Looking for a gunsmith

[my82cam]

I am looking for a quality gunsmith in the Hendersonville/north Nashville area.  I am wanting to replace the stock on my custom rifle with a manners EH1.  Someone who has experience installing the pillars and bedding the action and doing the job right.  I was using MTG for all of my gunsmithing needs and had the utmost confidence in him, but he moved to WY.  If you know of, or have used one and have had a great experience with one, please let me know.  Thanks

[Dolomite_supafly]

Doing it yourself is easy enough.

 

There are a couple of things that I do to make sure they are perfect.

 

First it taping the action. I us electrical tape because it stretches and conforms to corners better. Basically anywhere you do not want the bedding material to touch you must tape off. I normally start taping the receiver at the stock line and put a line of tape on the receiver above the stock. I tape off the stock where the bedding material will squeeze out and onto the stock. Make sure to tape off the front, sides and bottom of the recoil lug but not the rear of the recoil lug. I Once the trigger, top of the action and anywhere else you do not want bedding material is taped off you need to apply release agent. Everyone who does this has their favorite release agent, I use clear Kiwi shoe polish. Do not be stingy with the shoe polish and put it everywhere. I completely coat the receiver, the tape and the first 12" of the barrel. You also need to coat the action screws with shoe polish to keep them from glued in.

 

To prep the stock you need to do a few things. First is you want to roughen up the channel where the action will go as well as about 1" in front of the recoil lug. Then build a clay dam about 1" in front of the recoil lug.

 

To ensure the barrel is perfectly centered in the stock mark the barrel at the end of the stock. Then wrap enough tape around the barrel so that the tape is the same diameter as the barrel channel. This will ensure the barrel is perfectly centered in the stock, both side to side as well as level with the stock.

 

Next I mix the compound. I use Devcon steel putty and it is as good as anything out there. Marinetex is another that works well but you cannot buy it in single use tubes like Devcon. Once it is mixed you want to use enough to cover the sides of the receiver receiver, the recoil lug and the first 1" of the barrel. Do not put any on the receiver, only in the stock. I normally only go about a 1/2" down from the edge of the stock if it has a magazine.

 

Now it is time to screw everything together. Start by lightly setting the receiver into the stock forward by about 1/8" of the final position. Then push on the muzzle to force the recoil lug against he recess in the stock. Start the action screw at the rear. Next start the front action screw but do not tighten it. Now set the gun on the butt and will applying pressure under the barrel snug, not tighten, the rear action screw. Keep pressure on the underside of the barrel and snug down the front action screw. Go back and tighten the rear and then the front action screws while applying pressure under the barrel. The barrel will begin to pull itself down onto the tape you have added to the barrel to keep it centered in the barrel channel of the stock.

 

Now it is time to clean up some of the excess. Don not worry about cleaning up the junction between the stock and receiver. You just want to remove big clumps for now. Then in a 3-4 hours come back and remove all the tape. The junction should break cleanly but if it doesn't use a razor blade to create a break line. Now wait 24 hours for a complete cure. All this should be done in normal hours temperatures and there is a reason for this.

 

Now if you have done everything right it should be done and nothing should be glued together. The way I remove the receiver from the stock is this. First I remove the action screws completely. You cannot lift the action out of the receiver and it will feel like you have glued everything together but you have not. Set the gun outside or in a freezer for an hour or so. Remove it then while holding it by the barrel take a rubber mallet and hit the top of the receiver. It might sound like a 22 going off as it breaks free and the stock should fall away. If it doesn't then hit it a few more times and all should be good. The ONLY reason why it would not is because of two reasons, one you did not use enough shoe polish. You should cover every square inch of the gun. The second reason is the bedding compound got into a crease somewhere and has locked it in place.

 

JB weld seems like a perfect bedding compound but it is not. It is very brittle and has nothing in it to toughen it up. Devcon Steel Putty has steel in and you can easily tell a different between the two when you start filing on it.

 

If you are ever in the Knoxville area bring the gun and I will help YOU do it for yourself.

[my82cam]

A lot of good info there, I wish we were closer for a lot of reasons. I think I will leave it up to someone who does it often and knows how to do it in their sleep lol  I see me getting goo all over a high $$ stock lol

[Monstar]

kris paulson @ dtv tactical....located in hendersonville

 

hes on here too...173rdABN

[my82cam]

Yep, I know kris, he is a great guy.  I have a heavy barrel 308 that I just purchased a stockys knock off of the EH1 to install on it, I am going to try it myself.  If that install goes well, I may try the manners EH1 on my 300.  The more I research about it, the more I feel I can do it myself.