I sanded that back down and kept it smooth.

As far as refinishing or touching up checkering, I would say first you need to determine what LPI (lines per inch) you are working with. Could be anywhere from 16 to 26. If you do not have the right tools for that specific LPI, then you could easily botch it because the lines and checkers wont match.

I will post my tricks and directions on how I do it. Hopefully you or others may learn something. I am confident you could do it on a flat 1911 grip- the rifle stock is something I am not even sure I could tackle. If it is on a flat surface on the rifle stock- maybe. Just keep in mind a round surface is very tough.
 
#11 ·
Disclaimer:

This is how I checker wooden grips. The terminology, layout, directions are all the way I do it. It doesn’t mean I am right or my way is how the professionals do it. As time goes on, you may find a better way to work the cutters, lay out the lines or make great grips. I am not a professional, nor do I claim to be. This is what works for me. You decide if it works for you.

As Mr. Science said in his excellent tutorial, proper lighting is key. Natural indirect light is ideal. Bad lighting will equal bad cuts. If you can not see your work properly, you need to get better light.

When I checker grips, I screw the grip panel on a plain block of oak wood. The block is large enough to fit in my left hand. The block will secure the grip. With my right hand I use the cutter, holding it like a pencil. This is not how it is supposed to be held, but offers more control for me. By having a small block of wood to hold, I can be mobile- I can checker my grips while sitting at work, sitting in the car, or at home on the couch- as long as I have proper lighting and the time, I am cutting! Some would prefer to work on a bench, a vise, or in their workshop, but in Arizona, I prefer to be working where the A/C is cool. Did I say lighting is VERY important?

Initially it seems it would take 3 hours or so per grip panel. Now I would say I estimate I can do one grip panel in an hour and a half. It just depends what kind of wood you are using.

Desert Ironwood is a very hard wood with a very tight grain. It also really wears out the cutters. I would say after about 4 sets of grips, the cutters are ready to be replaced. Hard wood really takes a lot of passes with the cutters. I use Dembart tools and cutters. The cutters are less than $3.00 a piece to replace- replace them when the cuts take more work.

Soft wood such as walnut or medium wood like cocobolo is much easier to work with- takes less cutting to get the depth you want. I recommend starting with a medium or a light wood. Hard woods take more pressure, cutting and time to cut to the proper depth.

Most checkering cutters are set to cut in only one direction. I set up mine so when I pull back, it cuts. Just know that the primary cutting is done in one direction.

Before the first cut:

I use blue painters tape to lay out the line I want to make my first cut. If doing half checkering, this line will start at the top-forward edge and extend down to the rear bottom edge of the grip. I don’t use a gauge or a layout. If you run a line from one corner to the opposite, and then from the other side to the other edge, you will create an “X” pattern. That is approximately the perfect diamond pattern. Be sure to cover up all the exposed wood where you do not want to cut (outside the boundries). Use the painters tape to prevent going outside the lines- trust me, this will save lots of accidental cutting over the edges which are difficult to fix later.

Making a border:

Whatever design you make, a border cut or two will bring out the checkering. I most always make a border cut. Just be sure to cover up the one or two lines with painters tape after you cut them. Don’t cut them at full depth yet- you can do that later at the end.

Making the first cut:

Once you have your line marked where you want it, next take the single cutter and score a light line in the wood next to the tape. When I say “score” it means lightly creating a line where you want it. If you press the cutter too hard, the cutter will most always slip away and you will gouge the wood making an ugly scratch in the part you don’t want marked up. The first cut requires very little pressure, you can almost not even apply any pressure to make a cut. If your cutters are new, simply dragging the cutter will create a line in the wood.

After you have made the first score in the wood, go back from where you started and re-cut the line with your cutter. Do this about 3-6 times until you get a definite and clear line. This line should be around ¼ of the depth of a full, finished cut. Congrats! You have made your first successful cut. Now you get to repeat this about a hundred more times!!!

