Pro Bed 2000

[jrock]

I like Pro-Bed and mix by volume. It has a great shelf life and I have used quite a bit of it all the way up to 338 Lapua magnums. I've even used it for epoxy pillars. I started using it about 10 years ago and haven't had any issues with durability. I only had one bedding job not set. Still not sure why but it could have been a poor mix ratio. After 24 hours, I do the clean up work when its still soft enough not to chip when trimming. It takes about a week to fully cure and I don't shoot the rifles during that wait time.

 

[RCMSTER]

Well, I'm no professional, but I've used pro bed 2000 on 1 ruger no 1, 7 ruger 77's, at least 2 savage 110's, 2 winchester70's, and probably a half dozen remington 700's, and at least a couple of muzzleloaders, and I love the stuff. Wouldn't even consider anything else. Shrinkage is minimal to not at all. When it dries, it's as hard as a hammer, and if you do it right, it sure looks purty as well. I'm pretty sure when I measured both ingredients out, I wasn't exactly accurate, but it didn't matter in the least. I don't know how anybody could definitively say that devcon is any better, or whatever. It's worked extremely well for me.

 

[Jud96]

I like Pro-Bed and mix by volume. It has a great shelf life and I have used quite of bit of it all the way up to 338 Lapua magnums. I've even used it for epoxy pillars. I started using it about 10 years ago and haven't had any issues with durability. I only had one bedding job not set. Still not sure why but it could have been a poor mix ratio. After 24 hours, I do the clean up work when its still soft enough not to chip when trimming. It takes about a week to fully cure and I don't shoot the rifles during that wait time.

When you say it takes a week to cure, does it get harder after the first couple days? I am just concerned with how I can scratch this stuff with a fingernail after 36 hours of it curing. I am use to Devcon 10110 that is really hard after 12-16 hours and is difficult to scratch with something like a knife edge or screwdriver tip, my unscientific way to test the cure

 

[340 in Va]

So I bedded a rifle with Pro Bed. I followed the instructions and weighed the resin and hardener using the ratio in the instructions, 100 parts resin to 77 parts hardener. According to Charlie at Score Hi this stuff is very forgiving on the ratio. Well after about 32 hours the bedding is still able to be scratched with a fingernail. This stuff seems much softer than Devcon 10110 or it's not curing properly? The rifle is in my basement and it's about 65 degrees down there. I put a space heater on the bench to warm up the stock and even after 10 hours with the space heater the bedding still isn't any harder. Thoughts? Thank you

Just started to use in last two months, and have used on 6 rifles. Easy to mix and use. 1 to 1 mix and set up faster at 75 or warmer.

 

[Jud96]

Just started to use in last two months, and have used on 6 rifles. Easy to mix and use. 1 to 1 mix and set up faster at 75 or warmer.

How long did it take for your bedding to cure and fully harden? I can still scratch the bedding with my fingernail after 36 hours

 

[jrock]

When you say it takes a week to cure, does it get harder after the first couple days? I am just concerned with how I can scratch this stuff with a fingernail after 36 hours of it curing. I am use to Devcon 10110 that is really hard after 12-16 hours and is difficult to scratch with something like a knife edge or screwdriver tip, my unscientific way to test the cure

I don't know what the specified hardness is between Devcon and Probed. I cannot scratch a smooth finish surface of fully cured Pro-bed with a fingernail. Most epoxies can be scratched with a sharp metal object, depending on the force. I couldn't recommend using that as a "curing" test. That might be a mechanical properties test.
The fact that your waist product appeared to cure well could indicate more time or heat is needed. Give it a couple days. You coudl redo the bedding and keep all products and surfaces over 80 degrees for the full process. Lower temps can really slow down cure. Thin skim bed jobs don't cure as fast as the waist product. The 'blob' of waist product cures faster because the mass holds the heat in from the exothermic reaction. This is my experience based on using many types of 'epoxies'. Hope that helps

 

[JuddL]

The guy I know that uses it told me he has to take it in the house to cure in the winter/spring. His shop isn't under HVAC.

Watching and curious.

 

[RCMSTER]

When I bed a stock, after 8-12 hours, I'll pull the action out of the stock, and clean up any overflow and fill in any voids or imperfections. It's not cured then, but it's definitely pretty hard, and I doubt you'd scratch it with a fingernail. After I'm done with that little task, I'll put the action back in the stock, and tighten up the bolts so as to put a small amount of pressure on between action and stock, and let it sit for about 3-4 days before I do any final tightening down or shooting. It's always worked out well for me.

 

[7Rum Slayer]

I have used Pro Bed for about 10 years now and haven't had any trouble at all. I gave at least 24 hours to cure and always left the extra product on a paper plate so I can monitor the left over for cure and hardness. When cured it is very hard with no shrinkage. I always brought in the house to cure in warmer temps, I am hopeful yours will cure with a little more time. cheers, Jason

 

[msauce1]

With any epoxy's you have to be careful to not use to much hardener. If you do there is a good chance that you will end up with a not fully hardened batch that will take a long time to harden if ever. Learned this in 30 yrs of boat building once the hard way.

 

[340 in Va]

How long did it take for your bedding to cure and fully harden? I can still scratch the bedding with my fingernail after 36 hours

They were hard in 10 to 12 hrs. Did not take apart for 16+ hours; and shot after 48. Keep the mixing cup and checked for hardness with a small screw driver. PS, if use bolts or studs make sure to back them out 3/4 turn and retighten around 5 hr.(just snug). Did not have surgical tubing, so I used the blue exercise band to hold thing in place. So far all rifles have improved accuracy. I've just finish a Rem. Five and CZ 22, both shot good before, but bedding cut groups in half. Found a new hobby, Hope this helps.

 

[jrock]

Bedding is underrated in the hunting world. Most of the people I talk to still don't know about its benefits. Spread the word

 

[Apex Custom Rifles]

I tried it recently and wasn't impressed. I pulled the action after about 24 hours and it wasn't as hard as I would have expected. Excess seemed pretty hard but I cleaned it up in the mill and I could tell it was a tad gummy. Followed the directions to a T. Cleaned up OK, but won't be using it in the future. IMO, if it's still soft, it has the possibility to get distorted when pulling the action or re-installing it. I'm not going to wait a week to pull an action. I'll stick with my Marine Tex.

 

[Jud96]

I tried it recently and wasn't impressed. I pulled the action after about 24 hours and it wasn't as hard as I would have expected. Excess seemed pretty hard but I cleaned it up in the mill and I could tell it was a tad gummy. Followed the directions to a T. Cleaned up OK, but won't be using it in the future. IMO, if it's still soft, it has the possibility to get distorted when pulling the action or re-installing it. I'm not going to wait a week to pull an action. I'll stick with my Marine Tex.

Kinda what I'm seeing. I've used Marine Tex a couple times and used Devcon probably a dozen times or so. They were rock hard in 12 hours.