bedding pillars

[jaredc]

I usually do as much work on my guns as I can but I don't have a lathe, yet. I have always bedded my own rifles and I like to use Darrell Holland's pillars. I haven't found a good way to cut the pillars SQUARE to the length I need, without a lathe. I have been paying a local machine shop $15 bucks to cut them with a lathe. I am just curious how the rest of you out there do it that are in a similar situation?

 

[Rafael]

Is this the Jared who used to live in Virginia Beach?
Shot alot with a guy named "Bud"?

Just checking, have noticed your posts.

$
RAF

 

[Bidgee13]

Jared

I'm not familiar with the pillars you are using but I use a small pipe cutter. Same as plumbers use for cutting steel pipe. They have a cutting wheel and you rotate them around the pipe tightening the cutter down a little each rev. Any hardware store has them. You will then need to file off a bit. Try to practice on something beforehand to ensure you get the measurements right.

 

[nobade]

I like using the adjustable pillars made by Score High Gunsmithing. They have a screw in center part, so you just set them where you want them, and use Loctite to keep them there. You can get them from Midway, Sinclair, Lock Stock and Barrel, and others.

 

[Cheechako]

jaredc

It's not absolutely necessary to have the pillars perfectly square on the ends. Of course, the more square the better. But you should have a skim coat of bedding between the pillar and action/bottom metal, not pillar-to-metal contact. Remember, the pillar is only to keep the stock from compressing, not as a point of bedding contact,did I say that right?)

Ray

 

[sling_n_glove]

Perhaps it's a bit too late to do you any good, but you can buy yourself a micro lathe from TAIG or Sherline. They are not too expensive new and the minimal amount of tooling you'd need to cut a small aluminum or steel tube is included with the basic package. They are also commonly available for roughly $200 on eBay. If you are cutting many of those bedding pillars, you could easily pay for a small lathe and just make them from scratch instead. They're great for making small parts and they're an easy way to get started with doing your own machine work. Even if you move up to a bigger machine in the future the little lathes are still handy for making small precise parts.

I bought a TAIG because it seems more robust than the Sherlines.

http://www.taigtools.com/

http://www.sherline.com/

 

[Preacher]

Any pillars I've ever seen or done have always made contact with the receiver bottom.
It would seem that if there was any putty between the pillars and the receiver bottom you would be defeating the purpose of the pillars. Even Darrell Hollands videos show the pillars screwed tight to the receiver when it's set down into the wood or whatever.
The end touching the receiver should of course be as square as possible, and the other end has a countersunk hole for the screw to go into, and therefore don't need to be all that square on the end, close yes, but it's not hitting anything so don't worry about that all that much, it can be dressed down with a file to be level with the wood when it's finished.

 

[AlNyhus]

jaredc: Whether you need to have the ends of the pillars perfectly square,or not) depends on how you approach the bedding job. If you want the pillars to be in what I call "hard contact" with the action, then yes..they need to be perfectly square. If you like to have some bedding material between the top of the pillars and the action, then absolute squareness,speaking of the top of the pillar relative to the bottom of the action) is not that critical.

I use my lathe to make all the pillars I use, but you can get pretty close with a small machinists square and some careful file work.

IMO, the countersunk screws are the absolute worst attachment method. -Al

 

[ArtinNC]

AlNyhus,
Why is countersunk screws the absolute worst way to attach??? Art

 

[Preacher]

Lynn- If you have the pillars tightened down hard to the action how can it not be in alignment unless they are not square to began with, and Hollands are usually, but it's always a good idea to check first.
If you apply a skim coat over the pillars how come the pressure when it's snugged down tight don't squeeze the compound out away from the pillars again ?
I always skin coat because of the problem with different areas expanding differently
but the pillars always end up in hard contact with the action anyways.......because any excess squeezes out and away.

 

[gunsmith]

I clamp the pillars in a v-block and use a 90 degree muzzle facing tool with a pilot to square up the ends. You can use the tool in a drill press.