Which is better bedding??
- Thread starter elwskw
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Justice1327
Well-Known Member
IMO, I would still skim bed if my stock came with aluminum blocks. I also slightly enlarge the action screw holes to ensure no contact w/ the action screws. If your stock doesnt have any alum blocks, I would put pillars in and bed the action. This said, I have a 308 that I skim bedded that shoots 3/8 grps and put it into a chassis stock that I bought here in LRH. POI changed but the group is still the same. Getting ready to try a chassis stock on a factory 6.5 creed varmint that shoots 1moa, to see if it improves enough I don't have to bed. If it works out I may start getting chassis stocks to save tim, due to the amount of tinkering I do. WRT weigh...I like a little weight to keep down on recoil and balance. Personal preference.
Dr. Vette
Well-Known Member
They're not the same.
Some stocks have aluminum built into the structure. They're made to fit "every" rifle in a certain configuration. As a result they will flex less than a cheap plastic stock, but still don't fit perfectly. Generally you do not pillar bed these as the aluminum is the pillar. However, for best fit you will glass/epoxy bed them to your action.
Pillar bedding usually refers to pillars that are added to a rifle that does not have the aluminum. This can be done to a fiberglass, carbon fiber or wood stock. I just did this to a wood stock for a Mauser action, and have done it to a wood stock for a Remington. These are glass/epoxy bedded in place if done by you or a gunsmith. At times the pillars could also be installed by the stock manufacturer, but as with the aluminum above the stock must be glass/epoxy bedded for the best fit no matter who put the pillars in place.
Glass or epoxy bedding is placing your action in your stock, and mating the two with a mixture that will make a direct mold of your action. As a result the action will fit perfectly to the stock. This can be done without having pillars or aluminum in the stock. The preferred way to do this is called "stress free"; go ahead and Google it.
ShtrRdy
Well-Known Member
Which chassis did you experience this with?
cohunt
Well-Known Member
I like goose down 
Alex Wheeler
Well-Known Member
In my opinion bedding has two jobs, absorb vibration in a consistent way from the barreled action and provide a stress free joint. Those two jobs are independent of each other. You can do a very loose job that will be stress free but not be so good at transferring the vibrations to the stock. A glue in, is the best of both in my opinion. A good tight bedding job with pillars is also very good. Im not a fan of v blocks or chassis without any form of bedding.
ndking1126
Well-Known Member
In order of preference:
1. Glass
2. Aluminum
3. Pillar
As stated, there is likely some benefit to skim bedding an aluminum block, but I've never taken the time to do so. I've found aluminum bedding blocks are worlds better than no bedding and sufficient for anything other than maybe competition where even the smallest of advantage is needed.
1. Glass
2. Aluminum
3. Pillar
As stated, there is likely some benefit to skim bedding an aluminum block, but I've never taken the time to do so. I've found aluminum bedding blocks are worlds better than no bedding and sufficient for anything other than maybe competition where even the smallest of advantage is needed.
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- Aug 30, 2006
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We've always used aluminum bedding blocks in our guns. For quite a while we've skipped the skim bedding and used a mechanical wedge to trap the recoil lug. Some block designs aren't right in the rear, but if the action is straight and block has the right design, all you have to do is secure the lug.
Justice1327
Well-Known Member
Manners EH1,w/ mini chassis
osok-1k
Well-Known Member
I've been bedding rifles for over 40 years, the need arises because most stocks aren't true where the action rests and when you tighten the stock screws you tweak or flex the action out of square, some have been enough to have resistance while operating the bolt. A few years ago while building the rifle in my photo, a Curtis Axiom and MPA chassis, I found that when the front area of the action sat square in the block, the rear tang made almost no contact. When I snugged the screws it mad a little more contact which means that the receiver was drawn out of square (no longer straight) and this is totally unacceptable for me. I relieved the area of the tang so it made full contact and bedded the block at the tang, forward of the mag well and recoil lug. I put one layer of tape on the lug sides, front and two on the bottom of the lug, this allows the downward pressure applied by torqueing the screws be applied to the receiver and no pressure on the recoil lug. I also open the screw holes a little and wrap my pilot studs with tape or a plastic sleeve to keep the centered while curing. I use rubber bands for tension while curing as I want the action to be as neutral as possible with no flexing. My Grayboe stocks get the same treatment. If you assemble a rifle in an aluminum block stock like Grayboe or a chassis like MPA and go shoot some rounds. Take the action out and check the contact marks, you'll find inconsistent contact from side to side and fore and aft. If it's pretty even and you've properly torqued the receiver screws then you may not gain much, but I will always bed the recoil lug unless I intend to switch actions for that stock. Reason is that receivers are not the same diameter, if you measure the diameter of your actions you'll find them all different and they won't seat properly in the bedded stock if you install a larger diameter action into a stock bedded for smaller diameter one. Recoil lug will be different too. If the stock makers squared the stock on a mill and ran a ball mill down the block after installing it in the stock you might have a true surface, but then the receiver would need to be true as well and many of the are not.
Alex Wheeler
Well-Known Member
No, I don't glue in hunting rifles. The only real reason for it is the tapered barrel. On a competition rifle we use a straight barrel channel so you can unscrew the barrel with the action glued in. You cant run a straight barrel channel in a hunting rifle so you would need to un glue the action to change barrels.
