A mini cradle for checkering

[Larry (Omaha)]

Hey guys, 40 or so years ago, using a blank stock, I put together a double barrel 12 gauge flintlock shotgun. I never checkered a stock before, but did that one. Not knowing much, I asked a fellow muzzleloader for some tips. He said, "ya got to have a cradle, so the work moves, not the checker tool"! Well, being the ignorant one, that made sense, so I made one and got the job done. There is no way you can checker without rotating the stock in order to keep the V cutter perpendicular to the curve of the stock. Anyway, here I am today building my first underhammer. (Naw, she ain't a flintlock!) The underhammer is a half stock with of course the receiver between the buttstock and forestock. I didn't want to put the gun together to use a full gun cradle, so I came up with two shorty cradles. (forestock cradle is similar)
The large dowel on the right has a 1/4" dia. washer head wood screw on the end against the plywood to bind for turn resistance. I just screw the base to the workbench and turn on a directed light.
Larry

 

[Old Hawkeye]

Nice idea, Larry. Are the end rods made specific for that buttstock? Can you adjust for length?

 

[Larry (Omaha)]

Nice idea, Larry. Are the end rods made specific for that buttstock? Can you adjust for length?

The dowels are specific for this stock. I would assume that in every buttstock the front and rear would not always be the same. In this case it so happens that the front has a 1/2" threaded hole for the 7" long bolt that connects to the receiver. The rear is larger so an extended socket can tighten the bolt. It is really a custom jig just for this application.
Thanks for asking
Larry