I don't have any experience doing it, however I have read a lot about how to. There sure seems like a lot of different opinions on the subject.
What's your technique? What products do you use? Did you notice any increase in accuracy? Did you enjoy doing it? Was it worth the time and energy?
I've read a lot of very intelligent responses to various questions in this forum; and I'm interested in your opinions on this matter.
Glass bedding a rifle
Moderators: Bullseye, Moderators
Epoxy bedding the action of a rifle is worth it if you trying to gain uber accuracy - 1 Moa or less. If you are wondering if this is worthy of all the effort for a hunting rifle then I'd say no. But if you're building a match rifle or a benchrest one then to be competitive the answer is yes.
I don't build to many of these anymore, most folks have made the jump to the AR-15 platform for service rifle competition. But back a few years I used to bed the fiberglass and wooden stocks of M-1A's and M-1's for accurizing highpower service rifles. The bedding matches the stock to the action and prevents it from shifting under the forces of recoil. But epoxy bedding is only part of the accuracy upgrade, welding on a lug is the second part. With a single, double, and in extreme cases a triple lug, the action is bolted and torqued into the stock to prevent any shifting of the receiver.
Why lug and bed? In accurate rifle shooting, there are three points of aim. One and two are the front and rear sights of course, but the third is the aiming eye position behind the rear sight. Any change here and the point of impact (POI) can vary considerably. To maintain a consistent eye placement the shooter must use a cheek weld on the stock. This technique ensures the eye is positioned in the exact same place every time for aiming consistency. If the action is shifting in the stock then the eye, regardless of the cheek weld on the stock, is not seeing the same sight picture every time. It only takes .003" of shift to change POI by a half of a minute. That's not a lot of physical change. Plus the shift can be more significant because the eye's view is changed in the angular sense when the action shifts, causing a greater accuracy difference and more of a POI variation. Not to mention that the action is moving all around the stock and not moving consistently in any direction. This causes the target impacts to open up in more of a circular pattern, or string in one direction.
What do I use? Well I like a product called Marine-Tex. I use the gray. I also add in some atomized metal to the epoxy mix to increase the strength and compressibility. This metal mixture increases the overall life of the epoxy bedding job. If you're just doing one or two then Brownell's has a brand they call 'Acraglas Gel' that works just fine. It is important to generously coat the action in a releasing agent. If you don't use the releasing agent, then you'll bond the action into the stock - not a good thing. I also use some simple modeling clay to fill the action's holes and voids to prevent any epoxy from seeping in and boding to these delicate areas.
This is a pretty good article on stock bedding for a beginner. http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/GunTec ... &t=1&i=641
Brownell's carries both these products.
Hope this helps.
R,
Bullseye
I don't build to many of these anymore, most folks have made the jump to the AR-15 platform for service rifle competition. But back a few years I used to bed the fiberglass and wooden stocks of M-1A's and M-1's for accurizing highpower service rifles. The bedding matches the stock to the action and prevents it from shifting under the forces of recoil. But epoxy bedding is only part of the accuracy upgrade, welding on a lug is the second part. With a single, double, and in extreme cases a triple lug, the action is bolted and torqued into the stock to prevent any shifting of the receiver.
Why lug and bed? In accurate rifle shooting, there are three points of aim. One and two are the front and rear sights of course, but the third is the aiming eye position behind the rear sight. Any change here and the point of impact (POI) can vary considerably. To maintain a consistent eye placement the shooter must use a cheek weld on the stock. This technique ensures the eye is positioned in the exact same place every time for aiming consistency. If the action is shifting in the stock then the eye, regardless of the cheek weld on the stock, is not seeing the same sight picture every time. It only takes .003" of shift to change POI by a half of a minute. That's not a lot of physical change. Plus the shift can be more significant because the eye's view is changed in the angular sense when the action shifts, causing a greater accuracy difference and more of a POI variation. Not to mention that the action is moving all around the stock and not moving consistently in any direction. This causes the target impacts to open up in more of a circular pattern, or string in one direction.
What do I use? Well I like a product called Marine-Tex. I use the gray. I also add in some atomized metal to the epoxy mix to increase the strength and compressibility. This metal mixture increases the overall life of the epoxy bedding job. If you're just doing one or two then Brownell's has a brand they call 'Acraglas Gel' that works just fine. It is important to generously coat the action in a releasing agent. If you don't use the releasing agent, then you'll bond the action into the stock - not a good thing. I also use some simple modeling clay to fill the action's holes and voids to prevent any epoxy from seeping in and boding to these delicate areas.
This is a pretty good article on stock bedding for a beginner. http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/GunTec ... &t=1&i=641
Brownell's carries both these products.
Hope this helps.
R,
Bullseye
Thanks Bullseye. I always thought it might be a neat project to undertake.
When you talk about the "overall life" of the bedding job, how long can I expect a well-done job to last? What happens when it gets old? Does it crack, or does it start getting loose?
How far up the barrel do you typically bed the rifle? I have read about everything from just the action, to 6 inches up the barrel.
When you talk about the "overall life" of the bedding job, how long can I expect a well-done job to last? What happens when it gets old? Does it crack, or does it start getting loose?
How far up the barrel do you typically bed the rifle? I have read about everything from just the action, to 6 inches up the barrel.
A good bedding job can last a very long time. Some of the bedding life depends on how often the action is disassembled, proper torque on the lug bolts, and caliber of the weapon. Typically a poor one or a bedding job that is about to fail, cracks will develop and the epoxy will chip out.
There's different applications for each type of action. Most are just action bedding with a free floating barrel. However there are some barreled actions that require a partial barrel bedding job or even a barrel mounting pressure pad further up the stock.
R,
Bullseye
There's different applications for each type of action. Most are just action bedding with a free floating barrel. However there are some barreled actions that require a partial barrel bedding job or even a barrel mounting pressure pad further up the stock.
R,
Bullseye