What's in the Box?

[Salt Flat]

SS, The most important thing is to get the first two lines extremely straight and angled to each other properly for the diamond shape. I first draw these on the wood with a sharp pencil and then use an exacto knife to cut these deeper. Use a straight edge to guide the exacto. The cut line will guide your checkering cutter and prevent it from slipping or wandering. Try it on some scrap first. Also to keep the straight edge from slipping around it can be taped on or clamped on. After the first lines are done, the rest is the fun part. Salt Flat

[ssgross]

SS, The most important thing is to get the first two lines extremely straight and angled to each other properly for the diamond shape. I first draw these on the wood with a sharp pencil and then use an exacto knife to cut these deeper. Use a straight edge to guide the exacto. The cut line will guide your checkering cutter and prevent it from slipping or wandering. Try it on some scrap first. Also to keep the straight edge from slipping around it can be taped on or clamped on. After the first lines are done, the rest is the fun part. Salt Flat

Thanks, Salt Flat. I had no problems on the master lines. The trick of using a knife first to score it in, then the veiner chisel is pretty slick. The veiner follows the knife-line like a train on tracks, whereas the single line tool is nearly impossible to keep straight until you have the line started with the veiner.
My challenge was that I don't have a 60 degree single line cutter, only a 90. So even with a perfectly straight master line started with knife, then lightly cut with the chisel, then evened out with a 90 deg. single line cutter,, my next line wouldn't be straight because the guide of the 2-line cutter (which is 60 deg) was wobbling in the 90deg master line. The trick then was to 1) order a 60 deg. single line cutter and/or 2) use the faint line produced after the 60 deg. veiner on the master to get my second line lightly scored, but just as straight as the master line. Then going both ways I can produce 2 perfectly straight and parallel master lines. Just hands-off that 90 degree cutter until you are at depth. Once you switch to it, you can't ever go back.