What's your preferred bedding epoxy?

[tonyben]

I've been using Marine-Tex for years but am curious to try Devcon. Any reason to get the Devcon steel epoxy over Marine-Tex? Titanium putty seems too expensive at close to $200 a can. I can get the steel putty for half that.

Tony.

 

[LVLAaron]

Devcon with some stainless steel powder mixed in.

 

[AlNyhus]

Pro Bed 2000. -Al

 

[46and2]

I've been using Marine-Tex for years but am curious to try Devcon. Any reason to get the Devcon steel epoxy over Marine-Tex? Titanium putty seems too expensive at close to $200 a can. I can get the steel putty for half that.

Tony.

I switched from Devcon 10110 to Marine tex because of the higher compression strength testing. It turns out MarineTex is easier to work with than Devcon.

An a side note. Many years ago, before I knew any better it used JB Weld. Those rifles bedded in JB shoot the same accuracy as they did 10 years ago! No signs of cracking or deterioration.

 

[Carl S]

Devcon these days.i have used loctite hysol in the past.i have used it to repair engine blocks that have had no coolant in and corrosion has damaged the liner location.its all well on top of the job that we want it to do.

 

[clowdis]

I have used Devcon as well as JB weld and they both seem to work just as well years afterwards. I will say that JB weld is a lot easier to work with than Devcon.

 

[DaveTooley]

Marine Tex here. Just so much easier to work with. Cleans up easy. I don't worry about getting it on screw threads.

 

[linebaugh]

Have tried several and marine tex has been the best for me. Easiest to use and stays put where i want it.

 

[ar15Jeff]

I've had great results with Devcon. Just tried JB Weld because of availability, but for the life of me I can"t keep it from sticking to my Origin action with any of my usual release agents that work with Devcon. That stuff sticks to anything.

 

[jkohler]

I switched to marine Tex years ago after having a few bad batches of Devcon hardener. Haven’t missed Devcon at all seams to be easier on tooling for clean up as well.

 

[tobnpr]

I used countless gallons of Marine-Tex in boat restorations/repairs and always found it to be highly sensitive to mix ratio.

I also prefer a higher viscosity epoxy that'll cling to vertical surfaces better- Devcon 10110 for me.

Don't overthink it- this is another area where we tend to get into totally irrelevant minutiae.
Like release agents, there's many epoxies that are suitable for this application.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

I've had great results with Devcon. Just tried JB Weld because of availability, but for the life of me I can"t keep it from sticking to my Origin action with any of my usual release agents that work with Devcon. That stuff sticks to anything.

You use a bit of heat? Just a heat gun ran over the action a bit the first few hours to get it over room temp helps it cure rock hard, then heat to pop it out when fully cured

 

[tonyben]

Okay. Maybe I'll just stick with the Marine-Tex. I do agree that JB Weld is a very acceptable bedding compound. I've used it before and never had issue with it. Very cheap too. I don't see why, at the least, it shouldn't be used for hunting rifles.

I use JB Weld to make a custom bedding fulcrum for each M14/M1A I bed. This allows me to bed in the front end draw pressure while guaranteeing the action is in alignment at the front and rear.

Tony.

 

[tonyben]

I've had great results with Devcon. Just tried JB Weld because of availability, but for the life of me I can"t keep it from sticking to my Origin action with any of my usual release agents that work with Devcon. That stuff sticks to anything.

I am in the practice of hitting all the bedding surfaces with a Dremel wire wheel attachment to smooth out the critical areas. Bedding M14 receivers is very difficult with all the 90˚ surfaces and the receiver legs.

Once I polish the areas, I clean with alcohol and spray on three coats of Ram-225 mold release.

Tony.

 

[Alex Wheeler]

Despite popular belief, the epoxy that has shunk the most on me during curing is marine tex. Not every batch though. I have used 7 or 8 different epoxies. At the end of the day the process is far more important the the epoxy you use.

 

[Will Henry]

I've been using Acraglas, from Brownells, for fifty years and I like it fine. The regular stuff, not the gel. I couldn't begin to guess how many stocks I've bedded with it. I have also used various Devcon products, Bisonite, Belzona, Duro concrete patching compound, and JB Weld. WH

 

[ar15Jeff]

You use a bit of heat? Just a heat gun ran over the action a bit the first few hours to get it over room temp helps it cure rock hard, then heat to pop it out when fully cured

It was just my first attempt with JB, so I didn't know what to expect. With Devcon I just let it cure, and one sharp rap it popped right out with a snap, perfect bed job. Right now the action has about 50% splotchy full bed coverage but I not going to monkey with it as it is turning out to be one of my best shooting rifles.

 

[46and2]

Despite popular belief, the epoxy that has shunk the most on me during curing is marine tex. Not every batch though. I have used 7 or 8 different epoxies. At the end of the day the process is far more important the the epoxy you use.

What was the exact process that incurred the most shrinkage?

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Bisonite is good stuff. Ive seen it still going strong after 50yrs on m14 match rifles

 

[Alex Wheeler]

What was the exact process that incurred the most shrinkage?

What I meant was the process used to bed is far more important the the epoxy you use.