Stock bedding.

[Handsome Rob]

Once I get my barreled action back from its current rebore (rem 721) I'd really like to have it bedded into the original stock. It's never been touched before & has no current bedding or pillars. Going from .30-06 to 9.3x62 in an 80 year old rifle has me concerned......I might even need a crossbolt.

I have absolutely no experience with this, I don't know where to start & frankly the entire prospect has me thoroughly intimidated to the point that I'm not prepared to attempt it myself. 

Can anyone here recommend someone that would do it, or if anyone has experience & would be prepared to take a run at it, I'd be very grateful! 

Edited August 12, 2022 by Handsome Rob

[Alleycat72]

It's not hard. A bedding kit and a dremel will look good. Use clay for the locks and release agent. 

[Sunfish]

You can do it. Buy one of those acra-glass kits from Brownell's. I would only bed the action and free float the barrel. I have one rifle that I full contact bedded and it shoots great but it's quite a bit more work. Be sure to follow the instructions about the release agent. You will need to knock it apart with a rawhide hammer to get it apart

[derf]

It’s really not that hard. Order a kit and maybe find another rifle to try first. You will find a ton of satisfaction in it. 

[Handsome Rob]

I have a kit already, been sitting on it for 5 builds now...... can't bring myself to do it. I can do most things & I'll attempt most of the others, but this is not me. I'm not going to lie, it scares the crap out of me. 

Frankly, I'm just not doing it. I need this to be someone else's job. 

[Sunfish]

It's not a one-shot deal. You can grind it down and add to it.  

[stealthgoat]

hey Rob,

It really seems like it shouldn't be that hard, but I would be 'that guy' who has a glued in action. 

So I have not found anyone local, but have you talked to Echo 3 in Chapel Hill?  

Let us know if you figure it out! 

Tim 

[Handsome Rob]

1 minute ago, stealthgoat said:

hey Rob,

It really seems like it shouldn't be that hard, but I would be 'that guy' who has a glued in action. 

So I have not found anyone local, but have you talked to Echo 3 in Chapel Hill?  

Let us know if you figure it out! 

Tim 

I haven't, but they've done work for me before. 

I'll give em a call tomorrow. 

[Handsome Rob]

Echo 3 are going to take care of it! Pillar & glass bedding, free float the barrel channel & all that good stuff. 

[stealthgoat]

1 hour ago, Handsome Rob said:

Echo 3 are going to take care of it! Pillar & glass bedding, free float the barrel channel & all that good stuff. 

That is great news! I spoke with him a couple weeks ago about a small pistol project, so next rifle  bedding job I was going to speak with Echo 3 first before sending a rifle out.   

...and I still would really like to learn to do this myself... 

 

[Handsome Rob]

2 hours ago, stealthgoat said:

That is great news! I spoke with him a couple weeks ago about a small pistol project, so next rifle  bedding job I was going to speak with Echo 3 first before sending a rifle out.   

...and I still would really like to learn to do this myself... 

 

Fyi, he quoted me $200-225 for a wood stock. And yeah, I'd kinda like to watch him do it! 

He rechambered my Ruger .223 earlier this year & did a fantastic job of it. 

[Handsome Rob]

Okay, I just threw up a gigantic 'Screw It' & ordered a pillar bedding kit. Time to pull up my big boy panties & learn. 

Mostly, because I just got my barreled action back, sights & sling band ordered, all the bluing stripped & lopped 4" off the end of the stock. 

I'm waaaaay too impatient to faff around waiting 2 months for a gunsmith. 

If it goes wrong though, I'm blaming y'all. You're a bad influence.

[Sunfish]

Rob,

    you'll need some good plastic tape and follow the instructions about the release agent. I can't help you with the pillar part because I don't use them. 

[xtriggerman]

Who's pillar bedding kit did you get?

[Handsome Rob]

4 minutes ago, xtriggerman said:

Who's pillar bedding kit did you get?

This'n....

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1006522790?pid=337981

[xtriggerman]

OK but what bedding compound are you going to use?

 

[Handsome Rob]

Whatever my I've had in the basement for years! Acraglass, I think. 

[Handsome Rob]

Correction. 

It's a Wheeler Bedrock kit.

[stealthgoat]

I'm definitely following this ! 

[xtriggerman]

Im not familiar with the Wheeler compound. Acraglass is way, way obsolete. I learned on that stuff in Gun smithing school back in 79. Its runny as hell and brittle when hard. I used Acraglass gel for years and microbed for small jobs but they to are obsolete all so due to Acra gel is not as hard as it should be dry and microbed is no longer made.  The best compound out there today IMO, is the Probed 2000 seen advertised in the midway vid link to your pillars. For GP rifles, it has all the qualities you want for a rock hard cure yet with perfect slow slump flow in setting your hardware into a relaxed, yet confined inlet space. For bedding jobs that would require multiple action removals for cleaning as in Mini14's, M1A's and such or just super heavy duty recoil, I would use Devcon 10610 Aluminum putty. It has exceptional abrasion resistance.  Play dough is what I use as filler where needed. For release agent, I like a few spray on coats of Browells spray on stuff. It drys pretty fast & evenly unlike the brush on crap. I use regular electrical tape for all the over flow protection coverage.  Also, your caliber and barrel wall thickness plays into how you want to bed. Start out with free floating by oversizeing your barrel channel below the wood to barrel gap. That gap should be credit card thickness. Tape off the barrel to the same thickness so the taped barrel slips into your inlet gap nearly snug. Then put your compound into the channel. This is done after your action bedding has been completed. Once you pop your barrel out, you will have a nice uniform barrel channel of free float space. As I said, many times if your barrel in that caliber is sporter or light weight, You will not acheave the groups you want for cold barrel consistency in bullet placement. If your not happy with your 3 shot groups in a cold barrel, you will need to bed the barrel with a 1" strip at the forend tip of stock (not an added on tip). Depending on barrel thickness, I use anywhere from 5 to 12 pounds of weight to hang off your front sling swivel while the 1" strip of bedding is drying under the barrel. Ruger Ultra lights were notorious for needing alot of up ward barrel pressure to get them to group cold. Pencil weight barrels just cant deal with unsupported barrel harmonics as well as heavy cal thin wall barrels. For some reason Free Float Barrel is suppose to be what every gun needs for accuracy......NOT! Remember Remington 700's were all ways forend bedded as well as Winchester 70's in sporter barrel weight class. Heavy barrel bench guns started this Free Float BS into the hunter class of thinking. Not to say that a well bedded action can at times not need barrel bedding but its not all ways the case. 

[xtriggerman]

Seems I had 1 too many sh**s the day I wrote all that! I gotta be more careful in the future.

[Handsome Rob]

1 hour ago, xtriggerman said:

Seems I had 1 too many sh**s the day I wrote all that! I gotta be more careful in the future.

It did seem uncharacteristically verbose

[Handsome Rob]

 

On the bright side though, I got all the metalwork done today & my pillars arrived from Midway. I'm hoping to set the pillars tomorrow, skim bed the action on Monday & get to the range next weekend! 

[Handsome Rob]

As you can see.... there's not a huge amount of barrel to be concerned with bedding  

I'm planning on taking it as far as the rear sight hump & damming off in front of it. 

[Handsome Rob]

Nooope.

Do not like this feeling.