Yet another DIY bedding question

[Buck Fever]

I bought a 1 pound Devcon 10110 kit and so far in three small bedding jobs it has been great. The consistency allows you to get it everywhere you want it but it doesn't flow in to places where you dont want it. Clean up is easy before it cures and excess is easy to trim away after it cures. Working time was plenty, I never had it start to harden before it was in place and "cleaned" around my masking. I was careful to do all my prep before mixing but it probably would allow for slight delays if you forget one thing.

I haven't used other bedding materials but i have enough experience with epoxy and composites to know that it is easy to work with.

Also, the 1 pound kit is a lot. I'm going to be doing at least two more bedding jobs and I dont think I will run out of epoxy any time soon.

 

[73driver]

I definitely don't need fast set times either. I'm just curious if bedding these rifles will have any major effect on improving accuracy. They shoot fine now for my purposes but I'm thinking a lockdown project is in order and if it helps the accuracy of my 2 most used rifles even better.....beats painting the kitchen anyday

I have several rifles in the B&C stocks and they all shoot fairly well, right under inch or less at 100yds. I just put a Vanguard 6.5C and then a Howa 1500 6.5C in the B&C, they shot like c**p, 2.5 groups when a cheap Houg gave me an inch or under, getting a bedding job on this stock

 

[ntsqd]

I have noticed that the Devcon Aluminum Putty seems to go thru almost a two stage curing process. A day later it is 'hard' enough to separate the action from the stock, but a week or two later it is significantly harder than it was at a day old. I'm guessing it's a logarithmic curing cycle, much like concrete - the world's first composite, where the initial hardening happens fairly rapidly, but it continues to harden at a steadily decreasing rate as it gets harder and harder.

 

[RDRNNR268]

JB Weld is the best. Have used it for 30 years. Life Member NBRSA and all I ever used, Screw in or glue in.

 

[25WSM]

But have you used pro-bed 2000. I have used about 6 or 7 different materials for bedding and will only use pro bed 2000 now. It's just too easy to get right. The consistency is perfect. Cleanup is a breeze. Long working time. In fact I don't do my clean up for about 2 to 3 hours. It's about as hard at a tootsie roll then. I just trim it up wipe it down and pop it out in the morning.
Shep

 

[bigngreen]

I've found Marine Tex grey to be very usable and does a nice job, I buy the 2oz kits of eBay and you just dump the two parts together and it's just over enough to bed the action, rail and bottom metal. I use Devcon also but its not as friendly for doing jobs here or there, great for doing several a week.

 

[redneckdan]

Count be amoung the JB Weld heathens. I prefer the 4-6 hour set stuff. I use johnsons paste wax for release agent. I prefer to cast the barrel and action as one piece if possible. I actually have my 112 magnum target curing right now.

 

[30BR]

I know a lot of guys on the forum like to use Devcon for bedding. My question is can anyone give me a quick comparison or Pros and cons between Devcon, Marine Tex and Acraglas Gel?

If it matters, I'm looking at bedding a Rem700 SA into a B&C medalist stock and also a Savage Mk II into a Boyds AT-One stock. Neither is particularly heavy recoiling so I don't see that the difference in tensile strength matters much but, being inexperienced at this I may be wrong.

Your stock won't really matter. Some say Devcon sets up harder than Marine Tex but I've also seen reports that Marine Tex shrinks less than the others.

 

[jarnold37]

Whatever bedding compound is used, be sure to apply the release agent. Then do it again to be safe. Things can go wrong so be careful. I use modeling clayto fil the magazine well and trigger area. Over time I started masking off the opening in the bottom of the action and area for the trigger even while using the clay. Used to much clay in magazine well and when I set action down compound it pushed up on tape and it pulled loose and compound went up and forward into the bolt lug recess. So be sure to put release agent everywhere. I use Johnson floor wax which about like shoe polish but a little softer and creamier. I have heard of imperial sizing wax being used but not sure. But just figure to have release anywhere the compound may ooze

 

[Buck Fever]

I used blue painter's tape to mask everything I could get to that I didn't want epoxy on for both the action and stock.

When I applied mold release, I did apply 2-3 coats of dollar store brown shoe polish. The color made it easier to see where it was applied before i buffed each layer. I did apply release over the tape which was a good idea.

In my bedding job, my action was not machined to a high surface quality or polished and that slightly rough surface keyed in to the bedding so I didn't need to bed the sides of my recoil lug, it locks in to the bedding and won't rotate. The scope rail bedding also keys in to the surface so it is more solid than I expected.

I would just say, you want to bed where the back of the recoil lug seats and the underside of the receiver in enough places to support it, you don't need a perfect negative mold of your action so if you miss a spot it's probably fine.

 

[ntsqd]

I use one layer of carefully trimmed plain old electrical tape, not stretched, on the sides, bottom, and front of most recoil lugs. On lugs that have a profile radius on the bottom corners the tape for the sides & bottom is one piece. Leaves behind just enough gap to make R&R much easier.

 

[Mram10us]

Your stock won't really matter. Some say Devcon sets up harder than Marine Tex but I've also seen reports that Marine Tex shrinks less than the others.

The msds sheets show they are very close in psi ratings and shrinkage. Devcon is a little thicker and better for some applications while marine Tex is more fluid and better for others. Good luck
btw, taping the lug is highly debated. I started out doing all but the rear of the lug. Now, I only do the bottom of the lug. Experiment and see what works best for you

 

[ntsqd]

There's no debate in my mind, I tape them. Without that clearance the lug will rub and wear on the bedding every time the action is removed and then again when replaced. It won't be much, may not even be able to easily measure the wear from one cycle, but it will happen. I don't frequently R&R the actions from the stock, but I also don't want to be wearing out the bedding if I do have to frequently R&R an action for some reason. I see no point in creating an M1A-like situation when it is easily avoided.
I suppose some might say that the clearance might allow the action to move around in the stock. I'd ask why they're not torquing the action screws.

 

[Mram10us]

There's no debate in my mind, I tape them. Without that clearance the lug will rub and wear on the bedding every time the action is removed and then again when replaced. It won't be much, may not even be able to easily measure the wear from one cycle, but it will happen. I don't frequently R&R the actions from the stock, but I also don't want to be wearing out the bedding if I do have to frequently R&R an action for some reason. I see no point in creating an M1A-like situation when it is easily avoided.
I suppose some might say that the clearance might allow the action to move around in the stock. I'd ask why they're not torquing the action screws.

And there is the debate I don't remove often either. What is more repeatable and secure? OP, try any way you want to decide for yourself.