I have cleaned the finish from the fore end and I have identified a split in the knuckle end ear that I will have to close up before proceeding with checkering.
There is a small amount of oil in the wood at the knuckle end that I would like to extract as much as possible without discoloring the wood. Any and all suggestions welcome. I have removed oil on another project gun (Lefever) but in that case I was able to work with the entire fore end wood and not just one end.
Fore end with finish removed:
Fore end split at the knuckle ear: