Checkering
& Carving of Gunstocks
by Monty
Kennedy
Hardcover
220 x 280mm
339pp
Published by Stackpoole Books, PA, USA
R.R.P.$79.90
ISBN 0-8117-0630-8
As reviewed in The Australian Woodworker Issue 134
To some people, no rifle or shotgun could ever be attractive, let alone beautiful. To others a particular firearm may be the epitome of beauty.
Checkering & Carving of Gunstocks is squarely aimed at the latter, for it deals with what is essentially a decorative process - the means by which the stock of a weapon is transformed by carving and checkering into a work of art.
It is a solid tome of large format, with well in excess of 300 pages, copiously illustrated with photos and drawings (though exclusively in black and white).
The book begins with a section by the author on the checkering and carving of gunstocks. Checkering is the carved design often seen on the 'small' of a rifle or gun, ie. the part of the weapon around which the trigger hand closes. Clearly, this carving has a practical function but the nature of the design, its extent and execution can add appreciably to the appearance and, indeed, the value of the weapon.
The remainder of the book is devoted to what is essentially a series of essays by some of the finest American craftspeople in this field. Many of these essays are very short, no more than a page or two, and some are much longer. All are explorations of the art and craft of making and decorating gunstocks.
This is a fascinating book to read, simply for its insights into an esoteric world. Although it appears to be intended for the afficiando of the craft, the book would be of equal interest to anyone who might want to make and decorate a single gunstock or, indeed, anyone who might have inherited an old gun and wish to restore its wooden parts to their former glory.
Drawings: Black & White
Units of Measurement: Imperial