Correct Scope Base Bedding

[Dgd6mm]

Thank you Richard. That's the kind of information I was looking for.

Don Dunlap

 

[Ledd Slinger]

My question of the the day is What is the correct method to bed a scope base.
I have the correct 1 pc. base, bottom of the base is scuffed up and cleaned
the Action is clean and has release agent applied, Kiwi wax, as well as the screws
JB Quick mixed up and applied to the base, not to plug the screw holes,
the base set upon the receiver and screws started in the receiver.

Which screws get tightened first, which get tightened to snug, which get tightened to spec before
letting the epoxy cure? Thank you for your time

Havent read thru all the posts or Boyer article yet so I apologize if I'm repeating anything.

The scope base is the easiest portion of the optics mounting system to bed. The steps you have taken thus far are almost spot on. One thing I do in addition is to also apply release agent to the edges of the rail on all sides, front, and rear around the mating surfaces that do not contact the receiver. This way any overflow of bedding from seating the rail to receiver is easy to remove from the rail when trimming after curing.

As far as screw tightening, you might have to shorten the front-most screw over the receiver tenon if mounting on a Rem 700. Can file it down in a vice or touch it on the grinder using vise grips. Only need to shorten just bit to ensure it's not bottoming out on the barrel threads. Then I always get all 4 screws started where the weaver style pan heads just start seating in the counterbore holes, then torque the two screws on the front of the receiver tightly. On the front, I'm only looking for bedding to fill any imperfections and out of round areas between the mating surface of the rail and receiver. The rear two screws I leave pretty loose. After tightening the front two screws, the rear of the rail will clamp down anyhow. I then only tighten the rear two screws until I feel slight tension and I have proper overflow of bedding to ensure the entire mating surface has full coverage. The rear will generally have a thicker layer of bedding on the mating surface than the front.

Let it cure overnight, pop the rail off, clean up the receiver, and trim the excess bedding off the edges of the rail with an exacto knife then smooth sharp edges of the bedding off with a piece of 400 grit sandpaper. Also use a small drill bit by hand to open up the bedding around the screw holes and a small chamfer tool to take any sharp edges or bulges off the bedding on the mating surface of the holes. Now let the bedding on the rail cure for another day before moving on to my 'secret' step and mounting.

So here's the real secret for maximum holding strength to avoid any rail slippage. To really see the difference with this method, clean off the release agent from the mating surface of the bedding on the rail and firmly run your fingers over the cured JB Weld mating surface on the rail. You will feel decent grip, but it can be made much better.
Now completely color all of the mating surface of the bedding with black permanent "Sharpie" marker. Let the marker ink dry, then rub it briskly with your fingers to smooth it out and take the sheen off. You can apply two or 3 coats if you want, but you will notice a huge difference due to the vastly increased friction coefficient of the bedding surface when you rub your fingers over it the same way as you did without the marker coating. This will allow the bedding to grip on the metal of the receiver like glue, buy without using adhesive of course, and greatly reduce the recoil forces on the mounting screws. Mount and torque the rail to spec using Blue Loctite or other good non-permanent thread locker on the screws and go have fun

 

[Ledd Slinger]

I will also add that I recommend bedding ALL scope rails, one piece scope mounts, or bases of any kind with ALL actions regardless of manufacturer, custom or not. Especially with large magnum rifles. It's easy to do and will only add strength and reduce the chance of slippage on the mounting system.

 

[teele1]

Thanks to all that replied

 

[Dgd6mm]

Thanks Ledd Slinger.

Don Dunlap