Bedding A Rifle By Pat Sheehy

[ADMIN]

I have to start out by saying that I am not a professional and I don't have the time or funds to exhaust every possible option to find the best one. Ask every person that has ever attempted a bedding job what the best materials and procedures are and every one will give a different answer. I've used this procedure on many rifles and have achieved great results and have yet to glue a rifle to a stock. This article is meant to be presented as information to a community of like minded individuals and is by no means the end-all do-all of techniques.
Now that that's out of the way, let's have some fun!
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This is a thread for discussion of the article, Bedding A Rifle, By Pat Sheehy. Here you can ask questions or make comments about the article.

 

[bubbinator]

I have two rifles bedded by a long deceased friend from the USAF MArksmanship Unit, Lackland AFB, TX. One is a Rem 700 HB VArmint Rifle in .223, the other a Mauser 98 30.06 in a Bishop Stock. His work (and the units) differ from yours in that the recoil lug area was not taped and it was even opened up a bit to fill with epoxy to strengthen the stock by adding more area to absorp recoil. I have done the rest of my bolt action rifles the same way. The material he preferred to use was Dev-Con or JB Weld. With the intent being to prevent any action flex and enhance stability the taped recoil lug which leaves empty space puzzles me. Could you please clarify this for me, there is always more to learn and I'd appreciate your experitise. Both the rifles he did for me were late 70s/1980 era and still shoot sub-MOA groups with their favorite loads. Respectfully, GHI

 

[Pdvdh]

I've read numerous times that the only portion of the recoil lug that should be in firm contact with the glass bedding is the rear face. The sides, bottom, and front face of the recoil lug should have clearance after the tape is removed. Particularly the bottom of the recoil lug. With the greater length of steel to the bottom edge of the recoil lug, as the recoil lug heats up it will expand more so the the barrel and could result in the bottom of the recoil lug inpacting the glass bedding and lifting the barrel off the glass bedded barrel channel. The longer the length of a piece of steel, the greater the elongation under the heat of expansion. And the recoil lug is longer that the width of the barrel in the chamber area, and even the action.

Oh yeah... nice photos and description of the glass bedding process. I think I understood it all. lightbulb Thanks for sharing your process with us.

 

[bubbinator]

I appreciate the insight and information. Probably one reason I've never experienced that problem is that around here (SE USA) opportunities to shoot large numbers of rounds at prairie dogs and such don't exist. Load developement, deer/crow/and other targets of opportunity haven't stressed my rifles to heat that much. I will research the issue more for my own edification. Thank you for your reply.

 

[406pat]

Thanks for the kind words all! As I said this is just the method I've been using that seems to work for me. I've noticed a lot of questions on the forums about bedding rifles so I just thought I'd get the party started!

If anyone out there has any questions or advice regarding my process or any others please feel free to share.

Thanks again!

-PJS

 

[rcrdps]

Nice detailed article. I might try this pretty soon. I've done a barrel block before, but never a full action.

One thing though. This isn't exactly "glass" bedding the action. You only used epoxy. Glass bedding would include fiberglass mixed in. I believe you can find "microballoons" at a Hobby Lobby or something. Definitely at a hobby shop. Make sure to mix the epoxy and hardener first, then add the microballoons. Otherwise the epoxy may not get fully mixed. I had this problem with fiberglass resin not too long ago on a different type of project. The resin took days to cure.

Now whether trully glass bedding it will make it that much better, I don't know. Probably not noticeably. But in theory it would be better.

Gene

 

[Chas1]

I've never bedded my own rifle but, am inclined to try it one day. With each article I read I learn a little more. Good read, enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing.

 

[baldhunter]

I like your bedding.I don't think it's a complicated as some try to make it.I've been bedding the lugs on my rifles with 5min epoxy for 18yrs.Anymore,I've got to where I usually just free float and bed the recoil lug.I like the 6min epoxy gel for my bedding these days.It's a little thicker than the 5min epoxy,but either one will work fine.I really like the 5min epoxy for sealing the wood stock when removing the pressure point at the forearm tip.I just put a little on the finger tip of a nitrile gloved hand and wipe it over the sanded area to seal it.Works great.Here's some photos of one I did Flickr: baldhunter's Photostream rifle was a great shooter.I hadn't shot it for a while and when I took it to the range,it wouldn't shoot worth a darn.I removed the stock and found the finish had a reaction to a lubricant used on it and stuck to the barrel.I also noticed the recoil inlet was not making full contact with the rear of the recoil lug,so I removed the pressure point at the tip and sealed it,then put some Snow Seal as a releasing agent on the recoil lug,filled the recoil inlet about 1/2-3/4 full with 6min epoxy and put her back together.She now will shoot 1/2" groups.

 

[yobuck]

good informative article. my only comment would be the use of acra glass gel from brownells. i feel its much easier to use.

 

[Chas1]

baldhunter, good pics, thanks for sharing your link.

 

[leadchukr]

Very informative article. I have two questions, will bedding a sythetic stock really make much of a difference and will the bedding last long in a synthetic stock? I have a Savage Model 11 in 243 that I am thinking of either doing a bedding job or simply getting a new stock.

 

[406pat]

Hate to answer your question with another question but what are you looking to get out of the rifle? If it's a brush gun that just needs to hold MOA out to 200 yards then no bedding probably won't make much of a difference. If you're looking to extend the effective range of a gun by tightening up groups, then the more you can stabilize the action and reduce stress induced by the stock the better.

I've seen people modify Savage tupperware and come up with pretty good stocks. Most of the pretty standard stuff is bedding and then reinforcing the forend with fiberglass, epoxy, threaded rod, etc.

If you are looking for the most accuracy out of your rig, I would recommend bedding if you get a new stock or keep the synthetic one. ( With a caveat. Some stocks with bedding blocks are designed specifically to not need bedding. The Whidden Block jumps to mind as an example) With the variability in action making and stock making, it's pretty much dumb luck if you get a stock that fits your action without imparting some sort of stress on it. There may be others but epoxy bedding is the simplest method that I've found to custom fit an action to a stock.

As far as how long bedding will last, I've heard people bad mouthing certain epoxies saying that they are brittle or degrade. I personally have never actually seen any epoxy bedding fail. Mine sure haven't and I can't say that I've been careful about keeping solvent and things off of them. If anyone has an example of bedding failing or degrading I'd hope they'd share as all I've experienced is talk.

 

[406pat]

A couple other comments;

Like baldhunter, I've switched over to using a gel epoxy to do most of my bedding. It's so much easier when the epoxy stays where you put it! I recently read about a guy using dryer lint to thicken epoxy and give it some structure, similar to mixing in fiberglass. I'm planning on giving that a try in the near future too to see how that works out.

I've also switched from bearing grease as a release agent to using clear Kiwi shoe polish. It gives a really thin layer and isn't nearly as messy.

 

[sp6x6]

I like pro bed or have used JB weld quite a bit. I like to throw in some score high alum. pillars, they are action specific and threaded so you can micro adjust, and only $10 bucks, probaly less if you know how to source them.