REDHEAD
Well-Known Member
Maybe I missed it. Are you removing the forward pressure point found on Remingtons, Weatherby's (ie) ?
Bedding A Rifle By Pat Sheehy
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baldhunter
Well-Known Member
Yes.Pressure point was removed and barrel was fully free floated.
REDHEAD
Well-Known Member
Thank You. I am not an engineer or gunsmith, but seems the action bolts should be enlarged to the next size because of additional weight being added to them. I have always marveled how those skinny scope screws hold up . lightbulb
baldhunter
Well-Known Member
Mine are too.
leadchukr
Member
Thanks for all the advice, its primarily a sporting rifle and if necessary a long shot of 450 might be taken with it. I may try a bedding job to see for myself if it will give my Savage any accuracy.
REDHEAD
Well-Known Member
I have an old 600 Rem. would be a good starter gun . The barrel is all ready free floated . I would also like to pillar bed it at that time. An inch an half to two inches is all the bedding material you recommend forward of the recoil lug ? Thanks for the info. 
devildogandboy
Well-Known Member
i really enjoyed the article and it was very informative. i have been reading many different articles on the bedding process before i attempt my own. i did like that you were using an Savage rifle and had some pics to clarify what you were doing as you went along. there are some things from this i can use and a few things i have read elsewhere that also will be used.
thank you for printing this article.
thank you for printing this article.
Bullet bumper
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- May 20, 2009
- Messages
- 1,045
I would like to cover a few things that I did not like.
1/ I would not hold the forstock in any vice even with slight pressure as it will distort the stock to some degree . Better to hold the butt and allow the forstock to just rest on a block for support.
2/ For a beginner I would not leave the epoxy to fully harden , because if you have made mistakes with , release agents , dams , taping etc . you could end up with a glue in . Better to monitor the left over epoxy until it is just hard enough to resist distortion but not hard enough to make it difficult to get the action out and possibly crack the stock .
The temperature and the type of epoxy will control the time it takes.
3/ I don't like using the action screws to pull the action down for bedding . If mistakes are made and epoxy gets into the screw threads it can be a nightmare.
Also uneven pressure on the two screws can create a slightly stressed bedding job. Better to get two bedding shafts that are a slightly larger diameter with the same thread as the action screws but are a long shaft that sticks out well below the stock . This way the action screw threads are protected before the action goes together and there is something sticking out to clamp onto to unscrew them if disaster strikes , which is what I do anyway as it makes it much easier to get the action out once the shafts are gone . Also once the action is pressed down by hand in this manner you just tape the action down front and back .
4/ Beginners should note that the recoil lug taping in this example in the article is correct for a Rem 700 and Mod 70 style recoil lug but not for a Mauser style lug where the screw goes into the base of the lug . Mausers should have no clearance on the bottom of the lug .
Not putting anything down just discussing the article and adding my thoughts.
1/ I would not hold the forstock in any vice even with slight pressure as it will distort the stock to some degree . Better to hold the butt and allow the forstock to just rest on a block for support.
2/ For a beginner I would not leave the epoxy to fully harden , because if you have made mistakes with , release agents , dams , taping etc . you could end up with a glue in . Better to monitor the left over epoxy until it is just hard enough to resist distortion but not hard enough to make it difficult to get the action out and possibly crack the stock .
The temperature and the type of epoxy will control the time it takes.
3/ I don't like using the action screws to pull the action down for bedding . If mistakes are made and epoxy gets into the screw threads it can be a nightmare.
Also uneven pressure on the two screws can create a slightly stressed bedding job. Better to get two bedding shafts that are a slightly larger diameter with the same thread as the action screws but are a long shaft that sticks out well below the stock . This way the action screw threads are protected before the action goes together and there is something sticking out to clamp onto to unscrew them if disaster strikes , which is what I do anyway as it makes it much easier to get the action out once the shafts are gone . Also once the action is pressed down by hand in this manner you just tape the action down front and back .
4/ Beginners should note that the recoil lug taping in this example in the article is correct for a Rem 700 and Mod 70 style recoil lug but not for a Mauser style lug where the screw goes into the base of the lug . Mausers should have no clearance on the bottom of the lug .
Not putting anything down just discussing the article and adding my thoughts.
