bedding compound

Rflshootr said:
frwillia,
what do you like about the devcon that makes it better?
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I'm not sure I can point to objective measures to support liking Devcon better. I just like how it works, mixes, and finishes. I have a container of the Acraglas Gel and the Devcon both, and I always reach for the Devcon.

All the rifles I've ever bedded with either material shot better afterwords. I have no data to say Devcon makes a rifle shoot better than Acraglas. I just liked working with the Devcon better. It stays where I put it, gives me plenty of time to do a good job with out rushing, doesn't run or drip off a round action that's upside down for being given a light coat to make sure there aren't any bubbles.

Fitch
 
Im sure some of you guys have done a lot more bedding jobs that me but a lot of mine have been on pretty big magnums with lots of recoil. I gave up on Acraglass because it never really got hard enough. I like using Marine tex and feel it is as impervious to chemicals as anything - it's a little expensive. Lately, I have been using Devcon 10110. Thing I like about it best is you can mix it by weight. I have a bag of 1oz cups. I put one on my scale and zero it out. I put a dab of the metal filled resin in it and note the weight. I then add 1/9th of that amount in hardener and mix it up. No guessing on volumes which you have to do with the putties. If you heat it during cure, it gets really hard- for me, this simply means putting it in the sun for a couple of hours or putting a small space heater by it in the winter.

I recently had my water cooler start leaking. I took it apart and found that the plastic tank where the bottle sits had a small split. I cleaned it up and when I bedded a rifle the next day, I used the left-over to patch that spot- it bonded to the plastic and fixed the leak! I repaired a gas tank with it Saturday (nipple broke off the output line when we went to replace the filter assembly) seems to have worked there too. Pretty handy stuff.

I make custom knives several times a year and for that I use stuff called Zee poxy. It is easy to work with, has great bond strength and the perfect amount of pot life. I don't like using 5 minute epoxy for knife making. This stuff is stronger than even Devcon 5 minute. I takes color well and buffs nice on seams. I have used it to fix some stuff on rifles where the putty wouldn't run enough.

I tried the local sources stuff from the hobby store and it was pure junk. Home Depot doesn't even carry good epoxy except the stuff used for anchoring bolts in concrete but that stuff is not packaged to be used other than all at once.

I tried using some micro bed or something like that on a couple of rifles. It stuck right through the release agent and was soft afterwards. Big mistake. If I try and epoxy now, I mix some up in one of my 1oz cups and let it cure. I then try to destroy it and see how it holds up before i put it on something important.
 
I always read the bedding items, looking for new ideas. No one ever mentions using Brownells "Steel-bed"? I have been using it for years with great results. I have done over 30 rifles and only had one problem with not enough release agent. (over night in my freezer fixed that). One of my personal rifles is over 15 years old and on its third barrel with on problems. It is easy to use and has great results. I have also used Devcon, they are equal in my opinion.
mike
 
Gents,

I use Marine Tex and have been quite happy with it. I have also used Acra Glass, but found it to be too soft for my likeing.

When mixing Marine Tex by volume (5 to 1, resin to catalyst), I've done it a couple of ways:

I have a piece of square aluminum that I plunged a 1/2" ball end mill into, leaving a nice, smooth, half-round concave depression in the aluminum. Fill and remove resin 5 times, fill/remove once with catalyst, and mix it up. If one was inclined, you could do a bit of math and make depressions of the appropriate sizes for the resin and catalyst (5 to 1) making things a bit easier.

Another method is to cut two pieces of 1/2" copper tubing or something similar, one being 1/5 as long as the other. Fill the long one with resin and use something to push the contents out. Fill the short one with catalyst and let it run out. Mix.

And to piggyback on Mickey Coleman's posts, I've colored white Marine Tex with the bedding dyes that are available from Brownell's. It didn't take much dye, and I could see no ill effects on the bedding material.

Hope this helps,
Justin
 
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The easiest way to make sure that you have the correct mix of Marine Tex is to weigh it at a 6.3 to 1 ratio. Put whatever you use for a mixing cup on the scale, zero the scale with the cup on it. Add however much epoxy you want into the cup, weigh it, divide by 6.3 and add that weight of hardner to the cup.

When the price of Marine-Tex doubled on me, I quit using it and went to the West Systems epoxy that Mickey uses. I use the gallon size #105 epoxy can and quart size #206 hardner with the #404 high density filler. I like it better than the #406 colloidial silica filler, but have used both fillers. I get it from Jamestown Distributors. They also have the dyes that make a limited number of colors.
 
Mike Bryant said:
The easiest way to make sure that you have the correct mix of Marine Tex is to weigh it at a 6.3 to 1 ratio. Put whatever you use for a mixing cup on the scale, zero the scale with the cup on it. Add however much epoxy you want into the cup, weigh it, divide by 6.3 and add that weight of hardner to the cup.

When the price of Marine-Tex doubled on me, I quit using it and went to the West Systems epoxy that Mickey uses. I use the gallon size #105 epoxy can and quart size #206 hardner with the #404 high density filler. I like it better than the #406 colloidial silica filler, but have used both fillers. I get it from Jamestown Distributors. They also have the dyes that make a limited number of colors.
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Mike,

Thanks for that little nugget. I will give it a try next time.

Justin
 
I mix bedding compound like marine tex on a sheet of glass using a putty knife.