Making additional parallel lines:

After cutting a successful line, the next step is making a STRAIGHT, parallel line next to it. Harder than you think. This is where patience and practice will pay off. Take your right or left guide cutter and gently, but with lots of control, score another line while following the first line. A straight line here is where it will pay off at the end.. If you make the line too close, the checker will look too thin. If you make the line too far apart, you will end up with a significant checker that is too large. Take your time to ensure a perfectly parallel line is cut. Go over it lightly again until you can accurately use your single line cutter and complete a full line like the previous line. Again, after about ¼ of the full depth, move on and make another line next to it.

When the wood curves, it will be harder to keep the lines parallel. Focus on keeping the cutter aligned and perpendicular (straight up and down) to the surface of the wood. The radius (curve) of the grip panel will force you to make slightly crooked lines- something which is tough to avoid. Using the cutter on an angle when cutting over a curved piece of wood will add more curve to the cut. Try at all costs to keep the cutter straight on the wood.

After all the lines are made in one direction, parallel to each other, you have about half the work done. Remember, all the lines should be no more than about ¼ of the full checkering depth.

Now that we have cut lines all in one direction, we need to cut them in another direction to create the diamonds. More to come later…
 
#14 ·
F16DCC, the grips on that (CDP I assume?) compact are absolutely beautiful. I would really like to get my hands on a set like that for a full size, non ambi, no magwell... maybe in rosewood... hint hint,, lol :)

Anyways.. love the work... Oh, and sarge... you're no slouch when it comes to grip making either... Some beautiful work from both of you guys.
 
#15 ·
Wow I really like those. Especially the bottom ones with the curve. I wish you would take orders ... I know that I am not the only one interested.

Mods this is not an offer to buy .... yet. But do what you gotta do.
 
#16 ·
Checkering grips continued:

Making a border (explained):

To make a border of your choice or your design, first start the outline, rather than making the border after you complete your checkering. If you want to make curved lines, such as the design of the Kimber SIS grips, use blue masking tape to mark the outline. I first use the blank grip to trace out the outline of the grip as a pattern on a blank piece of white paper. Next I trace the outline of how I want the border to look. After you have traced an outline of your choice, cut that outline out with scissors. Place the outline on the grip panel and now trace around the outline with a pencil. Next, take the blue painters tape, or some good quality “pin stripping” tape from a hobby store or an automotive paint shop. Use that tape for your outline to run your single line cutter up against. Once you have the tape in place where you want it, take your single line cutter and follow the tape line, scoring the wood (very lightly). After your first light pass, make another exact pass on the same cut. Depending on your skill level, you can remove the tape and cut the line slightly deeper. Next if you want another border line, simply follow that line with the left or right cutter to mark the next layout line. Deepen the next line about ¼ of the full depth, and that is it. Just don’t forget to cover up those lines with tape or you may accidentally forget they are borders and checker them.

Single lines are done- moving on to making the opposite lines:

I find it easier to make all the parallel lines, and then I move on to making the opposite lines that produce the checkers. Now that you have lines running all in one direction, use the painters tape to make a pilot, or a guide line from the other direction. The first lines should have been made starting from the top, forward edge and projecting down to the rear bottom edge of the grip. Now, take the tape and run a guide edge from the bottom front corner of the grip to the top rear of the grip. This should be an intersecting line, replicating an “X” on the grip panel.

Once the layout line is made with the tape, gently take the single line cutter and drag it lightly to score a line against the edge of the tape. Remember- be sure to cover the borders of the wood you do not want stray cuts on. Lightly, but with control, make the first cut. Deepen enough until you think you can remove the tape and follow and deepen the line again. Once you have a line cut about ¼ of the full depth, take the left or right cutter and make another line just parallel to the original. A steady hand and a good eye will help keep you aligned. Remember, if the line drifts away or is too close to the previous line, you will notice it later. TAKE YOUR TIME when making duplicate side-by-side lines. Once you get a score and can go back to the single cutter, you can deepen and proceed.
Complete all parallel lines next to the previous. Make all the lines about the equal depth- somewhere around ¼ of the full depth of a completed checkering. Sometimes you may feel using the left or the right cutter will feel like more control or will work better depending on the direction you are cutting in relation to the radius of the wood. I use both and switch off when I feel something is not right.

After all cross lines are made- time to finish up your checkering:

Congrats! If you have not given up or thrown your grips across the room, you have the worst part over with. Now comes the fun part. You get to see the fruits of your labor!

