In
laying out a design, I make a pattern out of heavy
paper and draw it's outline onto the wood with
a sharp pointed
tool called a scribe. I then go over the scribe
line with an electric checkering tool. Next, I
make
the two master
lines within the pattern at a 45 degree angle
or thereabouts and they are the starting point
of
the checkering. I inspect
my work as I go along, then I give it a good
final inspection. There are a lot of things to
look
for which are mentioned
later.
I take
my time when checkering because there is no such
thing as a good job if it is done in a big
hurry.
As they
say, "haste makes waste". That
is especially true of something as delicate
and
detailed as checkering.
Some simpler patterns take a few hours
but others I have spent weeks on. First
I have
to fine tune
my sketches until
they satisfy me before I can start making
the patterns. That alone can take a while
since
I am pretty particular.
I have seen some checkering jobs here
and there that were done in such a hurry
that
they look
as if a blindfold was worn. They were
breathtaking ... but not in a good way!
'Gasp' is a
better word!
First,
let me give you a little background of the person
you will be traveling with. The late Lenard
Brownell, well-known
stockmaker, checkerer and carver taught
me the art of checkering in 1968 at Sturm, Ruger,
Inc. whose main plant is located here in Newport
NH.
In
the 1970's, I worked for two local checkering
companies, Morrow's Checkering Service and Yankee
Checkering. Those
were the days when hand-cut checkering
was
plentiful before the invention of the computerized
checkering
machines.
Working at home, we did a lot of production
checkering for Remington, Winchester and Savage
Arms. In
the 1990's, I returned
to Ruger for six years until they went
to the machines, then accepted an offer to go to
work for H & R 1871, checkering at home
again.
Three
years later, you guessed it ... the machines
took them over so
I've been doing custom work in my home
ever since. My customers include various gun
shops, retailers
and stockmakers around
New England and several southern and
mid-western states, as well as private individuals
and collectors looking
for excellent handcrafted
checkering. I have also been doing
work
for Remington's Custom Shop for about 10 years now.
The
idea of checkering tabletops just came to me one
day when I was thinking about taking my craft to
another level. If it's made of wood, I will try
it! The best wood for checkering is walnut, though
I've done maple, birch, cherry, laminate and even
a box lid made of pine ... an interesting experience.
It is a challenge that I enjoy. The more difficult
the design, the more I like seeing the final result.
That lead me to checker the back of a guitar which
you will see further on. Tables should have a glass
top custom cut to fit in order to protect the checkering
from damage.
Contact
MaryLou of Against-the-Grain Creations by email
at: dustydesigns
@ myfairpoint.net (remove
spaces)
or
click here for our contact form.
Small
Table Tops
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Owl
in Moonlight |
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Dragon |
Some
years ago, I did exhibits and demos at
gun shows and craft shows around New England.
I enjoyed
meeting
the public
and talking about my craft but, after a while,
just didn't have the time to keep it up.
I have picked
up several blue
ribbons at area craft shows for my gun and
table designs including Best of Show.
I
don't have any formal training in art; whatever
I have is just there in the genes. There have been
a few professional artists in my ancestry and most
of my family members have hobbies of different
artistic varieties. I hope you will enjoy viewing
my samples and I welcome any comments you might
have. Please use the contact form below to send a comment
or request more information.
Just
to be clear, I don't make, build or sell gunstocks
or tables. I strictly do the checkering
on pieces that customers send to me, usually
by UPS or Fedex. Guns must be completely dissasembled
and only the stock should be sent. I do not work
on fully assembled guns.
A
lot of my designs have a western theme or an
animal theme. I also do lettering or initials.
I definitely
welcome suggestions
about any other design ideas that you
might have in mind. If you can imagine it, I can
probably
come up with something
for you.
Elvis on back of guitar
The
Corbin Covered Bridge
Coffee Table Project
This
coffee table design was done as a commemorative
of the Corbin Covered Bridge in Newport, New
Hampshire, which was destroyed by arson in 1993.
The arsonist was never apprehended. I donated
this as the first prize in a raffle to raise
money for a local man who was also a burn victim
in a fire at his home.
The
original Corbin Bridge was built around 1835
and was a local historical landmark. It was named
for the prominant Corbin family, important to
Newport history. The City of Newport voted to
replace the bridge with a replica of the original.
A master bridgewright was hired for the job and,
in 1994, the bridge was rebuilt the old-fashioned
way and pulled into place by a team of oxen.
There
was a festival and people came from far and wide
to witness the unusual event. Another festival
was held the following year and this table was
raffled at that time. Before sketching the design,
I researched many different subjects such as
bridge construction, horse anatomy, carriages,
period clothing, stonework, trees, reflections
in water, and I also worked from photos of the
new bridge.
I
wanted the couple riding in the carriage to have
eye contact with the viewer to make the connection
from past to present. The lettering reads "Corbin
Covered Bridge Newport, N.H. Reflections Through
Time - 1835 - 1995 and Beyond". The actual
checkering time totalled over 700 hours which
was spread out over a five month period, working
nights and weekends, in addition to my daily
job at Ruger. I was relieved when the end came
and I could get back to" normal" but
I was very pleased with the finished product.
The
following slideshow depicts the Corbin Bridge
table
in various stages of the process:
Checkering
Repair
I
guess it goes without saying that I also do touch-ups
and re-cuts
on old or worn checkering. If someone
has given you a bad or sloppy checkering job with
mistakes, in most
cases, I can straighten it out one way or another.
I'm referring to points that don't match up, crooked
borders,
ridges, specks of finish left on points, crooked
lines, lost lines, nicked borders, no uniformity
in the overall
pattern (meaning that some lines are deeper
than others giving an uneven look to the pattern).
Checkering
Tools
