My favorite bedding compound, Pro Bed 2000!

[Tucker65]

Not sure. The first question was if it would tolerate adding acetone to thin it. I couldn’t measure it while it was still soft. I’m measuring it from when it set to see if it changes over time. Next I might bed a test cylinder with the acetone mix and see how the fit does after it sets up.

You could bore a hole close to the same size as an action in a piece of steel. Measure the hole before you put release agent in it. Fill it with the bedding compound and let it set up. Then after it fully cures you'll be able to mic the od of it after you push it out of the hole to see how much it shrinks over time compared to the bored hole dimension.

 

[MClark]

Thinning epoxies in large cross sections or where the solvent cannot escape does not work well.
I worked in aerospace and we coated the inside of small solid fuel rocket motors, for ejection seats, with thinned epoxy to seal pores. The finished layer was only a few thousands. proced was to blow warm air through the tubes for hours to evaporate the solvent, methylene chloride. Dry out solvent before curing epoxy.
The leftover thinned epoxy would cure without evaporating the solvent and would be all cracks and were not cracked very soft.
I would not recommend diluting epoxy for bedding. Use the correct materials in good condition. Bedding is not the area to go cheap.

 

[MClark]

This is in process.
It works better to have the carbon fiber cloth much wider than required. Cloth was marked on ends so it could be pulled tight to align fibers.
Messy.
Dave Van Horn in picture.
I will dismantle gun to take pic of receiver end.

 

[MClark]

As requested.
Receiver is Remington 700 single shot. Hunters like us don’t need a second shot.
250-3000 Savage. I Always wanted one.
Sendero contour but smaller diameter. We have tracer lathe.
Wood, Pecan with mesquite tip and grip cap. There are no walnut trees where I hunt, there are pecans. Mesquite I cut from hunt area.

1. Receiver area. Red is iron oxide powder in epoxy as indicator, bled through carbon.
Carbon cloth Goes down into recoil lug area. Center screw does not go into Reciever, only holds trigger guard. Rough area from grinding leaked epoxy from glueing insert.
2. Sideview. Carbon does little for flex at rear of receiver but does form a solid pad.
Stock is pillared, brass not steel because it looks better.
3. Muzzle end Barrel retainer was done afterward, standard bedding compound.
4. Barrel muzzle retainer. Bored to fit barrel. Outside turned with 3/16” shim under one jaw of three jaw chuck to have enough material to thread. Easy, simple, clean look. Screw does not touch the barrel, can move forward with expansion.
Retaining screw really is straight, looks crooked in picture.

 

[Hal]

MClark
Looks great. Thanks for posting pictures so we can follow along.

Hal

 

[MClark]

MClark

Your idea of mixing different bedding compounds for the different areas
of a rifle stock sounds great.
What is a good source for the required material.
West Systems epoxy,chopped glass,micro balloons carbon fiber cloth ?

Hal

I buy from,

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[Hal]

MClark

Thanks for the info.

 

[WSnyder]

Machined both sides early in the week. Got busy and distracted and forgot about it until yesterday (Friday 26).
Fri 26 rock hard both sides. .4545” thick.
Sat 27 .4545” thick.
View attachment 1550171

So a bit over one year later. .0030” shrinkage. At the thicknesses we use in bedding we’d only see a small fraction of that.