Photo essay of last bedding job
- Thread starter muleman
- Start date
Thebear_78
Handloader
- Sep 30, 2004
- 3,098
- 865
Nice
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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
truck driver
Ammo Smith
- Mar 11, 2013
- 7,342
- 924
Very nice and neat. What did you use for bedding epoxy?
Scott,
You can put release agent or tape on the parts of the stock you don't want the bedding to stick to just like the barreled action. If you have a mill to clean it up it's easy but without one it helps clean up the bleed off that runs into the trigger guard and mag well recesses. I usually drill a bunch of small holes all over and at different angles to physically lock the bedding to the stock. I saw you drilled some straight down but you might try some at 45 or 90 degrees too. BTW they sell color additive to turn bedding black or grey (depending on how much you add). I usually tape off the barrel with that 2" wide electrical tape, they sell at Home Depot or Lowes, so it's floating when finished and the bedding compound fills the barrel channel up for clean finish. Any reason you didn't do the sides of the action? You did good. It looks pretty clean especially if that is Acraglas. It usually has bubbles/voids in it.
Bedding a rifle is a PITA most of the time and it takes many tries to get good at it. I've done 50+ and I still find new ways to help make things easier or nicer by trial and error. I keep trying different different compounds too. The one I use now is pretty thick and is made by Loctite. I never get air bubbles with it like some of the others. Another thing I do is pull the barreled action before the bedding is rock hard, somewhere between 7 and 8 hours typically. If the bedding is slightly soft it trims up easier with a razor blade.
You can put release agent or tape on the parts of the stock you don't want the bedding to stick to just like the barreled action. If you have a mill to clean it up it's easy but without one it helps clean up the bleed off that runs into the trigger guard and mag well recesses. I usually drill a bunch of small holes all over and at different angles to physically lock the bedding to the stock. I saw you drilled some straight down but you might try some at 45 or 90 degrees too. BTW they sell color additive to turn bedding black or grey (depending on how much you add). I usually tape off the barrel with that 2" wide electrical tape, they sell at Home Depot or Lowes, so it's floating when finished and the bedding compound fills the barrel channel up for clean finish. Any reason you didn't do the sides of the action? You did good. It looks pretty clean especially if that is Acraglas. It usually has bubbles/voids in it.
Bedding a rifle is a PITA most of the time and it takes many tries to get good at it. I've done 50+ and I still find new ways to help make things easier or nicer by trial and error. I keep trying different different compounds too. The one I use now is pretty thick and is made by Loctite. I never get air bubbles with it like some of the others. Another thing I do is pull the barreled action before the bedding is rock hard, somewhere between 7 and 8 hours typically. If the bedding is slightly soft it trims up easier with a razor blade.
- Thread starter
- #5
TD,
I use Acragel/Acraglass that I thicken with fulminated silica. Stays in place and leaves a clean finish.
Nathan,
The holes don't look it but I have them at 30-45 degrees and in different directions. I do the same thing - pull the action at 7-8hrs and clean up; then reassemble and finish hardening. I don't have a mill so I use a dremel and an exacto knife. I will normally do the barrel channel on a wood stock for weatherproofing; the synthetic not. Like you, I learn something every time I do one. I have about 20 under my belt. I'm not sure why I didn't do the action on this one. It still shoots well - 1/2 to 2/3s MOA. Doing the entire action is a lot more prep work. I may have been in a hurry on this one. I ran out of Dye
but didn't notice till I'd already started mixing in the hardener.
Scott
I use Acragel/Acraglass that I thicken with fulminated silica. Stays in place and leaves a clean finish.
Nathan,
The holes don't look it but I have them at 30-45 degrees and in different directions. I do the same thing - pull the action at 7-8hrs and clean up; then reassemble and finish hardening. I don't have a mill so I use a dremel and an exacto knife. I will normally do the barrel channel on a wood stock for weatherproofing; the synthetic not. Like you, I learn something every time I do one. I have about 20 under my belt. I'm not sure why I didn't do the action on this one. It still shoots well - 1/2 to 2/3s MOA. Doing the entire action is a lot more prep work. I may have been in a hurry on this one. I ran out of Dye
but didn't notice till I'd already started mixing in the hardener. Scott
- Nov 4, 2004
- 25,343
- 8,904
Nice work Scott!
Looks like the work of a professional.
JD338
Looks like the work of a professional.
JD338
Rem Jim
Handloader
- Jan 7, 2012
- 688
- 9
Good Job ! I am just piller bedding and bedding my WILDCAT stock for my M7 7 saum build right now ! its a BIG job to do all that and finish the stock too ! I will have a LOT of time into mine before its done ! I am still undecided about the recoil pad yet weather i should use a thin Decelerator or a GOOD chunk of flip flop ! RJ
RJ
