Bedding compound

Improving and repairing firearms. Rifle bedding, barrel work, stock replacement and other ways to improve your firearms.

Bedding compound

Post by DaleH » 03 Feb 2014, 3:59 pm

I am currently looking at pillar bedding my rifle and was after an opinion on the following :
1. JB Weld, Devcon metal epoxy are two epoxys commonly referred to an used - what have forum members used - good , bad and otherwise
2. do you use the same epoxy to glue in the pillars?
3. Release agent has to rate a mention - who has used what and with what level of success?
4. How much epoxy has been used when doing the job?

Any feedback / input would be appreciated

I am planning this for the bedding of my Model 12 lithgow action into a boyds stock. Currently it shoots better than me but as a project I may as well finish it off and do it properly. I intend to do the before and after groupings - original stock, boyds stock, boyds stock fully bedded.
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Re: Bedding compound

Post by yoshie » 03 Feb 2014, 5:14 pm

I've used the Devcon aluminium and found it good, I used it around the rear pillar of my Howa as well simply because that part of the stock (Boyds) became too weak. I used Vaseline as release agent. Blackwoods sell Devcon.
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Re: Bedding compound

Post by Aster » 03 Feb 2014, 7:44 pm

I've had mine done with Devcon Plastic Steel.

Never tried any others as this did the job well. If it aint broke...
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Re: Bedding compound

Post by Apollo » 03 Feb 2014, 8:34 pm

JB Weld to bed a couple of Picatinny Rails and various other automotive jobs plus some irrigation pipe repairs. Great stuff.

I have used Imperial Sizing Wax and Kiwi Clear Boot Polish. Both worked very well to release, just a light tap with a soft mallet.

I have not tried an action or pillars.
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Re: Bedding compound

Post by SendIt » 04 Feb 2014, 8:09 am

A lot of people snob JB Weld but I've used it before and it's done the trick.

I've Kiwi Clear boot polish the same as Apollo. Picked it up based on feedback from many others and it did the job well.
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Re: Bedding compound

Post by Varmtr » 04 Feb 2014, 11:28 pm

Devcon plastic steel putty for action bedding and JB Weld for picatinny rails and the like. Kiwi boot polish as the release agent. With my pillars I make mine out of S/S bolts drilled out in a lathe. Then drill the stock holes out slightly smaller than the pillar diameter. Then I actually run a tap through the timber to cut a thread in the stock, once done I use a Loctite 2 part epoxy glue. I smoother both the pillar and the hole with it then screw the pillar in. With this method there is a greater surface area for the glue to hold on compared to just a normal hole and standard tube pillar.
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Re: Bedding compound

Post by loopal » 05 Feb 2014, 9:13 am

Has anyone bedded a rifle without the pillars, then added pillars later to see the before/after?

Just curious how much benefit that ads on top of the bedding...
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Re: Bedding compound

Post by Broom » 05 Feb 2014, 1:14 pm

Mine were done with Bisonite years ago and are still going strong.
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Re: Bedding compound

Post by Varmtr » 06 Feb 2014, 3:21 pm

loopal wrote:Has anyone bedded a rifle without the pillars, then added pillars later to see the before/after?

Just curious how much benefit that ads on top of the bedding...


Yes I have easy done. If the original bedding chips either us a bit of JB Weld or some orginal bedding compound to fix. The benifits of pillars stops compression on the stock when tightening the action bolts. This is more so for timber which expands, contracts and moves about thus effecting the tension on the the action bolts which effect accuracy. With pillars glued in you can torque down the action and it will stay at that setting and it not be effected by timber movement.
Even the plastic stocks pillars and beddings can help accuracy quite a lot. If Bell & Carlson or McMillan not really worth as these mostly run a alloy bedding block and use good composites for the stock.
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Re: Bedding compound

Post by Die Judicii » 07 Feb 2014, 9:29 pm

So far as Release Agent is concerned I concur with the majority here, but in a totally different approach, for simple jobs I have had great success
by using Glad Wrap.
Single layer of course, and take care not to allow any folds or creases to occur.
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Re: Bedding compound

Post by on_one_wheel » 22 Feb 2016, 7:12 pm

I'm curious as to how plain 2 packed apoxy glue would go as a bedding compound?

I'm looking ad bedding my 700 rem onto my modified stock because she isn't shooting as well as it was on the original stock.
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Re: Bedding compound

Post by TheDude » 22 Feb 2016, 7:48 pm

1. have used JB Weld and it turned out well
2. yep, used JB Weld on the pillars too.
3. make sure its neutral kiwi boot polish so you don't worry about staining the stock.
4. I bought a couple of tubes so I had enough. used probably have of 1 pack. use more than you think you need and wipe up the excess.

