I feel like it's these really late nights where I get either really good or stupid ideas but anyways here goes.

I'm really thinking of doing some checkering on a skeletonized buttplate (the wood face on the inside, which is a walnut burl and hard as a rock) that i'm working on.

Looking around, haven't checked Brownell's but MidwayUSA has a bunch of Dem-Bart checkering tools that fit my price range and look like they're begging to be bought and practiced with.

Could any experienced person please show me the way? Would I be fine to get some checkering tools and wood (similar to what I'll be working on) and go at it and then hit the walnut stock when I'm comfortable?

First off I'd get Monte Kennedy's book on checkering from Brownell's. The Dembart tools are excellent. Get a viener and jointing tool to go along with the kit if their not included.

Get some checkering oil. This is a thin finish that hardens up the wood and makes getting good points easier. It keeps the wood from tearing while checkering. Brownell's has some great patterns that are made like decals for standard checkering patterns and these are much easier for beginners than doing your own layout.

Checkering on end grain is probably the hardest of all the checkering to do. Get some hardwood blocks and practice with them before doing any gunstocks. Starting with some uncheckered stocks is usually the easy way after you've become proficient with the practice blocks. I did a bunch of old 22 rifle stocks prior to starting in on "nice" guns.

Be sure your butt plate is completely fitted to the rifle stock prior to beginning checkering.

Good lock Ekoch.

A good item to pratice on is a baseball bat. I had a guy that was very good at hand checkering tell me that years ago.

I knew that the burl was going to be difficult to work with when I tried curving it a little by moving a rough wood rasp across it and it barely scratched it.

Ekoch,
I got the Dem-Bart "Master Set" about a year or so ago, and they worked well. I recheckered a Win Mod 70 XTR stock that had the checkering knocked down from a sanding/refinishing job years ago (by yours truly). Can't say that I've done any end grain or burl that you'll be doing, but I'd bet that any of the sets would experience the same difficulties. Good luck; it's a labor of love.

Great advice faucettb. Although Brownells has discontinued the patterns. I'd also recommend the DVD by Joe Balickie. It's pretty good (video quality is a little low) and if you don't want to buy it you can rent it from smartflix.