Once all opposite lines are made, take the single line cutter and start over again, working from one side to the next- cut long, steady cuts numerous times. You will see lots of saw dust collecting. Move on to the next line- you are trying to get the lines progressively deeper. You may note- the deeper you make the lines, the lines in the other direction are getting less predominant. The key is to make lines in both directions deeper at about the same rate. This is how each checker gets to be a sharp, four sided diamond. Be aware- by just cutting lines can make the diamond checkers look wrong. Once you get deeper, you need to slow down and really focus on your work at hand. Study the diamond checkering in good light- slowly moving the grip so shadows are cast along the lines you are trying to inspect. In time, you will notice in one direction the diamonds have clear and distinct lines and the other lines may look like they are rounded or have soft, round corners. Inspect to see which side you need to run the cutters on. At this time, determine if you need to continue with a course single line cutter or a fine cutter to clean up the diamonds. When the checkering is almost finished, I use the fine cutter and gently cut lines that need fine tuning. A light cut may be all you need. Remember that when you cut in one direction, the opposite lines of the diamond checkering may get worn down by doing too much.

Coarse and Fine Cutters:

Some single line cutters are marked “coarse” and “fine”. I use the coarse to make the initial cuts and to deepen cuts. Once I get to the depth I want, I switch over to the “fine” cutter. The fine cutter will offer a more precise, clean cut- just what you need when finishing up the diamond checkering and getting the final edges and fine tuning your diamonds.

Finishing up your work:

After all your lines and checkered diamonds are cut precisely, you need to inspect all the lines. If you made a border, now is the time to inspect the lines bumping up to the border. It is still difficult to make diamonds next to a border line. This is where a VERY steady hand and eye coordination is required. You may have to remove some of the painters tape to expose a border line. To make a good cut next to a border, take your fingernail and place it over the area you do NOT want the cutter to accidentally cut. Relax- the cutters are not sharp and won’t cut you. I use my finger nail to block the edge of the cutter in case I press too hard and slip up. Take your time here. Press the cutters lightly and with control. Trying to checker next to a curved or small border is tough. No tricks here- just experience and practice. You would be surprised at how much the cutters dig into the wood with very little applied hand pressure.

Finishing the borders:

To finish up a border, first decide how deep you want it. Sometimes a shallow border in relation to the checkered area looks better. Other times very deep border groves may look nice. Remember, every time the cutter goes over the groove, the groove gets deeper. The control of the depth is all in your hand pressure and how many times you repeat a cut in the same grove.

Hopefully someone can learn something from all this. Remember, this is how I see things- it may be confusing or totally backwards to a professional. If anyone has some other ideas or better ways to checker grips- I would certainly love to hear them.

Later I will discuss troubleshooting/problems and coating checkered grips. :D
 
#18 ·
Sorry I did not finish my posting for those of you who are looking for more information. I have been really busy at my job and sort of lost priorities with my checkering hobby :biglaugh:. In fact, I have not even had time to make any grips or more importantly, checker any grips. So my apologies to those who were looking for more... OK, lets do this!

Coating finished grips:

The final step in making grips or checkering grips is to coat them. We coat the wood for two reasons, to protect the wood, and to draw out the beauty of the wood. The second reason is more important in my book. Once the right coating hits the wood, the wood almost comes to life. Lets just back up for a second… I have learned a lot of lessons in my hobby of checkering grips. One lesson is that BEFORE you apply any coating or finish, ensure you are completely satisfied with the finished product of your grips. Ensure you have the non-checkered areas sanded as smooth as you want before you checker start checkering, ensure you have all voids, inclusions, or cracks filled in. Be positive that the checkering you have just done is up to your standard. Once you apply polyurethane or other coatings, it is extremely difficult to go back and fix errors. Trust me- many hours of checkering can be messed up by trying to fix mistakes later.

After you are happy with your checkering and your final product, now it is time to apply the coating to the grips. Each kind of wood has different properties and will take coatings much differently. You must be sure the kind of wood you are using is compatible with the coating you want to use. If you don’t know, try the coating on a piece of scrap wood- DO NOT just try a coating on your grips you just spent 4 hours checkering. If the coating does not dry properly or is incompatible with the wood, it will be a pain to remove and fix.

