Bedding Material

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  • Last Post 23 January 2019
beagle6 posted this 21 January 2019

Has anyone used JB Weld or any other commonly available epoxy to bed a rifle? What were the results?

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Brodie posted this 22 January 2019

The only bedding I have done was with Brownell's AccraGlass.  In my experience JBWeld doesn't stick that well to wood. 

I have heard of Marine Tex being used to bed rifle actions and barrels.  It's good stuff if you mix it correctly.  If you don't it won't set.  I recall that it was 3 measures of one to 5 of the other.  Read the directions if you decide to use it.  Marine tex will get so hard that you can drill and tap it.  Good Luck

s

B.E.Brickey

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M3 Mitch posted this 22 January 2019

AcraGlas is so available and relatively cheap, and you know it will work.  I'm not seeing how using JB Weld or similar ersatz materials would make much sense. 

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RicinYakima posted this 22 January 2019

I have used JB for years for recoil lugs, but it is expensive for general use. Nope, it will not stick to oily wood, or plastic stock finishes, but everything else. It has about zero shrinkage, which is why I use it. Yes is will get hard enough to drill and tap. HOWEVER, YOU CAN NOT GET IT TO RELEASE USING HEAT IF YOU SCREW UP!! Unlike almost everything else, if you make an error you can not use a heat gun to break it down. It is there forever. But since I only use a 1/4 teaspoon for a recoil lug, it is just fine for me. IMHO, Ric

p.s. search on YouTube for a comparison of JB, Gorilla Glue and other adhesives.

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delmarskid posted this 22 January 2019

I have used JB. To make it go further I added chopped steel wool.

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loophole posted this 22 January 2019

back in the days when I built super accurate ground/crow/prairie dog rifles I learned to use Acraglassaa and a few other glass products to bed bolt action rifles. Acraglass in the green box works best for me.

I have bedded 20--30  rifles--mine and those of friends.  Read and follow the instructions exactly and after some screw ups when first learning and I got professional results.  I got best results in terms of accuracy with Rem 700's  but I often got very accurate Springfields, Ruger 77's, 70 Winchesters  I do not remember any rifle that shot worse after bedding, but a few showed no improvement. I have made a few rifle stocks from a blank, but I never developed the skill and patience to bed a bolt action tightly in the wood.

Steve K 

 

 

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Lee posted this 22 January 2019

Used Devcon Steel, Marine Tex, AcraGlass, AcraGel, Micro Bed. Not worried about weight Devcon Steel. Marine Tex easy to work with. Reinforce Marine Tex with Fiberglass works well.

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Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 22 January 2019

being old school, i like Devcon ... aluminum, ....  it mixes about 2 to 1, but i just go by eyeball, ( i make one string twice as long as the other ) and never had a non-set.  it is also not very runny, and is filled enough to make a little structure if you need it.

the drawback is it is kinda expensive at $60 ... but it keeps forever and there are a lot of uses for it.

*********

next choice is jb weld, and you can buy a couple ounces for under $20 .... it is more runny, so it is better to use it to glue in some metal structure behind the recoil lug, then just skim coat that to fit the lug.    

you can use a lot of devcon, but don't use a lot of jb weld.

******************

here is an outline of my approach .... ALMOST goof-proof ...   

if your rifle is already reasonably well bedded in it's stock, first free float the barrel, and then use the existing action bearing surfaces to guide the barreled action. 

just do one structure at a time  

pillar the stock screws, first the front, let set, then do the rear, let set.    the pillar tubes should be a little too long and trimmed after set-up.... also the pillar tubes should be up against the action metal when the epoxy is setting up.  the action will later be setting on these pillars when finishing the bedding. remember pillars have nothing to do with handling recoil, they just keep the stockwood from compressing.

( i might mention that on my target rifles i make the pillar tubes fatter than the stock screws ... and of course make slightly oversize pillar holes in the stock.  then i screw the pillars to the action and lower the pillars and screws down through the stock into the epoxy goo and let them  setup.    the action then sits on the tops of the pillars. )

for now leave the rear tang alone and bed the recoil lug. some under barrel if you like ... i like about an inch forward of the lug.  for a switch barrel, don't bed in front of the lug.   take your dremel grinder and grind a cavity behind the lug but leave a couple of 1/8 inch slivers of original stock to guide the receiver ring.