TracySes23
Well-Known Member
I agree with you Yobuck,
I glass bedded my first & only bolt action rifle 40 years ago with Brownells Acrglas. I followed their instructions with a couple of minor changes. I just had the stock off last night and it fit as snug as it ever did. No resistance lifting it out of the stock and no play in the fit between the stock and action putting it back together. I especially like their release agent. I think it was one of the reasons it fit so good.
I used a rotary hand grinder to remove a layer of wood approximately 1/8"- 3/16" everywhere I wanted the bedding to go. I believe the layer of thicker bedding made the stock stronger in that area and also completely sealed the wood from any moisture that might get in that area.
I can understand keeping the bottom of the lug from being bedded to avoid problems from heat expansion, but it's completely beyond me why the back side of the lug should be relieved to avoid the bedding to touch it. Id the action can move rearward, it could conceivably move backwards when it's fired. Especially on hard kicking big bores. Why would anyone want to depend on the action screw to keep the action from moving rearward. Also, why would the action moving rearward be a good thing?
Maybe there's a good reason I can't think of. Anyone that knows a good logical reason, please educate me. Sometimes the answer is right in front of my nose & I can't see it.
PPR
Well-Known Member
The front of the lug is relieved, not the back. Unless you want more bedding compound behind the lug for strength. Either way the lug is fully supported on the back. I would never use 5 minute epoxy for bedding. Use marine tex or devcon. Action screw holes need to be opened up so no contact is made with screws.
Regards, Paul
Regards, Paul
Smokestick
Active Member
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2015
- Messages
- 32
Soon I will get my barrel and action back from my smith, and will attempt my first bedding job. I have been stressing about it, and read and watched everything, I can get my hands on. You are the first to go from start to finish, step by step. Thank you, you cleared up a lot of questions I had, and I feel, a little more confident now that I have read your article, well done sir. When the time comes, if I have more questions, I know where to find answers
I have only bedded a few rifles, but I do have nearly 40 years of experience working with epoxies. Five minute epoxy has only a few good characteristics; one, it's available in small quantities and two, it cures quickly. Absolutely every other feature is less desirable than those found in longer setting epoxies. Five minute isn't as resistant to water, every physical property is relatively low including strength and hardness, the viscosity is too low for easy bedding, and it has higher shrinkage.
Actually, when it comes to bedding, the speed of cure is a definite drawback and may be the one thing which will lead to disappointment in a process which otherwise isn't too difficult for the first-time DIY home gunsmith.
Devcon 10110 is the preferred product for bedding. It is superior in every way when compared with 5 minute epoxy, especially when it comes to viscosity. The only drawback is that it comes in 1 pound containers which is way more than you need for one rifle, so the forty buck price might be considered a drawback. A second choice might be JB Weld which is available in several flavors. Use the long setting product filled with steel. It's OK, but a little less viscous than Devcon. However, it's available in relatively small quantities and is much better than any of the 5 minute products.
One last comment. I would say removing the action when the epoxy is partially cured exposes the beginner to potential problems which outweigh the advantages. I prefer to leave the action in the stock until fully cured. A careful cleanup (after the action is settled into the stock but before the epoxy begins to cure) using Q tips and some wooden scrapers made from tongue depressors or Popsicle sticks and plenty of paper towels is well worth the effort. The next day a little trimming in the way of the magazine well, etc. with a Dremmel Tool finishes the job.
Actually, when it comes to bedding, the speed of cure is a definite drawback and may be the one thing which will lead to disappointment in a process which otherwise isn't too difficult for the first-time DIY home gunsmith.
Devcon 10110 is the preferred product for bedding. It is superior in every way when compared with 5 minute epoxy, especially when it comes to viscosity. The only drawback is that it comes in 1 pound containers which is way more than you need for one rifle, so the forty buck price might be considered a drawback. A second choice might be JB Weld which is available in several flavors. Use the long setting product filled with steel. It's OK, but a little less viscous than Devcon. However, it's available in relatively small quantities and is much better than any of the 5 minute products.
One last comment. I would say removing the action when the epoxy is partially cured exposes the beginner to potential problems which outweigh the advantages. I prefer to leave the action in the stock until fully cured. A careful cleanup (after the action is settled into the stock but before the epoxy begins to cure) using Q tips and some wooden scrapers made from tongue depressors or Popsicle sticks and plenty of paper towels is well worth the effort. The next day a little trimming in the way of the magazine well, etc. with a Dremmel Tool finishes the job.