A quick down and dirty on finishes:

There are many different coatings for handgun grips. Basically you want a coating that is water resistant, resistant to sweat and will make the wood look great. Oil finishes such as pure tung oil or boiled linseed oil will penetrate the wood and will protect the wood as it saturates the wood. There are many oil finishes that can be used. We could write a whole article about finishes and application- so please do your homework before jumping in.

Some oil finishes are advertised as “Tung Oil Finish”, “Teak Oil Finish” or “Danish Oil Finish”. Any coating that has the name “finish” in it has a blend of oils and some type of synthetic polyurethane blend added. These blends are made to be easier to work with and are decent for our purpose. Formby’s Tung Oil Finish is good for grips. Just know that it is a “blend” and not pure 100% tung oil. With several coats of this stuff, a shine will start to show. The more coats you add, the shinier it will get.

Poly or “polyurethane finishes” are simple and durable to use. The important fact about “poly” is that it does not cure when used on oily woods. Poly is an excellent coating to use on non-oily woods such as walnut, desert ironwood, or kingwood (and many others). I prefer using it in spray cans because it sprays on nice and has no clean up. I also like using poly because you can wet sand between coats with 400, 600, or 800 grit sandpaper and then spray on numerous additional coats. Similar to painting a car, the smoother you get the surface and sand in between coats; the nicer the final product will look. Poly comes in satin, semi-gloss, and high gloss. I prefer using semi-gloss on most of my grips. Wet sanding between about 6 coats will produce a beautiful, glass sheen finish. Man- once you get the hang of it, you just don’t want to use anything else! Poly is very durable and almost resistant to everything. For me, it is the cats’ meow!!!

In my experience, natural oily woods such as cocobolo or brazilian rosewood will not take a poly finish. The wood is simply is too oily to cure properly. I have tried using acetone to remove the oil from the surface with minimal results. In cases of oily woods, use an oil finish, pure oil or Birchwood/Casey “Tru-oil”, which is a weird blend that really cures on most anything. Basically all oils and oil finishes penetrate the wood and poly cures on top of the wood.

Lacquer is an interesting coating for grips as well. Because of its different properties than poly, sometimes lacquer has some benefits of use. The first benefit is that it dries quickly, and is easily sanded between coats. I successfully used a spray on lacquer on a pair of cocobolo grips. Typically I couldn’t get poly to dry, but because of the quick drying characteristics of lacquer, it cured up great and looked awesome only after 2 coats.

Hint: I like using foam beauty make-up applicators (the triangle ones) to apply oil finishes to my grips. They are virtually lint free, very cheap and helps you avoid cleaning brushes after your work. You can get them in the ladies make-up department in any drug store. I know… I didn’t know about them either- who knew?

Spray on finishes on grips with checkering:

If you are coating grips with half and half checkering, I suggest taping off (blue painters tape or automotive pin stripping tape) and covering up the checkering first. I do this so I can spray on a about three coats of poly, then sand using 400 or 600 grit on the smooth wood part of the grip panel. Then I spray another light coat or two until I am happy with the results of the smooth wood surface. After the smooth surface is good, I remove the tape covering up the checkering. Next, spray one coat over the entire grip panel, front and back. Let that dry, then spray another coat or two if needed.

* The key to spraying on coatings on checkered grips is “knowing” when to stop. Before you know it, you may have sprayed numerous coats and you will notice the checkering is disappearing- it is basically drowning in your coatings! This is why I cover up the checkering with tape and then spray the smooth surface first. The smooth surface takes a few coats to get looking good, more so than the checkering. So just spray enough coats to get a protective surface on the checkering. That is it. Just be sure to let them dry properly.

Fixing problems with coatings:

Once you apply a finish to checkered grips it is very difficult to remove the coating. If the coating does not cure, you will end up with a sticky mess. The key is to ensure you have the proper coating to match the wood, ensure you don’t apply it too thick (no runs) and to know there is no turning back.

