I got mine at the start of the Clinton gun ban so ended up paying as much for a stock as a rock M1A as the Ultra Match would have cost in April of that year. Subsequently added wood stock and heavy douglas Air guaged barrel from champions choice. Would hold 1 MOA with NM Irons and my 50 YO eyes at the time
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Favorite bedding compounds
- Thread starter Coldfinger
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freddiej
Well-Known Member
I have never had any luck with the gel form of acra-glas. the standard form in two liquids is far better. the gel has never cured right and has stayed soft for 20+ years on rifles I have seen in my shop.
I will use metal bed for big magnums and acra-glas for most everything else.
freddiej
Well-Known Member
I might have to rethink my bedding compound for the shop. it seems Devcon and marine tex might be better. I tried marine tex a long time ago and it was the worst I had used.. I used JB Weld with horrific results. I will never us JB ever again. not for anything that possibly could be in the rain.
Blackhawk
Well-Known Member
A very clean and professional bedding job.
Kudos to you!
I have bedded literally hundreds of rifles. I have also taught a lot of guys how to do them. Devcon and Probed are the two top of the line products and the best choice for bedding rifles by far. JB, Marine Tex etc do not do as smooth a job nor do they have as low a shrink factor, don't get as hard and don't last near as long.
For those of you that find your Devcon dries out, put a piece of wax paper over the Grey Devcon and tuck it fairly tight, helps slow the drying. Also, when you mix the hardener into the Epoxy you will find that it thins out a whole bunch and makes it the perfect thickness for working with. You can keep Devcon up to 3 or 4 years and still have it work fine. Reason I know is I found a tub that got stashed way back in the wrong cupboard, decided to try it out and it worked fine, also how I figured out the cream colored hardener thins the stiff epoxy really well.
For those of you that find your Devcon dries out, put a piece of wax paper over the Grey Devcon and tuck it fairly tight, helps slow the drying. Also, when you mix the hardener into the Epoxy you will find that it thins out a whole bunch and makes it the perfect thickness for working with. You can keep Devcon up to 3 or 4 years and still have it work fine. Reason I know is I found a tub that got stashed way back in the wrong cupboard, decided to try it out and it worked fine, also how I figured out the cream colored hardener thins the stiff epoxy really well.
redleg1013
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Marine Tex
bulletin.accurateshooter.com
What Are the Best Bedding Materials? Speedy Speaks « Daily Bulletin
A customer of well-known gunsmith (and Hall-of-Fame shooter) Thomas Speedy Gonzalez recently asked Speedy about bedding compounds. Speedy offered some interesting advice based on long-term testing of various materials. Speedy favors Marine-Tex because it is very stable over time, while other...
Marine Tex
What Are the Best Bedding Materials? Speedy Speaks « Daily Bulletin
A customer of well-known gunsmith (and Hall-of-Fame shooter) Thomas Speedy Gonzalez recently asked Speedy about bedding compounds. Speedy offered some interesting advice based on long-term testing of various materials. Speedy favors Marine-Tex because it is very stable over time, while other...
I read the article, I do not buy that they got 3 to 6% shrinkage on Devcon Steel. I have rifles that have been bedded for 20 years in Devcon and the recoil lug and action are still completely tight, no gap or play at all. Devcon publishes their shrinkage factor at .0006CM/CM.. There are 2,54 CM in an inch so 15 ten thousandth, .001524 of an inch per inch or .15%. I have never done a shrink test myself but all the other ones I have read have shown virtually zero shrinkage on Devcon, some shrinkage in Marine Tex and a lot of shrink on JB and Accraglas.
Devcon Spec Sheet
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Frank Kalisz
Well-Known Member
I used Gray Marine Tex epoxy on my projects and they turned out pretty well. I also considered the Devcon epoxy but I couldn't find it in small enough quantity to get a reasonable price.
Starlite
Well-Known Member
When bedding down I like to use hemlock bows. They get me off the ground nice and soft. 
In all seriousness I've never bedded rifles before. I'm learning a lot though.
In all seriousness I've never bedded rifles before. I'm learning a lot though.
I have mentioned this before but for what it is worth, my 2 cents, more like 1 cent. Over several years I have used many different compounds to bed with. Have not used marine-tex so cant compare it. However, of all of the bedding compounds there is one that seems to be the hardest of all. I keep leftover batches of compounds that have hardened and Bisonite cannot even be cut with a chisel. I use to say for my guns, bisonite. For other people guns, Devcon. The reason being Devcon is goo and it cleans up very easy before hardening with wet q tips. Bisonite very hard to clean up before it sets up and when it does set it is extremely hard to edge and finish. Bisonite is no longer available, and maybe thats good because now I use Devcon and is much easier to use.
redleg1013
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That's cool. I'm not saying that you must believe my opinion nor the reason behind it. That's the intellectually honest thing about science is that it offers itself to anyone willing, to repeat the experiment and see if they derive similar results. You don't believe it? Test it, but the burden of proof is yours.
We know that there is lot to lot variation in powder and primers (so many threads on that topic here), so why not Devcon or Marine Tex? I do think that a company which makes epoxy for plugging holes/cracks in boats would want to make sure the product was stable and not a source for liability claims when repaired boats start leaking.
In today's world of lax standards in copy editing, where spell check passes for proofreading, it is not outside the realm of possibility that numbers or decimals were transposed.
Aside from that it's a Coke vs Pepsi argument.
DCAN
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Late to the party, but I'll throw in my two cents. Marine Tex or JB Weld. Depends what I bedding. Just recently had the chance to use a product called, "Splash Zone". Its a 2 part putty. Hard as steel when set. Looking for something to use it on in the gun world. I used it to seal a leak on a hyd. cylinder fitting. Stuff was really easy to work with. Especially after I started following the directions.........
Another option I have been using for years. I have posted this in the past but this question comes up regularly. Great for bedding rails and scopes as well.
Does not cure too quickly, will not run/drip (non-sagging), bonds dissimilar substances (some flexibility), very durable. The Devcon epoxy putty also works very well for action bedding but the 9460 is thinner and seems to fill around pillars a little better. The trade off is that it is thinner (but will not run) and if not careful will get all over and once cured can not be removed easily. I use ease release 200 since an aerosol spray seems to better assure all spaces are covered with the releasing agent. I used paste wax for a long time but much prefer the aerosol
MagnumManiac
Well-Known Member
I have never seen Devcon shrink.
I can set the rifle up on the bed of the mill, take several measurements with a depth mic and bed the rifle and measure again after cute with the rifle still set up there, and not even .0001" difference.
Unless the spec of .0006" per 1 cubic inch relates to time after cure, I'm not sure if that is the case. I do know after cure it mills and drills like steel with continuous swarf coming off.
Cheers.
I can set the rifle up on the bed of the mill, take several measurements with a depth mic and bed the rifle and measure again after cute with the rifle still set up there, and not even .0001" difference.
Unless the spec of .0006" per 1 cubic inch relates to time after cure, I'm not sure if that is the case. I do know after cure it mills and drills like steel with continuous swarf coming off.
Cheers.
