Bedding using only action,barrel weight

[Mram10us]

All questions I can't answer with my tooling. I speed dry mine with a little bathroom heater next to the action. Softens the devcon (for the squishing out) at first for compression than dries it within 6 hours ish.

 

[ntsqd]

I was pointing out the "you don't want it touching" comment. Don't want new guy thinking it's true. A technique for sure, but it will still come out if needed without harming the bedding.

Maybe, if it is always lifted straight up. Since the clearance has no apparent effect on accuracy I would rather have it than not.

I was reading last night on the different Devcon types, steel, aluminum, titanium,. The steel has the lowest shrinkage % , which may not make a difference at all, but I still like to get as close as possible. But there again, a lot of different materials have been used with great success. That's the great thing about it, we have a great selection of products and a myriad of methods to choose from....rsbhunter

If the AL's shrinkage was just bit less than it is, it would be the clear winner. As it is the numbers look huge until you apply them to the dims of the parts involved and then the difference seems pretty small. For me, the higher strength of the AL putty over the steel putty, which is a surprise, tips the scale in it's direction.

 

[keithcandler]

When I was shooting benchrest, I learned to will let mine sit for 7 Days and never touch it. When I pull it apart, I de-grease the bedding of release compound, then put another skim coat of bedding on top of the first, applied with my finger only.

When finished, I check the bedding by attaching a magnetic base to the barrel, then have the indicator touch the underside of the fore arm. The indicator measures 0.0001.

Now, I tighten and loosen the front guard screw, if the needle on the indicator moves, then the action has some stress on it. That second coat is the cat's meow.

I am very superstitious about taking a rifle out of the bedding too quickly.

 

[Mram10us]

When I was shooting bencrest, I learned to will let mine sit for 7 Days and never touch it. When I pull it apart, I de-grease the bedding of release compound, then put another skim coat of bedding on top of the first, applied with my finger only.

When finished, I check the bedding by attaching a magnetic base to the barrel, then have the indicator touch the underside of the fore arm. The indicator measures 0.0001.

Now, I tighten and loosen the front guard screw, if the needle on the indicator moves, then the action has some stress on it. That second coat is the cat's meow.

I am very superstitious about taking a rifle out of the bedding too quickly.

7 DAYS!! I could learn from your patience The 6 hours is a guess based on the squish out in the mag area that I remove with the mill. I just push on it with any sharp object after 6 ish hours and it seems hard. Probably not fully cured, though the heat definitely speeds it up. I mainly do it for the extra fluidity of the devcon.

 

[keithcandler]

I break a tongue depressor, sharpen it on the edge and scrape off all of the excess bedding material, tooth pick gets the final pass.

Heat helps. In the Summer, put it up in the attic over the garage, just don't fall off the drop down stairs!

As the hardner starts to kick over, you can clean up a lot of the excess inside the mag well, easily with a very professional look.

Hint: when wiping off the excess that is squishing out, only use one end of the Q tip and throw it away, try to flip the Qtip around and you get bedding material on your hand, then on the stock. Really nice stocks, I tape up completely so I don't get any smudges on the stock.

Bridgport cleans up the final product. I like for it to be fully cured when I take it out of the stock.

Lots of ways to get a great final bedding job, you will find your own way. Learn to check your bedding job with a magnetic base and dial indicator if you are a serious group shooter or serious about shooting very long range.

You do not have to spend a lot of money on a magnetic base and indicator that will measure .001

ebay item number:
172010407341

If the needle moves .002, give the bedding job a skim coat, you will learn volumes by checking your own work. Learning curve is a bitch, but the satisfaction in a job well done translates to some fantastic shooting.

 

[rsbhunter]

This is proof positive of the incredible knowledge base on this forum...have learned a lot of tips, tricks and "how to's" and especially the "why to's". Wish I could put it in a book for reference....probably already is one...? Thanks, rsbhunter

 

[keithcandler]

That little skim coat is the Mac Daddy trick on getting perfect bedding jobs where the indicator needle does not even wiggle.

Lots of ways to skin this cat, just check your work when you are done. Don't be afraid to fail because that is where you learn.

 

[25WSM]

Most all the materials we have for bedding work like s champ. Release agents work too. But some are hands down better. The biggest key to a perfect bedding job is fitting prep of the stock and pillars. I can show you 4 ways to do it that all have the same result. Meaning the action sit in the glass on the pillars with no stress induced into it while it cured. Skim coating an aluminum block is definitely easy for the novice to get right the first time out the gate because the fit is already done. And the pillar heights are set. I always see improvement when bedding a block. I think the surface area of contact absorb more vibration. There is no way you can just look at a bedding job and know it's been done right. Done wrong will shoot worse than not at all. But bedding jobs can be jjjbbhhbvvhllk for stress to see if it's doing what it should. Franklin stocks had one of the best write-ups I've ever seen on bedding to get perfect everything. A lot goes into a perfect bedding job. And when we do one for a customer it has to look perfect and be perfect. When you do it at home you have some leeway on looking good. A small bubble or incomplete glue line on the top will hurt nothing and most people wouldn't even know flaws were present anyways. I really enjoy guys working on their own rifles and learning to do it properly and safe. I was in your shoes 30 years ago. Glad I never stopped.
Shep

 

[keithcandler]

Lots of guys are reading this thread that have never bedded a rifle and have always wanted to do their own. It may be helpful for us to post some links to some well thought out video's we have found to be particularly good, then add some comments as to what we found we liked or did not like.

25 WSM's posts are nothing short of fantastic to say the least, lots of wisdom there.

 

[25WSM]

Thanks for the kind words. I do my very best to give back to the community that has taken care of me. The shooting sports industry is such a place that is so tight nit of people that care back for each other. I've never seen it anywhere like it before.
I will try and find the vid that comes the closest to my method. Being a master gunsmith I have had to try and find ways that are 100 percent repeatable and perfect results. They have to be perfect in looks and give the stress free job it needs to be for the great performance enhancement we are looking for.
What I mentioned about small mistakes is what I seen in the pics of the op job he did. It is ok to have cosmetic flaws. They will not effect performance. I am discussing the finished pics right now. I was not on my other post but since we're learning here I will tell you my thoughts good and bad to be fair.
Firstly you actually did a glass bedding job. You are now allowed to give experience info first hand. That was a big first step. Now for some thought on what I see. The glass is mostly complete. Some chips. Some spot like voids present on here and there. In the muzzle end of the lug is s large void. The top of action area is the worst offender because it's all visable when assembled. I can not tell you it's stress free because I didn't see the prep or method used. You can fix the edges around the top simple enough. The void behind lug I would leave be. If you grind into the edge of the glass around the top about 1/4 down and fill with bedding more than it needs you can wax up and screw the action down. It will squeeze the glass smooth up and down but mostly up out of the stock. Let this sit until the squeezed out bedding is tootsie roll consistently. Make a sharp corner on a popcycle stick and shave this stuff up. Don't dig below the stock line. Let dry all the way. Pop out the action and use a small sanding block on the little raised edge with 220 grit. Another way that works is to scrape it up good and then use a cleaning patch with solvent on the stock to barrel junction. This will clean up the thin layer of glass on the ledge. Then do the sandpaper to knock the little filet off. Reassemble and it should not have any visiable void around the top edge. Best to not get to this point and use the extra tiny amount of glass do that it flows out the top to begin with.
So if you decide to cover the flaws around the top or not it won't effect anything but appearance. If you fix it show us that new look please.
Shep

 

[Mram10us]

Here is a video I made a while back. One way to do it. I use different techniques based on what I'm needing. Not perfect but better than nothing