I used modelling clay to build a dam in the barrel channel, mag and trigger wells and the action to stop compound from getting where I didn't want it. also a couple of wraps of masking tape around the barrel about half way down helps centre the barrel in the stock when you're doing the pillars. I cut some lengths of threaded bar to length, threaded them in the action and wrapped the exposed bar in masking tape and coated in release agent. that allowed me to seat the action into the pillars, then wrapped the action and stock with some more masking tape with a slight bit of pressure to hold it all together rather than torqueing it down with action screws. wipe up the excess as you're seating the action. if you haven't got any seeping out you probably didn't use enough.
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Re: Bedding compound

Post by Gwion » 22 Feb 2016, 7:51 pm

Not very well. Bedding compounds are composite mixtures, usually with metal particles as well as various agents to aid viscosity etc., etc.. A plain 2 pack epoxy will degrade too quickly.

I have recently bought enough compound to do about 5-6 rifles and used it for 2 rifles already.

You can buy all you need (with instructions) from: http://www.ballisticstudies.com/Knowled ... tions.html

Enough to do one rifle and well worth the $30 odd that it cost to ship from NZ.
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Re: Bedding compound

Post by on_one_wheel » 22 Feb 2016, 8:01 pm

Gwion wrote:Not very well. Bedding compounds are composite mixtures, usually with metal particles as well as various agents to aid viscosity etc., etc.. A plain 2 pack epoxy will degrade too quickly.

I have recently bought enough compound to do about 5-6 rifles and used it for 2 rifles already.

You can buy all you need (with instructions) from: http://www.ballisticstudies.com/Knowled ... tions.html

Enough to do one rifle and well worth the $30 odd that it cost to ship from NZ.



Ok cheers.

What's the shelf life like with the compound? I'd buy enough to do a few rifles if I knew it would last a year or two.

How about pillars , they look pretty simple and I've got access to a lathe ... or are they dirt cheep ?
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Re: Bedding compound

Post by Gwion » 22 Feb 2016, 8:23 pm

Not sure on the shelf life. The product I bought is Devcon liquid steel. You should be able to find out shelf life through materials data via their web site.

Pillars should be easy for you if you can use a lathe. Just remember your screws need all round clearance and the pillars need to be keyed for a good mechanical bond. Just don't rush your fist one and fit everything dry before setting it in so you are happy with all your tolerances.
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Re: Bedding compound

Post by p3seven » 22 Feb 2016, 9:16 pm

For my pillars I used a alloy Arrow shaft cut to size with a $7 tube cutter.This will fit the 6mm Euro /Jap screws on my Howa and also the non metric US screws on my Savage. Bored out the stock holes slightly oversize and fixed in with 2 pack epoxy. It is compression strength you need and the arrow shaft is strong enough. Both stocks are now torqed up to 50 lb with no sign of compressing the soft Boyd laminate.

Have some spare shaft can send you 15 cm which is more than you need. PM me if you need it.
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Re: Bedding compound

Post by Chronos » 22 Feb 2016, 9:20 pm

Bigfellascotty put me onto this one and it works great. Not as runny as JB weld

http://www.bunnings.com.au/pc-7-56g-bla ... e_p1560097

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Re: Bedding compound

Post by on_one_wheel » 22 Feb 2016, 10:29 pm

p seven, thank you for your kind offer but I must decline, I am fortunate enough to have a plethora of materials to chose from and really like the idea of threading or knurling the od. to create more surface area for better holding power.

Chronos, thanks for sharing that, for under $20 I really can't go wrong ... I very nearly bought the other stuf online but hesitated because of the price.
I figure if it fails, breaks down or I make a dog's breakfast of it then it's only a small loss and with a bit of elbow grease I can grind it out and start again.

I recon I'll try the PC-7 for my first ever bedding attempt following the instruction link provided by gwion earlier.
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Re: Bedding compound

Post by Noisydad » 23 Feb 2016, 4:27 am

My old Mossberg bolt action shotty pictured in the "Show us your shotgun" thread is bedded into the homemade stock with fibre glass resin. Vaseline was used as a release agent. She's fired a lot of shots in the twenty years since it was done and still going strong.
There's still a few of Wile. E Coyote's ideas that I haven't tried yet.
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Re: Bedding compound

Post by Rocker » 29 Feb 2016, 12:05 pm

Chronos wrote:Bigfellascotty put me onto this one and it works great. Not as runny as JB weld


I haven't done it yet but was looking into compounds for one of mine, JB weld gets a good write up when done right but the liquidity put me off it.

Seems like a real easy one to get somewhere it shouldn't and cock the job. Maybe not one for first-timers.
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Re: Bedding compound

Post by MalleeFarmer » 29 Feb 2016, 4:40 pm

Another handy use for my Devcon titanium steel. :thumbsup: Bike fell over and knocked a hole in my stator cover. :oops:
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Re: Bedding compound

Post by Gregg » 16 Mar 2016, 2:45 pm

Rocker wrote:I haven't done it yet but was looking into compounds for one of mine, JB weld gets a good write up when done right but the liquidity put me off it.

Seems like a real easy one to get somewhere it shouldn't and cock the job. Maybe not one for first-timers.


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