First time glass bedding
- Thread starter Spike A
- Start date
If it is your first time i would recommend doing a dry run..
Have everything you need at hand and within reach (that means q-tips etc for cleanup) and place the action into the stock with no compound in yet.. Imagine having to clean up excess material , if you feel like you have everything in order then let the fun begin...
Patience will prevail and let the stock and action be for 24 hours... Resist the urge to pull it apart after only 8hrs ... If you feel as though you perhaps have not made enough compound AFTER the action has been set FINE , leave it set and you can redo what may have been missed another day after the first attempt has properly set.
Good luck and let us know how you make out
Have everything you need at hand and within reach (that means q-tips etc for cleanup) and place the action into the stock with no compound in yet.. Imagine having to clean up excess material , if you feel like you have everything in order then let the fun begin...
Patience will prevail and let the stock and action be for 24 hours... Resist the urge to pull it apart after only 8hrs ... If you feel as though you perhaps have not made enough compound AFTER the action has been set FINE , leave it set and you can redo what may have been missed another day after the first attempt has properly set.
Good luck and let us know how you make out
Dusty Stevens
Shiner
No problem just think ahead that epoxy is relentless and goes where it can. Let us know how it goes and good luck
hpshooter
Gold $$ Contributor
Goggle Richard Franklin, you will most likely find a link to his video on his method of bedding. Lots of ways to achieve a pressure free bedding job.
Take your time, dry run the fit of the action to the stock and make sure you have the barrel centered in the barrel channel with a ring of tape around it, be sure you have applied your release agent evenly, transparent Kiwi shoe polish in my case, fill all of the reverse draft areas with clay or silly putty, and mix your bedding material thoroughly. Protect the exterior stock around the action with tape to prevent bedding compound form getting on it.
I use Devcon steel and heat it with a work light until it is about 75 degrees, weigh it out on a set of Ohaus triple beam scales and mix for at least 5 minutes.
Pillars are made from 5/8 round stock, generally aluminum or brass that are drilled to be a snug fit on a sleeve made form 1/4" ID brass "hobby shop" tubing that is used to center the action screws in the pillar.
Generally, I locate and epoxy the pillars first while they are attached to the action while the action and barrel are centered in the stock and supported with rings of tape as mentioned above. NO pressure is put on the action to hold it in place. The pillars are allowed to set up at least 24 hours. At this point the stock is relieved around the pillars and action to allow a minimum of 1/8 inch of bedding over all and 1/4 inch behind the lug. I bed the action into the stock with clearance on the front sides and bottom of the recoil lug. (one thickness of plumbers tape as sold by Brownells) and no bedding forward of the lug. Alayer of bedding is put on the action and in the stock before mating them together, less chance of air bubbles showing up in the bedding.
The action is located in the stock using headless 1/4 28 bolts with the I/4" ID brass tubing slipped over them to center them in the pillars. I will put a wrap of Scotch 33 electrical tape around the action where the pillars are. This is all done with action upside down supported by the barrel. Any bedding that flows out is cleaned up with a plastic scraper and as the compound starts to tac up vinegar is used to remove it from the exposed area of the action and stock.
Not doing this for a living so I leave the assembly alone for 3 or 4 days before separating it. Once separated and cleaned up the rifle is reassembled and the action screws are tightened to 35 inch pounds. A check is made for relative motion between the barrel and action by mounting a dial indicator on the barrel and putting the contact button against the stock. With the butt of the rifle on the bench I will loosen and retighten the front and then the rear screw and if everything was done right I will expect to see no movement on the indicator but will not cry if their is no more than .001 movement. The indicator I use is a back button Starrett and the mounting clamp I use is a Starrett clamp used to attach the indicator to shafts to align mechanical couplings. Have done about 15 rifles this way and have been pleased with the results.
There are others on the forum who have done 100's of rifles and are much more experienced than I am and you should defer to them if there process differs widely from what I have outlined. Never had one stick--yet!
T W Hudson
Take your time, dry run the fit of the action to the stock and make sure you have the barrel centered in the barrel channel with a ring of tape around it, be sure you have applied your release agent evenly, transparent Kiwi shoe polish in my case, fill all of the reverse draft areas with clay or silly putty, and mix your bedding material thoroughly. Protect the exterior stock around the action with tape to prevent bedding compound form getting on it.
