To bed or not to bed

[chino69]

I have a HS Precision stock that is set up for a Rem. style ADL receiver. In other words, the stock has a cavity where the blind magazine would be. I've bedded the receiver but have a question about whether it is beneficial to bed the receiver under this cavity. Would this add any extra rigidity by filling this cavity in with bedding compound? This is for a single action receiver in an aluminum pillar blocked and aluminum bedded stock.

Any opinions?

Lou Baccino

 

[Rflshootr]

Would this add any extra rigidity by filling this cavity in with bedding compound? This is for a single action receiver in an aluminum pillar blocked and aluminum bedded stock.

Yes

 

[Bob Kingsbury]

It can be a real big mistake to rebed part of an already bedded stock.
Its possible that you would see no additional strength in the stock.
I would probably fill it and then rebed the whole thing.

 

[chino69]

Rebedding

It can be a real big mistake to rebed part of an already bedded stock.
Its possible that you would see no additional strength in the stock.
I would probably fill it and then rebed the whole thing.

Bob,
I wasn't concerned about the strength of the stock. I was curious as to whether supporting the action under the cavity would be beneficial or a waste of time. I agree that it would be better to totally rebed but I'm not sure I would see any benefit in bedding this portion of the action. The existing bedding came out very well and if bedding this section would be advantageous I would probably do it. As you pointed out, this would require a total rebed which I'm reluctant to do if there's no benefit.

Lou

 

[vicvanb]

If the rifle shoots well as is and you are satisfied with its performance I'd leave it alone.

Of course, we're always wondering if we tinker with this or adjust that, maybe we'll get smaller groups...

 

[chino69]

Tinkering

If the rifle shoots well as is and you are satisfied with its performance I'd leave it alone.

Of course, we're always wondering if we tinker with this or adjust that, maybe we'll get smaller groups...

That is the problem, always friggin tinkering. Sometimes we learn something, sometimes it's just folly.

I haven't even shot this rifle in the new stock yet but it is a shooter as it performed really well in the old stock; I just wasn't that happy with the old stock. I may stick some lead in the cavity to balance the rifle and then rebed the whole thing. I was just looking to see if anyone had noticed a before and after difference that would make rebedding worthwhile.

Lou

 

[Bob Kingsbury]

adding lead at a mid point in a stock has less benifit than adding
over the rear sand bag. If you are a tinkerer, you will eventually
fill in the magazine, if you don't get any on the new bedding, or cause
any high spots, it may work just fine. whether the stock becomes any stiffer
is impossible to tell, from where I sit. To much depends on how the stock was constructed.

 

[chino69]

adding lead at a mid point in a stock has less benifit than adding
over the rear sand bag. If you are a tinkerer, you will eventually
fill in the magazine, if you don't get any on the new bedding, or cause
any high spots, it may work just fine. whether the stock becomes any stiffer
is impossible to tell, from where I sit. To much depends on how the stock was constructed.

Thanks Bob.
You're right, I will fill in the cavity; it doesn't look right. The stock is one of HS Precision's thumbhole tactical competition stocks (model PSC027). It is a very nice stock and my first thumbhole. I stuck the action in the stock without bedding just to see what it felt like. The 30" barrel is going to be trimmed back to 25" or 26" to balance it out. I just recently bedded the action to the stock.

Lou

 

[alinwa]

Here's what I do.....

Go down to a fiberglass/plastics supplier and get some 'fiberglass floc'..?????

I'm not sure that this is the proper term but that's what we use out here. I get mine from a TAP Plastics dist. This stuff mixes with fiberglass resin to make a bulky light paste. Not as light as styrofoam but similar to balsa yet still rigid.

Fill the hole with the paste. It makes the stock wayyy stiffer.

Epoxy in a floorplate or 'single shot follower' ( this link shows it cearly http://www.the-long-family.com/6_dasher.htm ) and bed under the entire action.

I will further glue a one piece 20moa sight base onto the top for another increase in stiffness.

