How to Checker a Gunstock Presented by Larry Potterfield | MidwayUSA Gunsmithing 

This is in no way difficult from a technical standpoint, but the patience required and the desire to rush and finish would make it completely out of my scope. I admire people with the tenacity and calmness to do this kind of thing.

Purgatory: endlessly checkering a stock listening to that music. Heaven: a well checkered stock.

Man I hope there are people in the younger generations that are perfecting crafts like this because God knows I'm not.

This is an example of mastering your craft and then having the confidence to pass your knowledge on to those with an interest and patience to also develop the skill..... Terrific!

I found an old set of checkering tools at a swap meet. I have started practicing on some scrap lumber and am learning the art of patience. Thanks for all the knowledge Larry! You make even the most difficult of skills come to reality for a lot of people. I, for one, am a big fan! Keep up the great work!

I love how Larry present these types of videos in longer length now rather than just 4 to 5 minutes segments so I can appreciate the workmanship required for these types of fine gunsmithing and maybe buy some some more tools and supplies for my next projects. Keep them coming. Thank you.

We had to re-upload this video several times as there were a few errors in the upload process that caused the video to skip during playback; this was likely due to the length of the video. Fortunately it's working properly now. Thanks for Your Business!

this music makes me feel like I'm on a hunt in the safari

i cant believe 2 things 1.i watched the whole video even thought theres no way im ever gonna be able to do that and 2. the patience this guy has

after watching the entire video, I think that background music will haunt my nightmares.

Watching your videos Larry is an equivalent of a fishing weekend with sunny weather-pure relaxation and awe

It doesn't just take patience, its a strong appreciation for what you have and a passion for guns.

The ingenuity of our previous generations never ceases to amaze me.

That takes a patience I'll never have. Nice work.

Absolutely fascinating. It shows what a truly skilled person can accomplish with patience and experience. Exceptional work. Thanks for the video

THIS is a very good video! Well produced, filmed and has great sound. I just happened to see the title and thumbnail in the suggestions and thought it looked interesting since I've never seen this technique done before ( I am only aware of how it looks on a rifle butt ). I found this absolutely amazing to actually see someone do this! Mr. Potterfield sure seems like a master at this...lots of great talent and years of experience! Thanks for the post Midway!

You do beautiful work, sir. And your instructions are clear and concise. The production values are also excellent. Thanks for the great video.

Nice to watch a master at work. Thanks Larry. It is beautiful.

Larry, you have got more patience than I ever will! I'm not even doing the checkering and I am feeling my patience wear thin...lol Hats off to you and great tutorial! Love the work you do and God Bless!

I could listen to you all day your voice is almost hypnotic in a good way and every word full of experience knowledge and nicely spoken, as complicated but for the laymen easily understood 😊

Great video. Larry should have his own weekly tv show. The man has serious skill and even more patience. I could never even attempt to do the checkering on a pricey stock.

Cool work! Craftsmanship and patience shown here by Larry! Congratulations!

You're such a good teacher, Larry.

All the best down here from South Africa. The more I check all those interesting fire arms you show, the more I wish I can stay there. Good, fantastic work you done as well the explaining how you progress. I have learn a lot and look forward to have you on board.

I don't know how many times I have dreaded doing something myself, but am reassured that everything is possible with the right tools after watching a Larry video.

A true art form! Thanks Larry! I truly enjoyed our rainy day discussion about the "ideal" back up guide gun for Alaska.

Made the mistake of watching this well past bed time, and woke up later on my sofa. The music you have softly playing in the background plus the detail work put me out faster than a glass of warm vanilla milk. My brain was like, "Nah, this is cool, but we're gonna take a nap!" Better watch this again when I'm more awake. :)

Wow. Beautiful work. Takes some some serious dedication, concentration, and years of practice.

Nice video and well demonstrated. Nice to see how others work!! I wish these videos were around 30 years ago. Thank you.

well this blows my painters tape and pocket knife theory out of the water. lol

Mr Potterfield sir you have a real deep knowledge pool. You are not only the top man in the company but you seem to have no limits to your talent. I love watching all of your videos, often spending an evening watching your videos. Thankyou Roger

Great video, I followed Larry right along. Nothing better than hand cut checkering, especially when you did it yourself. Now I just really want to go on safari after the soundtrack lol

What beautiful and meticulous work. I always thought that the checkering on our model 70's was done by machine. I appreciate it much more now.

I came here thinking "Sweet, I'm gonna learn how to checker" After watching the video ... nope.

Enjoyed watching your craftsmanship, and your pride in your work. Thank you.

Great job as always Larry. Thanks for your step by step instructions.

Whoa! This is some serious fine detail craftsmanship....excellent work!

Wow, that looks incredible. You sir sure know what you are doing!

RU-vid GOLD! I bet the one thumbs down guy must do this work for a hefty price & probably hates to see Mr. Potterfield teach this intricate work! Lol, thank you MidwayUSA! Best video... ever!

so nice to watch you work Larry !

The best tutorial on hand checkering I've ever seen. Thanks

Wow , how skilful is that. Amazing Craftsmanship 👍

I am an old retired carpenter and find this Checkering very rewarding. My shop fire burned the stocks off my old guns, including a Stevens single 25 cal. patented in Apr. 17th , 94. Great work Mr. Potterfield, !!!

New respect for Larry Potterfield.

Very nice work. Top notch video. I really enjoy the slow tempo and thorough explanations of the process. Many thanks!

