Ilion Parkers

[Tom Flanigan]

Just one more note.....I may have misunderstood your comment Dean. If by "finely" cut you mean mullered borders that are straight without running into the other border lines, these are still easy to do. When I speak of fine mullered borders I mean those cut very thin such as those on the early Parkers. Later Parkers often exhibit wider mullered borders.

If you are looking at mullered borders that creep into the two other border lines or are not straight and even, they were done by someone not competent or someone who is competent but didn't give a damn and cut them quickly. It is not hard to do them right if you know what you are doing.

[Dean Romig]

Originally Posted by Tom Flanigan

Dean, finely cut mullered borders are indeed easy to cut for a person competent at checkering.

That makes me wonder then why only a few checkerers cut finely mullered borders these days.

Case in point -

First 3 pictures are an original Parker Bros. stock with finely cut mullered borders.

Next 2 pictures shows recut mullered borders by a highly respected gunsmith/stockmaker.

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[Tom Flanigan]

I have no idea why only a few checkers cut mullered borders. I hate to see a restored Parker without them. To me it is a sign of laziness or incompetence. They are nothing more than a line cut with a file or concave cutter. In my opinion, they are no more difficult than any other part of the checkering process. But you do need to be careful to keep the muller perfectly straight and in the middle of the other two border cuts. A guide line and slow and careful cutting is all that is required, the same as any other cut you make when checkering.

[Tom Flanigan]

Dean, the last two pictures contain errors probably resulting from being quickly cut and not sufficient attention to detail. The mullers are uneven, the mullers on the meeting lines are not finished so that they meet each other and the muller runs into the two surrounding border lines. Thats not the way I do it Dean. Attention to detail is critical to getting them right. These mullered borders look to me like the person checkering wanted to finish the job and didn't pay sufficient attention to detail in this last part of the process. Not good.

[Dean Romig]

I know and it bothers me. It almost looks like he cut them with a pneumatic "wiz wheel".





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[Bill Murphy]

OK, who wuzzee?

[Dean Romig]

Whereas this is only my opinion, he shall remain anonymous.





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[Bob Jurewicz]

This is a Repro I had the borders done on and I am very happy with them.
Bob Jurewicz