Go to any gun show or to a local gunshop that sells used guns and you are sure to find some rifles or shotguns whose previous owners had refinished the stocks. Some will be fairly well done, but most will leave a lot to be desired. Not too long ago I was working on an older shotgun whose stock had been refinished. While there were numerous problems with the refinishing, one of the most unfortunate aspects was the manner in which the owner had dealt with the checkering.

The first step in protecting your stock's checkering is to cover it with ordinary masking tape. Use multiple overlapping strips of tape to completely cover the checkering panel.

The stock had handcut checkering. It was nothing fancy, but it was serviceable and reasonably attractive. Unfortunately, the owner had simply sanded over the checkering as he sanded the rest of the stock. This left a series of flat diamond-shaped outlines separated by shallow lines, and in some areas, even the shallow lines and flat diamonds had been removed. This was regrettable because it hurt the stock both esthetically and functionally. Those few remaining flat-topped diamonds would provide little if any gripping assistance when holding the gun. The condition also lowered the value of the gun should the owner ever want to sell or trade it.

It's not all that hard to protect checkering when refinishing a stock. In fact, it's pretty darn easy. All you need are a few simple tools; I use a razor knife, a plastic picnic knife, and masking tape. With just a little time and effort you can protect your checkering from damage while sanding and later when applying finish to the stock.

The first step in refinishing a stock is to remove the action and all metal or plastic components. Don't leave anything on the stock, such as the buttplate, recoil pad, or sling swivel. Once these items have been removed, check the stock for cracks. If you find any, now is the time to fix 'em. All finish removers I know of have chemical components that would inhibit or weaken the bond of glue to wood. Because of this you always want to repair cracks or splits before you use a stock stripper.

Ideally, you want to strip the stock outdoors as the fumes from most effective strippers can be pretty rough. Be sure to do your work over old newspaper. That will make cleanup a lot easier and help to keep from making a mess. Apply the stripper according to the manufacturer's directions. Once the finish has softened, I use pasteboard or plastic scrapers to remove the bulk of the finish and stripper. I then use paper towels to remove any residual stripper and finish.

I make darn sure I work stripper into the checkering because over the years it has more often than not filled with grease, grime, and dirt as well as stock finish. A worn toothbrush is handy for later removing the stripper from the checkering. Now take a single-line checkering cutter and go around the outside edge of the checkering pattern. You want this line or groove to be reasonably well defined. You'll see why in the next step.