I never knew this was done by hand i always thought a machine ran the lines. Thats truly remarkable craftsmanship

The suspense is palpable. Amazing video

this looks like a great way for me to ruin my stock!

Absolutely beautiful work

Wow! Beautiful! As said before, a lost art. Soon as I have time, I'll checker my own stocks!

i see why guns hold such an attraction to the owner..not only what it does..but how it looks..feels..involves all of the senses basically..

You are the "real deal" ! This like watching Henry Ford personally using each machine to build a model T. I am a customer and will always be one .You deserve every sale !

You are not a gunsmith....you are an artist.

I started checkering about 45 years ago. In the beginning, I improvised clamps that would not damage the stock. Once I built my checkering cradle it made things so much more pleasant. I put off building one for years until finally set aside time to build it. Works great. Glad you told everyone about a checkering cradle. Now, my only problem is eyesight. Can't beat the clock. Hard to find good eye pieces/magnifiers. Nice video.

LARRY you are the man!! as always great work and another great video! 5 stars...God Bless!

excellent eyes and patience.

You are one skilled craftsman ! Beautiful work

If I ever need micro-surgery, I am calling you! Patience, and attention to detail is obviously key.... pretty much in everything worth doing. Nice work !!! And very nice tutorial.

One thing I like about Larry is when he says what he likes. Too many people are apologetic about what they like. My tastes might be different than Larry's but/and when he says what he likes doesn't offend me.

Beautiful work Mr P.

You sir have the patience of a saint ... great video🤠👍

Looks great! I like these longer, more detailed videos, thank you.

God bless these craftsmen. They add spice to life. Thank you for uploading this info

This has definitely changed my life

Hmm lemme try...*Cutter slips and fucks up the entire stock*

Mr. Potterfield THIS is awesome and titanic work! Great respect!

I love these videos, the knowledge this man has is amazing

Already converted my 870's pressed "checkering" into cut checkering and am expanding from there. These videos from Midway have been a great help. My only issue is I keep trying to blow the sawdust off the checkering during the videos ;-)

Larry,you are truly an American hero to the firearms world!

What a talent! Very nice! Thanks for posting.

Beautiful work and very skilled work indeed, not all that simple like you make it look I've done a few but never turned out as good and precise as yours,mine looked like crap lol.

This was awesome. Great craftsmanship!

Larry Potterfield is awesome !!

33 minutes well spent. Man is great at what he does

Love your work, love your presentation, and I find the music rather pleasing.

Fascinating. I had no idea what was involved. Thank you...

Pay attention children. This is a Master Craftsman in his element. Thank You Mr. Pottersfield...Great video on a craft that seldom sees the light of day.

That Wesley- Richards is a beautiful and unique rifle

Gosh I just wish I could do this all the time. Beautiful work.

Fantastic video. It is a lot of work, and even more patience.

Wonderful video. Your work s amazing Mr. Potterfield!

The easiest way I found is to make a pattern on a piece of paper to exact size, reversing it to other side of grip, now it is exactly same. To reduce overruns I found it much easier after lightly marking the design, to use 2 layers of standard yellow paper tape to define the outside border lines, carefully cutting the points and piecing them in exactly, I use this as a guide to follow for the outline cut as well, if I run-over when checkering, I'll run over unto the tape. I use tape for the 2 first master guide lines as well, much easier with the tape to contour smoothly and simply cut using the tape as a guide. I'll use a double line cutter, following the first cut line and cut the new one, making sure depth is same, otherwise lines will not be evenly spaced. Short backward cutter is only way to go when you finish up the ends to depth, you don't want to run over now. Stop often, don't push yourself, you'll screw up. Keep work clean for easier visual. If a line takes off on you, stop, get a piece of tape, correct the line with the tape, follow the tape starting from the opposite end. Try an 18 line cutter first on an old 22LR, move up to the 20 line later. Don't try to do it all in one sitting.

definitely skilled craft & left to the professionals. no way I could do this without a mistake. very cool, really sets off the gun

I always wondered how it was done before laser s I have to say it’s one of the most amazing skills one wrong scribe and it’s a very bad day. Thanks for the education I’ll look at old guns with checking on. In a different way in the future.

Really admire your vast knowledge of firearms.Wish you were my neighbor.

Dang Larry, that's on point. Beautiful work. That's the boss showing how it's done.

I really like the longer videos. Thanknyou for yourntime to make these videos

Nice video and I admire Larry's talent to do this very time consuming procedure. The background music had me thinking that any second a Japanese samurai was going to jump out and start swinging a sword.

Mr. Larry Potterfield, all I can say is," WOW! That was simply AMAZING!" You have so much skill, I have the utmost respect for you sir! Great Job! And Great Video! Thank you for this! Later... -Korie G.

Good God, those are beautiful rifles. Especially that takedown. Oh, this is a video about checkering? I just spent the last 15 minutes looking up Westley Richards.

This man makes it look so effortless

Beautiful work.

I liked the music 😌 really enjoyed watching that checkering lovely work !

Beautiful work!

There’s no way! After watching this im just going to leave it. This guys a master craftsman, he’s on another level. Possibly from another planet haha

It just ain’t fair for one man to get all that knowledge and ability! It doesn’t leave enough know how for anyone else!! The mans a genius!!

Amazing to see how that's done. Don't think I would ever have the skill or patience myself.

great work! I love this stuff. A true craftsman.

Damn ! A lot of work you have done ! Thumb up!

I didn't even have the patience to watch this short (in comparison to how long this actually takes)video. I fast forwards about 15 times. Nice job!