I use Devcon steel and heat it with a work light until it is about 75 degrees, weigh it out on a set of Ohaus triple beam scales and mix for at least 5 minutes.
Pillars are made from 5/8 round stock, generally aluminum or brass that are drilled to be a snug fit on a sleeve made form 1/4" ID brass "hobby shop" tubing that is used to center the action screws in the pillar.
Generally, I locate and epoxy the pillars first while they are attached to the action while the action and barrel are centered in the stock and supported with rings of tape as mentioned above. NO pressure is put on the action to hold it in place. The pillars are allowed to set up at least 24 hours. At this point the stock is relieved around the pillars and action to allow a minimum of 1/8 inch of bedding over all and 1/4 inch behind the lug. I bed the action into the stock with clearance on the front sides and bottom of the recoil lug. (one thickness of plumbers tape as sold by Brownells) and no bedding forward of the lug. Alayer of bedding is put on the action and in the stock before mating them together, less chance of air bubbles showing up in the bedding.
The action is located in the stock using headless 1/4 28 bolts with the I/4" ID brass tubing slipped over them to center them in the pillars. I will put a wrap of Scotch 33 electrical tape around the action where the pillars are. This is all done with action upside down supported by the barrel. Any bedding that flows out is cleaned up with a plastic scraper and as the compound starts to tac up vinegar is used to remove it from the exposed area of the action and stock.
Not doing this for a living so I leave the assembly alone for 3 or 4 days before separating it. Once separated and cleaned up the rifle is reassembled and the action screws are tightened to 35 inch pounds. A check is made for relative motion between the barrel and action by mounting a dial indicator on the barrel and putting the contact button against the stock. With the butt of the rifle on the bench I will loosen and retighten the front and then the rear screw and if everything was done right I will expect to see no movement on the indicator but will not cry if their is no more than .001 movement. The indicator I use is a back button Starrett and the mounting clamp I use is a Starrett clamp used to attach the indicator to shafts to align mechanical couplings. Have done about 15 rifles this way and have been pleased with the results.
There are others on the forum who have done 100's of rifles and are much more experienced than I am and you should defer to them if there process differs widely from what I have outlined. Never had one stick--yet!
T W Hudson
Spike A
Gold $$ Contributor
welll its together, i have 3 fears hahaha, one i hope my bedding compund is still good, it was in sealed containers that have never been open but a few years old.... my second is my action screws, i coated t hem very good with wax and the wholes and the threads, but still hope they come out, and my third is just hoping everything comes back apart, now my one ? is ... i hear alot of ppl say take it apart in 8-12 hours just incase its some where it shouldnt be while is still pliable so it can still be taken apart? ... or should i wait a full 24 hours?
thanks guys
thanks guys
Dusty Stevens
Shiner
Wait 24hrs. If it ran where it wasnt supposed to youll know next time. Removing it when its tacky will twist and bend and dent it where it shouldnt so let it harden up first. Then heat the action a tad with an iron before removing the screws then the action. Oh and the epoxy sets up better if you put a desk lamp with a regular bulb next to it so the action doesnt pull the heat out of the epoxy
It's all about prep work and attention to detail. Don't rush anything.
My pointers:
- Tape off the whole exterior of the stock, epoxy tends to go everywhere.
- Have all of your materials in place and do a dry run
- Have someone with you when you set the action in the stock to hand you q-tips, paper towels, etc. Sounds crazy, but you will be nervous as hell the moment you mix your epoxy, so it helps to have someone there to make life easier your first time.
- Analyze every inch of your action to find places that could become "locks" if epoxy gets into them. During my last bedding job I had a clay plug push up through a hole by the epoxy, which caused a bunch of epoxy to go into the bolt raceway. Luckily, I knew to look for this as it wasn't very obvious.
- Don't pop the action until the epoxy is fully cured. It's miserable waiting in anticipation, but you will really regret having to redo it because you didn't wait long enough.
My pointers:
- Tape off the whole exterior of the stock, epoxy tends to go everywhere.
- Have all of your materials in place and do a dry run
- Have someone with you when you set the action in the stock to hand you q-tips, paper towels, etc. Sounds crazy, but you will be nervous as hell the moment you mix your epoxy, so it helps to have someone there to make life easier your first time.