After putting the epoxy in the stock I used a 100 watt bulb to heat it slightly and then any air bubbles will come out .
Then drop the barreled action in quickly as the epoxy flows better.

Have a timer running.

And a thermometer to watch the temperature.
I like 80 degrees F.

Organize all your materials and tools first .

Call Robertson Composites for an excellent bedding compound.

Hopefully Ian will see this and post.

Glenn
 
alinwa said:
does anyone know the weight ratio for acraglas?

al
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If I recall correctly Al, it was 50/50 and is listed in the instructions. Been a long time though. Seems to me the weights of the two containers were similar as were the volumes.
 
I called Brownell's.... not only do they have no clue, they weren't even interested in researching it nor would they tell me who makes it.
 
Brownells holds their stuff very, very close to their hearts- you won't get anything out of them about who makes stuff because they know that someone can go around them and get away from their 200% markup.

Mike- nice to know about the 6.3-1 ratio. I don't buy Marine Tex anymore but still have some. Like you say, it is too easy to measure it out by weight to even worry about all this Rube Goldberg methods of measuring these ridiculous ratios. One of the reason Acra Glass is so popular is the 1:1 Ratio. Devcon has more metal in it than Marine Tex and has more compressive strength. Whether this is really helpful or not, I have no idea!
 
I like the Devcon steel putty. If rust is a real concern, then use the titanium or the aluminum putty. Good work time, viscosity, hardness. Virtually no shrinkage, I believe. Far better than Acra-glass, and better than Marinetex (in my limited experience). And if you search the web you can find it cheap.
 
Aunt Ruby's teapot?

I've been following this thread. Nothing much to contribute, as I use Marine-Tex to bed and JB-Weld to glue. Maybe I'll try the Devcon, what with the price of Marine-Tex. So learning that was worth the price of admission.

BUT:

Maybe one of you knows the answer to this one. My wife's antique teapot was dropped by some guests, and broke into a few pieces. To fix it, the epoxy will need to take the heat of boiling water being poured over the tea, and be colorless, so the repairs show as little as possible.

Any teapot repairers out there?
 
Charles:
Not really an answer, but I recommend the Frieling stainless, thermal-insulated, 20 oz. tea maker with infuser. Maybe not bomb proof, but it takes the knocks.
Not as good as a thermal-insulated French press (Nissan and others), but I still prefer coffee, in the mornings anyway.
Sorry I can't help with a clear epoxy.
 
Belzonia, yeh, I have worked with it quite a bit, since we are in the Marine Machine Shop Business.

If you listen to the hype presented by the product representatives, you wonder why the just don't make an entire vessel out of the stuff.

As for bedding, I have never used anything but plain old Devcon, I glue with JB Weld. I have never had a action come loose.

In fact, I just took my favorite Farley apart to convert it to a drop port, (that's another story). About 7 years ago, I put the barreled action into the current BRX Stock. Since it fit pretty well, I skipped the bedding, and just glued it in with JB. After 7 years, I still had a heck of a time getting it apart.

Ditto on using something that is TOO good. Back in tghe 90's, a local came accross some stuff that they used to bond Helicopter Blades. He glued a Rifle together with it. A little later, he had reason to take it apart. He just about ended up carving that stock from around the action.........jackie
 
One thing about the Devcon 10110 that I don't think anyone mentioned ( unless I missed it )...The mix ratio is not very critical, 2.5 to 1 by eyeball is just fine. No need to measure by weight or volume, you can if you want to, but why ?

No need for heat lamps, so long as your shop is heated, about a 45 minute work time, and I have never gotten any air bubbles.

I'm not saying Devcon 10110 is the be-all & end-all absolute best bedding material of all time and everything else should be ignored, but I am saying that's what I use and see no need to try anything else...but would always welcome the opportunity for something better.

------------Jeff
 
I have found that all of the bedding compounds sold are more than up to the job if they are mixed properly. I never mix by volume. If a material does not come with the proper ratios by weight then I figure it out. Weight is a simpler and more accurate way to measure. Just because it gets hard does not really mean that it was measured properly. It's hard to do a proper evaluation with a finger nail. Marine Tex is 100:15.9, Acraglass Gel is 100:90, resin:hardener. The easy way to measure is to use your electronic scale, put a blob of resin in a disposable cup and weigh, use your calculator to add the % of hardener to get your grand total, add hardener to the weight and mix away. I also transfer to a clean cup and mix again with a clean stick and then apply with another clean stick. You can't over mix!
 
Ian Robertson said:
I have found that all of the bedding compounds sold are more than up to the job if they are mixed properly. I never mix by volume. If a material does not come with the proper ratios by weight then I figure it out. Weight is a simpler and more accurate way to measure. Just because it gets hard does not really mean that it was measured properly. It's hard to do a proper evaluation with a finger nail. Marine Tex is 100:15.9, Acraglass Gel is 100:90, resin:hardener. The easy way to measure is to use your electronic scale, put a blob of resin in a disposable cup and weigh, use your calculator to add the % of hardener to get your grand total, add hardener to the weight and mix away. I also transfer to a clean cup and mix again with a clean stick and then apply with another clean stick. You can't over mix!
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OK Ian, I agree with you........... now, what's the weight ratio for acraglas???

:)

al
 
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