Good advice , all of it. I know not to bed the tang, but the reminder was good. I would only bed to in front(1/8") of the rear action screw. Yes, I was asking about skim bedding vs no bed on action, and only bed recoil lug...sorry, I should have clarified that in the op....rsbhunter
I have taught a lot of people to bed guns over the years. There are a lot of ways to bed a rifle, and most of them work well.
Actions warp during heat treat, some more than others. For this reason, bedding the action is ALWAYS a good thing to do. I bed every action prior to pulling the trigger. The Al bedding block in some custom stocks are the best.
In the mistakes I have seen guys make over the years come in two mistakes. One, they do not degrease their action or screws with brake cleaner or starting fluid(better). Best to degrease twice. This will allow the release agent to get down in the pores of the metal. Second, a new guy that is unfamiliar with release agents will not completely apply the release agent to all nooks. Since bedding material will ooze up into the threads of the barrel tenon, into the chamber, tiny gas exhaust ports in the action, etc, best to have release agent in all of those areas also.
All problems I have seen with new guys bedding their own guns has come from incomplete coating of the action, and this is much easier to have happen with a paste wax. A spray on wax is much easier to deal with, especially in the removal by just washing it off with brake cleaner or Starting fluid.
For you new guys that are contemplating bedding your first gun, buy the Brownell's Accra Release in the spray can and a can of Brake cleaner. De grease your parts with the brake cleaner, let dry completely. Then apply two coats of the Accra Release, spray down in the chamber of the rifle, also. By following this simple two steps, you have just eliminated ANY chance of ever sticking an action in a stock.
After you have bedded 20 actions, then go to a paste wax. You will have learned where the mistakes could happen if release agent had not been applied in certain areas, like the rifle chamber, threads in the action, trigger pin areas.
There are several good spray on waxes, some are water bases and some are alcohol based.
When release agents are not properly applied, you will see a section of stock pulled away when the action is removed from the stock. This will NEVER happen with Accra Release, two coats, action cleaned previously with brake cleaner or starting fluid....Never.
I quit helping any new guy that wanted to use Johnson's paste wax or Kiwi clear shoe polish. I asked them to buy the Accra Release, they wanted to cheap out with the paste wax. When several of them stuck their action in the stock, in their minds, it was now my problem to help them fix the issue....action would not come out of the stock. I told them to take it to a professional gunsmith, knowing full well that the stock was going to break or come apart during the action removal.
Key points for a new guy contemplating bedding his first gun:
a. de grease screws and action twice, including down inside chamber, inside bolt rails
b. use two coats of Spray on Accra Release, wash this off with brake cleaner or
starting fluid when you are done
you will never stick an action in a stock. You can get into large rubber bands, stock maker's screws, installing pillars etc., later on down the road. Modeling clay in the stock where you do not want the bedding compound to go is a great help. Brownell's sells some modeling clay that will not get hard or dry out in 20 years, and it is not expensive...use over and over again.
You will develop your own quirks on how you like to bed, lots of ways to skin a cat. Some guys tape off the sides, bottom, and front of recoil lugs as an aid in action removal from the stock, not a bad thing. I like to put a 45* angle on the sides of the recoil lug with a file, and bed the whole recoil lug, not a better way, just different. Washer type of recoil lugs need to be free floated on the bottom. Where you have a screw going into the bottom of a recoil lug, you need to keep the bottom of the lug bedded.
I bed every action prior to firing a shot, and also free float the barrel with a minimum of a credit card thickness between the barrel and stock to eliminate "barrel slap" on the stock during recoil.
You need to make darn sure that your stock screws or pins do not touch the stock, nor the trigger adjustment screws if you have upgraded to a different trigger. A trigger adjustment screw or trigger pin digging into the stock or bedding is a deal killer on accuracy.
Savages are a pain, Everyone of the them needs a pillar installed in front of the trigger, great ones are sold on ebay. I free float the tang on my savages.
Best of luck on your first bedding job!
