Liquid steel for pillar bedding

[gtl1946]

For a varmit/hunting gun I'm not familiar with anyone drilling the largest hole you can between the action and trigger guard and filling around a stock bolt with JB Weld,Liquid Steel ,Devcon etc. Instead of using a little piece of "pipe" for a pillar you'd pour the pillar. Is there something wrong with this method?

 

[Cheechako]

No, nothing wrong at all. I've done it and others have too. There's nothing that says they have to be round either.

The only purpose of pillars is to keep the wood or foam from compressing when the screws are tightened. Any non-compressable material will work. You should also skim-bed over the pillars.

ray

 

[Larryh128]

+1 That's my method, works great. I use J-B.

 

[juniorARshooter]

Gents
newb question. do you pour a solid plug and then drill for the action screw or do you use a dowel (etc) in the bedding to establish the hole for the action screw to go through?

thanks

 

[Larryh128]

My personal way is to use a standard bolt that has a lot of release agent on it. After it sets up enough, i'll un-screw it before it sets totally hard. After its set, if the bolt is 1/4", I'll open it up to .270-.280. Just the way that I have done it & seems to give good results.

 

[Cheechako]

What Larry says is the best way to keep everything lined up. By "everything" I mean the trigger guard and the action. Don't be skimpy with the release agent and use a screw with a short thread so there is no chance of getting epoxy on the thread.

ray

 

[wolfman]

Do you use headless bolts, smear the bedding compound into the inlet, and then place the barrelled action w/ the headless screws installed, into the stock? Just trying to get a picture here.

 

[Larryh128]

I do it in steps, I bed the bottom metal 1st & tighten down on the barreled action with the bolts that I'll be using.
2nd, I Fill the pillar areas with a set of bolts extending thru the bottom metal in place. I have a set of "junk" bolts that I use for this . Add bedding uder the rear tang, recoil lug & personally I bed under the barrel shank on my hunting rifles.
Tighten everything down properly & let it set up. Usually, I'll remove the bolts when the bedding is stiff but not rock hard as they'll come out a little easier. The barreled action stays in place until it's set. Obviously the parts need release agent & the sides of the recoil lugs taped off etc. You can also do it in 3 steps if desired & probably not a bad way to do it the 1st time. I use J-B & there are no issues with it bonding to a previous batch. If you think that there might be some release agent on the previous batch, clean it with electronic cleaner.

 

[moorepower]

I have found a tight fitting drinking straw around the bolt cut to length helps some with the mess. Do not skimp on the release agent!

 

[Larryh128]

Why didn't I think of that. Shrink tube would work also.