Fuzzy checkering on Anschutz 1712

[Ed]

I picked up my new rifle today. When I got home and removed it from the plastic I found checkering that appeared fuzzy. It is difficult to tell how sharp it would be if the fuzz were not there. The places that are not fuzzy are decent, but not as sharp as my other cut checkered rifles. Should I expect the fuzz to wear off? Could anyone share their experience with fuzzy checkering. I am going to call the seller tomorrow, but would like some perspective on best/worst case. My googling didn't reveal much, but some people suggest that this phenomenon is due to wood quality. Other than the fuzz, the rifle and stock seem very nice. The figure in the wood is good, not great.

Thanks in advance for any responses.

Ed

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Its not a parker shotgun. Rub it down with denim to kinda debur it and smooth it out a bit

 

[jrm850]

You can make them shine like real diamonds if you really want to take on a project. I have to warn you though, chasing checkering is for a young mans eyes.

When I was carving a stock out something softer like Claro, I would layout the checkering with a half depth cut and then paint the pattern with some form of penetrating sealer that would dry pretty hard. After letting that cure well I went to finished depth and the facets shined like they thought they were from Turkey. I've tried several different finishes as hardeners like CA glue, polyurethane, linseed with japan drier etc. The best was probably thinned west systems epoxy using the slow tropical hardener. Thin CA worked but was a disaster when it got near existing finishes. I used linseed in cases where I had to match color. In gunsmithing school we just soaked the whole carved blank in varathane for about 24 Hours which accomplished roughly the same thing. Not really relevant for your situation, but the varathane is pretty easy to work with and widely available.
If you decide to try it remember this rule about checkering- Rotate the stock under a straight cutter. Never try to chase a curve by changing the angle of the cutting tool. Good luck.

 

[Ed]

Thank you both. I will try to rub a little more on it tomorrow, when I can get back to it. I didn't have much luck yesterday and am concerned of wearing on the peaks if the wood is soft. I am leaning toward a solution similar to what jrm850 described. I have heard there is a good stock guy locally, so I may let him have a go. I was planning on shortening the stock for myself and punching or lasering a shim kit to keep it serviceable for others. Maybe I will let him bed it and have a go at the rest-better shoot it first an go from there.