Biggest thing about bedding IMO, don't screw it together. lash it up gently with surgical tubing and you'll get a straight bedding job.

opinionsby


al

 

[chino69]

Bedding

Here's what I do.....

Go down to a fiberglass/plastics supplier and get some 'fiberglass floc'..?????

I'm not sure that this is the proper term but that's what we use out here. I get mine from a TAP Plastics dist. This stuff mixes with fiberglass resin to make a bulky light paste. Not as light as styrofoam but similar to balsa yet still rigid.

Fill the hole with the paste. It makes the stock wayyy stiffer.

Epoxy in a floorplate or 'single shot follower' ( this link shows it cearly http://www.the-long-family.com/6_dasher.htm ) and bed under the entire action.

I will further glue a one piece 20moa sight base onto the top for another increase in stiffness.

Biggest thing about bedding IMO, don't screw it together. lash it up gently with surgical tubing and you'll get a straight bedding job.

opinionsby


al

Hi Al,
Thanks for your reply. I used a product called Duralloy made by the Enecon Corp. This is a very high multi polymer composite that can be machined in a lathe, drilled and tapped, etc. It is used to repair worn shafts, repair stripped threads, repair cracked pump casings, etc. I filled in the cavity with Duralloy and added some weight for balance. I left enough so that I can rebed with Acra Glass mixed with titanium powder; the Duralloy cures in about ten minutes. This will stiffen the stock in this area significantly, providing a solid substrate for the final layer of Acra Glass. I was debating whether to use the screws or surgical tubing. I usually just lightly tighten the screws to ensure the action is centered correctly. When you refer to 'straight' are you saying that one screw may be tighter and cant the action either forward or backward?

This action is a single shot trued Rem. 40X, so there's no need for the follower. I just wanted to provide more support under the entire length of the action as opposed to have a portion of it hanging over the stock cavity that was cast for a Rem. ADL blind magazine.

I do have another stock that has a magazine floorplate and a Rem. 700 BDL that I do have a single shot follower for. Thanks for the link.
Lou

 

[alinwa]

When you refer to 'straight' are you saying that one screw may be tighter and cant the action either forward or backward?


Lou

Nope..... I'm talkin' warpage here.

Here's what I do. I take inletting screws or 3" long hunks of 1/4-20 threaded rod and wrap with tape for a slip fit in the screw holes. This will center perfectly so that upon removal the screws are completely clear of contact.

I wrap the barrel with tape until I get the perfect attitude in the stock AND center the barrel channel. This ring of tape is wrapped around and around the barrel and placed just an inch back from the forend tip.

I make sure that the rear tip of the tang has a place to set......

So now the barreled action is floating completely clear between the wad of tape out on the barrel and the tang.

Now here I've gotten really anal....... In the past I've lashed a dial indicator to the stock and indicated the front receiver ring whilst I tried various holding procedures. It doesn't take much to bend the apparatus......

What I do is set it up as described, slobber in the bedding compound and starting with the taped barrel in the barrel channel I 'iron' everything backwards until the tang touches down.

I now affix with a couple wraps of surgical tubing over the rear action ring. Using this procedure I'm quite confident I'm introducing no flexure into the system.

Just my way

al

 

[chino69]

Warpage

Nope..... I'm talkin' warpage here.

Here's what I do. I take inletting screws or 3" long hunks of 1/4-20 threaded rod and wrap with tape for a slip fit in the screw holes. This will center perfectly so that upon removal the screws are completely clear of contact.

I wrap the barrel with tape until I get the perfect attitude in the stock AND center the barrel channel. This ring of tape is wrapped around and around the barrel and placed just an inch back from the forend tip.

I make sure that the rear tip of the tang has a place to set......

So now the barreled action is floating completely clear between the wad of tape out on the barrel and the tang.

Now here I've gotten really anal....... In the past I've lashed a dial indicator to the stock and indicated the front receiver ring whilst I tried various holding procedures. It doesn't take much to bend the apparatus......

