Bedding scope base

A

AdamZx3

Guest
I will be getting a Remington 700 SPS Tactical 308 later on this summer and plan to build it up gradually. I have picked the Seekins for the base, and rings (rings will be lapped).

My question is, would bedding the base be a shoddy way of fixing the anomalies in the remington action? I have an Uncle who has a machine shop, but bedding with devcon seems to be an easy way to get it dead nuts.

I am curious of your opinion's, the rifle builders here seem to be sticklers about doing things the right way. (In a good way :) ) And I would like my build to be as top quality and accurate as possible.
 
Bedding the base of a Remington 700 is somewhat common. I've done several with good results. Just be careful not to get bedding compound in the base mounting/receiver holes. Before you start dry fit the base to find the high/low spot, front or rear. I let the low spot float with loose screws holding the base inline while the high spot screws are tight. Clean off spillage with Q-Tips and acetone.
 
I do it a lot on "accuracy" rifles... I use release agent on the action and screws and only use the screws for alignment while the epoxy cures.... they are only tightened enough to "bottom" the base against the metal and then backed off. It is very easy to stress a base with a slight bend in this process - you don't want that. After it is cured it will pop off easy for cleaning up and drilling the screw holes in the base with a slight clearance.

I have also done this with a spacer to induce an elevation correction... in effect a taper base.
 
I routinely bed 1 piece bases, and sometimes bed two piece bases if poor fit warrants it.
I use JB Weld for the bedding. I wax and buff the receiver top using Johnson's paste wax. I use 120 grit cloth to rough up the bottom of the base, degrease with B-12 Chemtool and carefully apply a coat of JB to the bottom of the base. I carefully place the base on the action with waxed screws in place. Tighten the screws very lightly working with each screw as the JB oozes out the sides. When you feel the base contact the receiver, don't tighten the screws any further. you don't want to impart any stresses into the base/action mounting. Take white vinegar and Q-Tips and clean up all the JB that has oozed out and let it set for 24 hours. Remove the screws and tap the base with a plastic mallet to remove. I clean out the base holes with drill bits held in a pin vise and chamfer the bottom of the holes and clean up the dovetail with an Exacto knife and its ready to mount the scope. JB is a great material for jobs like this.
 
Thanks for the reply's guys, that helps a lot. I wasn't thinking about overtightenig the 1 piece bases, I can see how that would stress it.

Another question...on my savage 93 rimfire...I was going to bed the bases and cheap rings on that. It has 2 piece bases, should those be torqued down to normal tighness to get a tight fit?

I have not looked fully into bedding the rings yet but I have quite a bit of good post's from here bookmarked for that.
 
Re: Rings for your Sav. 93

I highly recommend Burris Signature Rings with the plastic inserts. All potential stress & mis-alignment of 2-piece bases is eliminated and the offset ones will let you center the scope adjustments when mounting. I use them on several of my rimfire and small-caliber centerfire rifles.
West
 
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