Finally after much thought and consulting of my wood finishing experts Flexner and Jewitt plus a lot of time experimenting with solvent based wood dye coloring I have achieved the best match I am able to produce for the walnut repair piece and the original Parker forend wood. My watercolor book, 600 Watercolors, by Sharon Finmark helped to get the right mix of yellow-red-brown to create the orange-brown color of the aged walnut. Next step is to begin the shellac finish application. And then on to what started this project... Recutting the checkering.

https://www.jpgbox.com/jpg/62066_500x375.jpg

Cameron great info and i have found you can re sharpen Gunline and Brownell cutters easily with a knife edge file. Bobby

Will you share more detail on doing this sharpening? Brand and size for knife edge file? How do you hold the cutter for sharpening? Other details for success? Thanks.

I believe I have achieved the reddish color tone match using the alkanet red oil. Practice wood from the same period 1890's above with three applications, original Parker stock finish below.

I tried BLO as the first application on the other side of the forend and that produced a color tone with too much brown.

https://www.jpgbox.com/jpg/62096_600x400.jpg

I need some advice. As I make progress on my recutting of the checkering I have arrived at working on the mullered border. The first photo shows the original border with very little wear on the right. I have re-established the border on the left. The original border on the left consisted of a slight amount of original pattern in the form of lines and a slight border profile.

The second photo shows the tools I have for this work. The Dem-Bart cutters are 1) 2-28, 2) BC-N concave, 3) F1, and 4) 4-40 machine screw tool. And a curved blade knife.

As I continue along the checkering pattern I will be losing any pattern lines for the border as it has been completely erased by hand wear. This will make re-establishing the border more difficult.

I watched a YouTube video (MNR Custom, LLC) on this type of border and the fellow uses a 28 lpi cutter to establish the border lines for the mullered border (on a 22 lpi checkering pattern and not a Parker).

A couple of observations at this point.
1: the BC-N cutter is wide and aggressive so care is required to match the original border.
2: there are two lines, one on each side of the border, very thin. How are these cut? Which tool? (see #3)
3: I find that a 2-28 cutter will give me the required center line for the border. Is this a good means to center the border? (yes).
4: The BC-N is used to start the border and the 4-40 tool to finish the mullered border.

https://www.jpgbox.com/jpg/62216_600x400.jpg

https://www.jpgbox.com/jpg/62217_600x400.jpg

If that picture is an example of your own cutting of a mullered Parker border, I think it is about perfect!!

It's not too wide, it's just right. Bravo!

Here's an original unretouched Parker mullered border. Granted, it's a Grade 4 but the grade makes no difference with the mullered border.
There were several different people employed by Parker and Remington during the various periods of production. A few of them employed a more pedestrian interpretation of mullering while the more expert of them employed the wider concave mullering.







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Cameron, I've never used a cradle or a concave cutter. I prefer holding and constantly turning my work as I checker. I use masking tape to lay out master lines. I freehand the muller border with a series of cutters and files. I prefer Dembart and Ullman. I've also made some of my cutters. I don't know if there's a right and a wrong way. I study other's work, if I like it, I'll try to duplicate their cuts. Depth of the cut is important. Your work is looking good! Take your time....

For those interested, and following here are a couple of photos on my progress. The original border on this Parker is only +0.070 wide measured from thin outside border line to opposite border line. This is a 28 lpi pattern. The actual mullered border is even narrower.

This photo shows the worn smooth border on the left:
https://www.jpgbox.com/jpg/62270_600x400.jpg

This photo shows my refurbished border on the right:
https://www.jpgbox.com/jpg/62272_600x400.jpg

A few more lines to go. I need new eyes.

Take your lines all the way to the border and back cut Cameron. It will make your checkering and borders really pop!

I use an S-1 Dembart tool mounted so that the cutter cuts as it is pulled away from the borders and in very tight areas I use an metal engraving tool that is V-shaped to finish around the borders.