Bedding Question

[mrb1982]

I am preparing to bed the recoil lug on my Sendero with the HS stock. I got the thing shooting about 1/2 MOA but I am curious if I can just squeak a hair more accuracy out of it. I have been reading for months about this, but am hoping to finally get after it in the next few weeks but I have a few things I want to clarify with some of you experts before I get started so I don't have any problems.

I know that I should put release agent, and plenty of it, on absolutely anything I don't want it to stick too. I get that. But what do I do about the action screws???? Do I coat them with release agent? Even if I do that, it seems to me that the bedding compound that squishes out of the recess for the recoil lug would get into the hole for that front action screw either way. This is one question that I haven't seemed to be able to rationalize in my head properly. I just want to make sure I get it right. Maybe I am just over thinking it but I would rather ask the dumb question than not ask it and get it wrong.

Also, do you leave the bottom metal on when I am bedding the recoil lug?

Lastly, is there a good way to keep the compound from running in front of the lug down the barrel channel after it squishes out or is it just easier to get it out with a dremel or something after the bedding job is done?

Thanks for the help. It doesn't seem like this stuff is not a rocket science but I want to make sure I have a few of the finer details worked out before I get after it. Thanks

 

[Hired Gun]

It's all about being stress free. I wouldn't try to bed only the lug. I would bed the whole action or at the very least around the rear tang and the front receiver bridge including the lug.

I put a blue piece of tape down in the stock in front of the lug and then once cured, mill down to it and when it's thin enough just peel it out leaving the stock perfectly clean. If all your bedding is the lug there should not be much getting any on the front screw. Just use a couple coats of Kiwi neutral shoe polish as a release agent and after about 4 to 6 hours you can pull the front screw. I do it with the bottom metal on to help align the action but do not tighten the screws at all. 1 zip tie at the rear of the action and one around the end at about the front swivel stud. Right where the zip tie goes around it the barrel will have just enough tape around it to center it side to side and assure the show line (ejection port) along the action is perfectly flush.

 

[mrb1982]

So you're putting tape down in front of the lug for a more simple clean up of anything that squishes out in front of the lug?

So I was under the impression that after I put the compound in, I should torque the screws down to spec. You are talking about basically just zip tieing it. That will make things a little easier I think.

So when I reason this out in my head, it seems to me that when the stuff squishes, even if it is a just a little bit, it seems that when I put the screw in, it is gonna push some compound up into the screw hole. I understand that with release agent on there, the screw will come out, but will the little dried particles of compound kinda flake out of there then?

Sorry I ask so many questions, but I am being particular so that when I sit down to do it and go over it a few times before I actually do it, that I am being thorough and get things right. Thanks for all your help.

 

[Hired Gun]

I was thinking full bedding job. The important part is that the action is stress free. I doubt bedding just the lug will help much.

Doing just the lug you will want to torque the action up to spec to make sure your not putting support on the lug in any way and then make even more stress when you tighten up.

 

[mrb1982]

I was thinking full bedding job. The important part is that the action is stress free. I doubt bedding just the lug will help much.

Still trying to decide if I want to take on that big of a project yet or not. I thought a lug would be a good place to start to get my feet wet and see how it does from there.

Doing just the lug you will want to torque the action up to spec to make sure your not putting support on the lug in any way and then make even more stress when you tighten up.

That is kinda what I figured. I have heard a lot of people have pretty good luck doing the lug on these Sendero's. We'll see what I decide I guess.

I guess I will just get some kiwi shoe polish, lub the crap out of absoluetly everything, then lube some more, and give it a whirl.

Does it matter if it is neutral Kiwi polish or if all I can find is black or tan, is that ok? Does color make a difference?

 

[Hired Gun]

Color makes no difference. The clear you can just leave it there as a metal protector when you are done. The colored might make it look funny.

 

[mrb1982]

Color makes no difference. The clear you can just leave it there as a metal protector when you are done. The colored might make it look funny.

Great. Thanks for all your help. You have cleared up most of my questions. Should go pretty smooth now as long as I get enough lube on the screws and their respective holes before I start.

If I decide to just do the lug, and I get them torqued down to spec, do I still remove them after a few hours or leave them in until it's done curing?

 

[Daveinjax]

I have always put the screws into the stock with the heads flush and the threads sticking up. I then butter around them then I set the action down on the screws and tighten. I lube the screws well with the wax so there is no chance the compound can get into the action. I use tape to hold the screws up in place while I set the action on them. It's kind of awkward but it works for me.

 

[mrb1982]

I have always put the screws into the stock with the heads flush and the threads sticking up. I then butter around them then I set the action down on the screws and tighten. I lube the screws well with the wax so there is no chance the compound can get into the action. I use tape to hold the screws up in place while I set the action on them. It's kind of awkward but it works for me.

Sounds like a pretty good plan. Seems to me that as long as you have everything lubed up good with polish, that even if a little gets in the threads, after it dries a little, it should flake out of there, shouldn't it?

 

[Daveinjax]

Yes it does come out . I've had a tiny film squeeze a little into the threads but it just flaked off when I pulled it apart. I also fill the front action screw hole in the action with wax and push it up and out into the action with the screw. That way there is no way bedding compound can squeeze up into the action as the threads are already full of wax. It's probably overkill but I'm not taking any chances.

 

[mrb1982]

Yeah, I am with you. I prefer to not take any chances. That thing is gonna be plugged up good and darn near drowning in release polish. hahaha

 

[Dosh]

MRB, there are a lot of bedding videos on You Tube, sometimes seeing it done helps. The Kiwi Neutral works well as well as the blue painters tape. Maybe some tape on the top edges and sides of the stock with Kiwi on it will keep the "squish" off. If you are uncomfortable with the possibility of epoxying your action to the stock perhaps look into having a smith do it for you. Good luck

 

[Dr. Vette]

Yeah, I am with you. I prefer to not take any chances. That thing is gonna be plugged up good and darn near drowning in release polish. hahaha

Just remember the same thing I tell patients with regard to prescription creams - it's only the part that touches that does any good. Layering it on too thick is a waste since you're going to wipe it off anyway. That's right - it's like waxing a car. Wipe it on, buff it off, and then bed.

To pull in another piece of your comments, I never tighten the screws when bedding. I use a properly threadaed bolt with the head cut off, wrap it with tape so that the diameter will just fit into the screw hole in the action, hit it with Kiwi and bed it. The cutoff bolts align it for you, and you get a stress free bedding job.

Stress-Free Pillar Bedding

As shown in the article above, I use tape on the barrel, as much blue masking tape on the forward bolt as it takes to just make it fit, and let the rear bolt take up the slack by putting less blue tape on it. The tape and forward bolt line up the barrel and action in the stock.

Here is another:
How I Bed Rifles | First Shot Precision

Good luck with your project.

 

[mrb1982]

Dosh, I am not worried about doing the job, I have just read too many horror stories that I don't want to be oneof those stories. I am prett handy, and this seems like something I should be able to handle without any trouble.

Dr. Vette, thanks for the links. I think I got a good grasp on this deal. I am ready to rock. I think I am just gonna do the lug on my first one to just get my feet wet and get used to handling the material and whatnot. Then I will dive in to a full bed after that.