Pillars

[chop house]

Flat or profiled and metal to metal or bedded. Choose one each. Thanks.

 

[AlNyhus]

Flat or profiled are both ok...as long as they have more thickness than 'skim bedding' over them.

 

[Kurz]

I've done them all and have had successful performance when properly executed.

 

[tac284]

I start with flat but later in the process they end up “profiled” for 1/16 of bedding over the top.

 

[LVLAaron]

I've been burying them in a 1/4 inch of mud

 

[Alex Wheeler]

I never look at rifles building as a gunsmith but as a mechanic because that what I am. So the first thing to ask is why do we even use a pillar? What is broken that we are fixing? It stops you from compressing the stock material. Ok thats fine, some stock materials are pretty solid and dont compress. Solid fill glass stocks or dymalux for example. Pillars are totally unnecessary. Actually in a stable material like a laminate they really are not needed and you avoid the issue of only having clamping force directly above the pillar. I use escusions on my action screws not for looks, but to spread the clamping force over the stock material as well as the pillar. Pillars are not there to enhance accuracy. They are there to prevent damage to certain stocks. I have tested this, pillars or no pillars. You will not see a difference in accuracy. Now as to the shape on the top, It doesnt matter. The question is touch the action or not. Even then, not a big issue. Everything is moving with temperature all the time. Glue baby glue.

 

[chop house]

Flat or profiled are both ok...as long as they have more thickness than 'skim bedding' over them.

point taken. thanks. seems then there is little value in the profiling?

 

[xr650rRider]

Before you glue, baby glue..........think about whether you can remove the trigger, bolt stop after it's glued. Some stocks accommodate this but if yours don't you might just settle for screws.

 

[Fast14riot]

Pillars to set action height and insure plenty of bedding under and around action. Metal to metal.

 

[BoydAllen]

Before you glue, baby glue..........think about whether you can remove the trigger, bolt stop after it's glued. Some stocks accommodate this but if yours don't you might just settle for screws.

I have a rifle that has a glued in 722 Remington action. It has trigger pin holes in the stock and a plunger style bolt stop. The work was done by McMillan, back when they offered those services. The stock is a pre production EDGE that Kelly built with his own hands, that he gave to me, glued and painted. I have shot sub .2 five shot groups with it. It has a 14 twist Hart HV barrel chambered as a .244 neck .222. I had always wanted to try a glue in for a factory action but lacked the means to accurately locate trigger pin holes. On a "fiberglass" stock you can drill them oversized and then fill them to their proper size as part of bedding, but for wood, which is what I was working with, location becomes much more critical. The action is bedded with Marine Tex, and glued with JB Weld.

 

[Carl S]

When the pillars are touching-tightened to the action.flat or profiled with no bedding compound in-between.in time the compound does shrink.some more and more quickly than others.old compound and mixtures not exactly to spec.then the action is sitting on two stools.with a little fresh air around it.not so good for accuracy.as Alex said they just stop the stock from getting compressed.

 

[DShortt]

As mentioned above and thinking about this strictly from a mechanic's and woodworker's perspective, if it's a wood stock I want a pillar in direct contact with the action and screws. That pillar is going to arguably expand and contract due to temperatures, but it's miniscule compared to what wood does and metal cares not about humidity. Wood does odd things depending on temperatures and humidity.

As far as flat or radiused, I believe it matters not so long as it's even on the action front and rear and even radially on the action screw head base. If your action screw base isn't flat either...... 'nother OCD idea to kick around.

Just my opinion, worth exactly what you paid for it.