If you do have a problem with the coating, I have used acetone for stripping the finish down to the wood. Be sure to use gloves and goggles and use it outside in some ventilation. Getting the coating off the checkering is really difficult. Acetone and a soft bristle brush helps, but it will only work so much. The only other option I know is to go over all the checkering with your single line cutter again- what a pain that is. Meanwhile, while using the cutter over the finish, the cutter will get clogged and you will have a mess. After screwing up your finish on your nice checkering, you will learn to get it right the first time.

I made a home made fixture for spraying and coating my grips. Basically you want them hanging so nothing is really touching the grip panel when you are spraying them or wiping on the oil finish. Either make a fixture or use wire and hang them off your back patio.

If anyone has any questions, I would be happy to assist. Again, this is how I do checkering. Mr. Science gets credit for teaching me through his tutorial. The rest of my training has come from trial and error… If anyone has a better way of doing things, I would certainly like to hear it. Checkering grips is a lot of fun. The finished product, although small, speaks volumes when matched up to your favorite 1911. Enjoy… :)

Thanks,

Steve
 
#19 ·
Steve,
As mentioned in a prior post, I have refinished stocks/grips on nearly every rifle, pistol, and shotgun I have owned during the last 50 years. The only finish I have used in that time is Casey's Tru Oil. As you stated, there can be a problem trying to apply a finish on oily woods. Cocobolo has two problems, both concerning the oil/resin in it. DO NOT let the sawdust or oil from Cocobolo get in your eyes. Some people are extremely allergic to it. I know at least one grip maker who nearly lost his eyesight and refuses to work with that wood. The other problem is that even TruOil can take a LONG time for the first coat to dry on Cocobolo. I mean two weeks or more!! After the first coat is FULLY dried, later coats dry much quicker, 2-6 hours depending on temperature and humidity. TruOil will dry to a high gloss finish but can be rubbed lightly with stock rubbing compound to yield a soft egg-shell lustre or even a matte finish, depending on taste and amount of rubbing.
 
#20 ·
Excellent input and good information! My expierience with Tru-oil has been limited, but I did find that it worked, so I know I will use it again when I need it.

I didn't know that about cocobolo. A lot of exotic woods are nasty to work with for one reason or another. I always wear a good 3M dust mask when ever I cut or sand. Safety glasses.... Well, I always wear them when shooting. It is easy to forget when working with wood. :hrm:
 
#21 · (Edited)
Oh, one thing more about finishing the checkered portion of grips/stocks:
I thin the TruOil slightly with denatured alcohol and use a new, clean tooth brush to spread the thinned oil over checkered portion first. Then wipe the rough residue off smooth wood around checkering IMMEDIATELY (BEFORE it dries at all) and apply a good, smooth coat of TruOil normally on this wood surface. There may be other ways but this method works well for me. I have used it on Grade VI Browning Citori O/U stocks and hand made custom rifle stocks.
 
#23 ·
I thin each coat that is brushed into checkering, otherwise the finish seems to be too thick and clogs up the checkering slightly. Amount of thinning is by "oh, about that much" approach but would guestimate it as perhaps 10-15% alcohol. Start with 10% and try some on a spare piece of wood to see what looks good to your eye. Add a little more to your preference. Use as little alcohol as you can without the finish being too thick for the checkering. Your eyes will tell you what looks right. After brushing each coat into the checkering, IMMEDIATELY wipe off excess which has smeared onto the surrounding wood. Then apply a normal, full thickness coat of finish to the surrounding wood. Best applicator I have found for applying a normal coat of finish on smooth wood is the tips of my fingers. But be sure to CLEAN YOUR HANDS THOROUGHLY with soap and water to remove ALL remnants of sawdust or grit from your fingers before applying finish. Failure to do so will cause the contaminants to appear as specks, streaks, or imperfections on the stock/grips.
 
#29 ·
F16DCC - how many lpi do you do your checkering at? It looks really nice!

I use 18 LPI. Going up (such as 20 or 24 LPI) starts to get really small checkering. Not to mention its more difficult to cover up mistakes. 18 LPI seems pretty common on production stocks.
 
#27 ·
I remember about thirty years ago watching the ladies that worked for Kimber checker rifle stocks at their booth at the gun show in Portland. These were the high end Super America stocks and power checkering tools. They were flying, it was amazing to watch.
L.
 
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