if devcon, you can fill that cavity... if jb weld, glue in a small metal plate/block that just slides into that cavity ... you want something there that won't compress from recoil .  now add just slightly too much epoxy goo to the stock in the front ring area and you have about 10 minutes at room temperature to :

set the barreled action straight down into the stock and squish all the excess epoxy out of the bedded area.  we assume you have covered that area of the rifle metal with KIWI CLEAR SHOE POLISH or other known good release agent.  also THE ACTION SCREWS OR STOCKMAKER'S SCREWS ....  and put masking tape on the outside of the stock where the goo might try to stick .

after the goo squishes out because you gently tightened the stock screws just snug plus a little, you wipe off any goo and let it set up about a half hour.   watch your unused epoxy mix and when it sets into a hard gel, loosen your stock screw about half a turn and retighten ... just insurance to not weld it into your stock.  do this again about an hour into the set .  welding in stock screws is pretty much terminal, and about the only real mistake that you can make that you can't later fix .

once you are sure that you can get your gun apart later, let the assembly cure overnight.  then do the rear tang in the same manner.

allow 4 days assembled for complete cure before shooting ... the 1 hour setup time is not curing.  

note that doing one area at a time allows existing proven points in the stock to control the alignment of the stock and barreled action ...  i feel this is a satisfying and least scary a way to " glass" bed a rifle.  

this is for doot yourself rifle guys ... takes a couple-five days but you are in control, not depending on luck ...

oh, if you have a bubble in your glue job it is probably best to leave it ... the epoxy used is heck for strong and if you try to pretty it up you might just leave a " bump " ...

at this point you have a free-floating barrel tuned system  ....  it might not like the same load as before you bedded it ....try to get a load free-floating before you try shimming pressure ....  that barrel vibration thing is real ....

please pm me if i can be of further assistance, this is more of a chord sheet than note by note ... .....

ken

 

 

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OU812 posted this 22 January 2019

Bolt the aluminum pillers to receiver before lowering receiver into uncured epoxy. Drill Piller holes in stock slightly large. Center barrel in free floated barrel channel using tape wrapped around barrel. Then clamp receiver to stock and let cure without trigger guard attached. After curing trim excess around trigger guard area to attach trigger guard.

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Lee posted this 22 January 2019

Guess I'm just lazy. I bed everything all at once. Prep the stock with enough room for some fiberglass in the bottom of the action and barrel channel. Tape the barrel for a free float or bed it solid. Two layers of tape on the bottom of the recoil lug. Some compound in the bottom of the stock then fiberglass more compound. Make sure there is relies agent on all metal parts!!! Put the barrel and action into the stock screw the guard screws into the action through the bottom metal, do not tighten. Let everything settle. When rubbery trim over-run and loosen guard screws. Remove action and barrel from stock and clean up.

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Ed Harris posted this 22 January 2019

Another vote for MarineTex with glass fill from West Marine!

73 de KE4SKY In Home Mix We Trust From the Home of Ed's Red in "Almost Heaven" West Virginia

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R. Dupraz posted this 22 January 2019

 

 

 

M3 Mitch posted this 15 hours ago

 

"AcraGlas is so available and relatively cheap, and you know it will work.  I'm not seeing how using JB Weld or similar ersatz materials would make much sense."

 

 I have used AcraGlas with satisfaction for years for bedding and stock repairs and agree.

 

 Some  characteristics that I like about it are that there are two versions, one sorta liquid and the other a gel. Handy depending on the application.

The other is that the liquid works great when repairing cracks in stocks. All one has to do depending. is to place a thin ribbon of AG liquid over the crack, hit it with a heat gun and clamp if needed. It will be sucked into the crack like gang busters. Works even better when the crack or break is through checkering because when cured, the checkering can often be refreshed or recut and then refinished. rendering the repair imperceptible depending on the severity of the crack of course.

And for added strength such as in a high power target rifle, powdered steel or aluminum can be added to the Glass. Pretty much fool proof if the simple directions are followed. 

 

  

 

 

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pisco posted this 22 January 2019

hi i have found acra glas gel to be the best bedding material

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rmrix posted this 23 January 2019

I have used Micro-bed and liked it because not only was it a bedding compound but it was brown. I am sorry it is not being sold anymore. Up close it still looked looked like bedding but from arms length it is great. I have not tried the Acraglass - what is the best way to color match with the wood? Does it have a color kit?

 

BTW- JB-Weld, which I keep around for what ever comes up that it might be good for, only comes in a non-wood matching gray.

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R. Dupraz posted this 23 January 2019

Two little packs of powerful dye come with every AG kit, one brown and the other black.

Using AG Gel and tinting with the brown dye, no different than using Micro-bed except that the intensity of the color can be adjusted with AG and dye.

 

R

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