have bought me a big plastic pan now i got to get somelaquer thinner.i have the stock back off the gun..the stock probably needs the checkering recut would you do this rite after soaking the stock or when is the best time..i will have to farm the checkering out.. charlie

Charlie,
Believe it or not, the proper way to do checkering is at the very end of the refinishing process, after the new finish has been applied.

I like to make a pan lid out of aluminum foil and pinch it down tightly around the edges to keep solvent evaporation to a minimum. You will likely need a second batch of solvent, for after the first one turns tea colored with dissolved oil. I also use Easy Off foaming oven cleaner on the inlet areas of the stock to take off the biggest part of the goo and grime that embeds in the rough wood grain. Coax it out gently with a tooth brush or other soft plastic brush, rinse with water, and repeat the process a couple times. You will be amazed how much oily goop and accumulated debris will come out of the inletted rough areas. I once cleaned a coastal G grade stock that way and recovered enough beach sand, along with other crud, to cover the palm of my hand.

i got a good plastic lid with my pan..that surprized me about the checkering...will get some easy off too...charlie

I was wondering if there is anywhere were one can obtain a trip spring and pin assembly in this day and age. I currently don't need one but the reason I ask is that I have a friend that needed one a while back. He talked me in to pulling one out of a favored Trojan and sending it to my father to copy. He sent a new one back that he made and with lamp black and two swipes with the file it fit right in. Seeing how small it was I thought it might have been a good idea to have him make more than one but I did not. Would have been a good idea. He's 92 now and I no longer ask him to machine for me.

Don't use a plastic pan for the acetone! It will dissolve the pan.

You beat me to the punch on the acetone and the pan! I think acetone works a lot better than lacquer thinner. You've got to keep it covered for sure, or you won't have much after a couple days.