[Toothsmith]

I've done the same in the past when replacing bordered checkering panels. Since the checkering pattern covers of much of the forend and goes all the way to the metal I was thinking of laminating a thin veneer to the barrel side of the forend to raise the surface enough to sand flat and re-checker. Ajusting the forend iron and latch inletting accordingly. Depending on how thick the veneer is I can either hide the glue line right at the edge or put the checkering border right on it. That's a great idea for dealing with those reinforcing cross bolts Brian. I have a Folsom 12ga that's hi 90's condition except for a crack in the head "repaired" with a cross bolt. Perhaps a checkered side panel "upgrade" is in it's future.