- Analyze every inch of your action to find places that could become "locks" if epoxy gets into them. During my last bedding job I had a clay plug push up through a hole by the epoxy, which caused a bunch of epoxy to go into the bolt raceway. Luckily, I knew to look for this as it wasn't very obvious.
- Don't pop the action until the epoxy is fully cured. It's miserable waiting in anticipation, but you will really regret having to redo it because you didn't wait long enough.
Dusty Stevens
Shiner
Yes i usually let em sit for a day with no action in it
Spike A
Gold $$ Contributor
i figured that would be the case. it went well everything came apart great... i did put 2-3 coats of wax on everything though ( may have been a little cautious) cleaning the wax off took a while. but the only thing i might have done a little different is take a little more wood out of the stock so a little more bedding compound could be underneath the action.. but my biggest consern was just to get more of a contact surface and tighten up the recoil lug... but i still would have liked to have just a little bit more underneat.. who knows though might decide one day to pull it apart and put some pillars in it and re bed it.. didnt want to attempt everything at once .. i try to do one new thing to a time easier fixing mess ups that way.. which brings up another question.. if i decide to do that will i have to pull out all of the old bedding? or just rough it up and clean it up for new bedding to stick to?
thank you all for your help and knowledge
thank you all for your help and knowledge
Albany Mountain
Silver $$ Contributor
Use a lot of masking tape on stock (being careful no to use gorilla type masking tape that can pull the finish off). Use clay or putty in areas you do not want epoxy to flow into,which will lock in the action preventing disassembly.
I quit using guard screws for assembling during bedding. I use headless bolts to guide the action in and once in, use a clamp from the top of the action to the bottom of the stock, to hold the two together evenly.
After some setting, use a sharp popcycle stick to move off excess epoxy easily while blending in some areas.
Use a good article to follow or a video for good procedures.
I quit using guard screws for assembling during bedding. I use headless bolts to guide the action in and once in, use a clamp from the top of the action to the bottom of the stock, to hold the two together evenly.
After some setting, use a sharp popcycle stick to move off excess epoxy easily while blending in some areas.
Use a good article to follow or a video for good procedures.
Ledd Slinger
Silver $$ Contributor
+1 for Richard Franklin. That fella knows what he's doing when it comes to bedding. Ive used Richards method for years now and it is by far the best way to go about bedding IMO.
And another +1 for Devcon Steel Puddy. Easiest to work with before and after bedding, don't have to worry about hidden bubbles, and almost zero shrinkage.
And another +1 for Devcon Steel Puddy. Easiest to work with before and after bedding, don't have to worry about hidden bubbles, and almost zero shrinkage.
I ALWAYS suggest 1st disassembly at 4 hours, JUST IN CASE. If the devcon flows in underneath the trigger or magazine , its easier to get them apart now instead of later. You can always start over again if necessary, but once its together its VERY hard to take it apart with epoxy.
My 2 cents and experience. I've done about 20 so far. And yes, I have ALMOST epoxied everything together more than once.
Prep, prep, prep and pray for a little luck as well. You can always clean up a messy bedding job with a dremel and sanding drum.
Larry
Tinkerer
My 2 cents and experience. I've done about 20 so far. And yes, I have ALMOST epoxied everything together more than once.
Prep, prep, prep and pray for a little luck as well. You can always clean up a messy bedding job with a dremel and sanding drum.
Larry
Tinkerer
AckleymanII
Gold $$ Contributor
If you use the Brownell's Spray Accra Release, all your worries will be over forever in as far as ever sticking an action in a stock. I have missed areas with Wax, will NEVER use it again.
Degrease the action and screws with brake cleaner twice before spraying on the Accra Release, then put two coats of the accra release on. One coat will stick to the action, another to the stock.
Then wash the accra release off the action with the brake cleaner.
I like Ozzie's videos on YouTube along with Richard Franklin's. Here's the link to Suarez' video (1st in 4 part series). Very detailed:
FWIW, I would also recommend using Devcon instead of Brownell's for bedding compound. It is what most smith's use. Expensive, but shrinks less. Good luck with the project!
FWIW, I would also recommend using Devcon instead of Brownell's for bedding compound. It is what most smith's use. Expensive, but shrinks less. Good luck with the project!
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