What I do is set it up as described, slobber in the bedding compound and starting with the taped barrel in the barrel channel I 'iron' everything backwards until the tang touches down.

I now affix with a couple wraps of surgical tubing over the rear action ring. Using this procedure I'm quite confident I'm introducing no flexure into the system.

Just my way

al

Al,
Thanx for the reply and clarification. I like your idea of having two points of contact between the barrel tape and the rear tang for initial set up. I'll try that method with my next bedding job. For the current bedding job, I centered the barrel in the channel with tape and did what you just described with the exception of the surgical tubing. I was able to squish the bedding gel out from the sides of the receiver and rear tang area using minimal hand pressure and lightly tightening the guard screws. The bedding gel squished out before the barrel totally touched down on the tape. When the bedding has totally cured, I'll check for any deflection between stock fore end and barrel with a dial indicator by loosening and tightening the front and rear guard screws. I'm pretty confident there is no stress in the set up, but I'll verify with a dial indicator.

I was going to bed under the chamber area of the barrel but decided against it because I have three different barrels that I swap on this rig. Two of the barrels are #18 LV Kreigers and the other is a LV Hart. The Hart is about .014larger in diameter in the chamber area than the Kreigers, providing a slightly different barrel channel profile.

Lou

 

[alinwa]

Al,
Thanx for the reply and clarification. I like your idea of having two points of contact between the barrel tape and the rear tang for initial set up. I'll try that method with my next bedding job. For the current bedding job, I centered the barrel in the channel with tape and did what you just described with the exception of the surgical tubing. I was able to squish the bedding gel out from the sides of the receiver and rear tang area using minimal hand pressure and lightly tightening the guard screws. The bedding gel squished out before the barrel totally touched down on the tape. When the bedding has totally cured, I'll check for any deflection between stock fore end and barrel with a dial indicator by loosening and tightening the front and rear guard screws. I'm pretty confident there is no stress in the set up, but I'll verify with a dial indicator.

I was going to bed under the chamber area of the barrel but decided against it because I have three different barrels that I swap on this rig. Two of the barrels are #18 LV Kreigers and the other is a LV Hart. The Hart is about .014larger in diameter in the chamber area than the Kreigers, providing a slightly different barrel channel profile.

Lou

Lou,

There's nothing wrong with your method...... as long as those screws are used correctly!
al

 

[chino69]

Bedding job continued

Lou,

There's nothing wrong with your method...... as long as those screws are used correctly!
al

Al,
I just took the action out of my stock, cleaned up the overflow and am really happy with the results. The screws backed out easily.

Thanks for the tips.

By the way, what is your opinion on bedding under the chamber area of the barrel?

Lou

 

[chino69]

Bedding Al's way

Nope..... I'm talkin' warpage here.

Here's what I do. I take inletting screws or 3" long hunks of 1/4-20 threaded rod and wrap with tape for a slip fit in the screw holes. This will center perfectly so that upon removal the screws are completely clear of contact.

I wrap the barrel with tape until I get the perfect attitude in the stock AND center the barrel channel. This ring of tape is wrapped around and around the barrel and placed just an inch back from the forend tip.

I make sure that the rear tip of the tang has a place to set......

So now the barreled action is floating completely clear between the wad of tape out on the barrel and the tang.

Now here I've gotten really anal....... In the past I've lashed a dial indicator to the stock and indicated the front receiver ring whilst I tried various holding procedures. It doesn't take much to bend the apparatus......

What I do is set it up as described, slobber in the bedding compound and starting with the taped barrel in the barrel channel I 'iron' everything backwards until the tang touches down.

I now affix with a couple wraps of surgical tubing over the rear action ring. Using this procedure I'm quite confident I'm introducing no flexure into the system.

Just my way

al

The more I thought about your method the more it made sense. I'll use the above method on my next stock. Thanks, Al.

Lou