Bedding

[adam330]

I have decided to try bedding my rifle. So far i have roughed up all the surfaces that will recieve devcon, taped off and added clay to any of the areas i do not want it to go, added tape to take up any slack in the faux action screw, added some tape to the barrel to keep free floated and centered in the stock and taped the bottom, sides and front of the recoil lug. What should i do to keep the devcon from sticking to the inside of the action, tape? I still need to add the kiwi shoe wax to the action, screws, etc what is the best way to apply the wax? I will add some pics to show what has been done. Please feel free to point out anything i miss. Thanks

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee18/adam330/IMG_88621.jpg

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee18/adam330/IMG_93501.jpg

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee18/adam330/IMG_79311.jpg

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee18/adam330/IMG_33051.jpg

[Skunce]

I used an old tooth brush to put the Kiwi polish on mine. I coated the inside of the action with wax also and plugged the mag opening in the action with clay.

[gotcha]

How are you planning to do bedding forward of bbl. lug? Are you intending to bed for support of bbl nut & some of the bbl? 1st clean all the excess putty from the action use brake cleaner or acetone. The more of the smeared putty you leave there, the less effective your bedding will be. Taping the mag opening works fine if you strip the oil from the action before applying the tape. Lay the tape on smoothly then trim up to 1/8th to 3/16ths from opening (exacto/ Razor) this will leave small scratches on action you can doctor after completing. To apply Kiwi wrap a piece of t-shirt around your finger and smooth on lightly then buff to high shine w/ cloth. chk for spots you may have missed, apply & buff a second coat. Keep the wax coat as thin as possible to insure tight fit of bedding to action. This is KEY to success. Recheck for any possibility of mechanical lock. Put a small amt. of putty around pin on lug(before waxing) put some wax inside the stk. screw holes & on threads of screws. loosen screws 1/8 trn / hr as mudd sets up total of three 3 times. clean excess ooze w/ wood sticks finish using white Vinegar(mild acid) and Q-tips. Put a putty "dam" in bbl. chnnl to prevent ooze moving forward. Test fit. Cutting the dam w/ razor makes straight line of epoxy. tape on action screws should allow easy insert/ remove of action from stock.

[adam330]

I dont plan on bedding any of the barrel channel on the stock just the recoil lug area and the barrel nut, is this ok? Do i still need a clay dam in the channel or is the tape i have down sufficent? i will remove as much of the excess clay from the action as possible then add 2 coats of kiwi. I still have a few days before my devcon gets here. Thanks for the help and feel free to make any other suggestions.

[rsbhunter]

It's always a personal choice, but why not bed the first 1-2 inches of bbl? If it is a varmint or bull bbl, it helps with supporting the weight, and doesn't effect accuracy at all...i have read here to wrap tape around the bbl nut so that it is not touching the bedding, but i 'm not sure about that...rsbhunter

[adam330]

I dont plan on bedding the barrel at all basically because it is what most of the how tos i have read suggest. Ill have to look into the taping the barrel nut. Also i have only added tape to the barrel where it sits at the end of the stock should i add more closer to the action? I see some people do it in 2 places? Thanks again

[sharpshooter]

Tape the nut up all the way past the end. If you don't, bedding will creep between the nut and barrel and give you a fit.

[adam330]

Should i leave the clay in the nut grooves when i tape it or do i not need it?

[gotcha]

Hi Adam, I'd go w/ sharpshooters advice on taping the bbl nut. Can't tell if your bbl is HV or hunting wgt. If it's HV it won't be nesc. to bed bbl or bbl nut. The bbl will be plenty stiff enough. My concern is the huge hole forward of the lug. You'll want to completely fill the hole A. for added strength B. to prevent mud from oozing out of action area & going forward. You want the mud to flow upward around the action & ooze out from lug to cntr of rear action scrw. I suggested the "dam" to keep the mud from flowing forward in bbl channel & in effect "leaking out" of action area & not flowing up & over the stock as it should..... Take some of the plumbers putty & roll it in your hands to form a "rope" roughly 1/4" dia. drape it in bbl chnl.@ rt. angle to cntr line & just ahead of the lug recess hole. drop the action in to compress the the putty. Remove action & trim putty to a strait line........ Hate to say this after all the hard work but yes, remove the putty from the bbl nut & clean b-4 taping. have at least 2 layers of tape on side, front & bottom of lug....Call me @ 770-868-0544 I'll be glad to help if needed p.s. not after 7:30 pm eastern

[rinodods]

Might have missed it in all the good suggestions, but sometimes it helps to wrap the barrel some place up the forearm with enough tape so that the barrel will remain centered in the channel. I'd also make sure before you have everything set in the epoxy that the tang is floating. You might not want the action hanging on the tang while trying to bed.

[mugsie]

Adam330,
I just bedded my rifle this past weekend. You're doing everything right - the only suggestion I would give you it to take a dremmel tool and slot the ends of the action guide screws. It makes it infinitely more easy to remove them once the action is bedded and cured. Slip a screwdriver in there, give 'em a twist and back them out. Then pop the action loose from the stock. Much easier than putting a pliers on them and trying to crank them out. Take your time, Kiwi everything and you'll be fine - good luck and let us know how it goes.

[jsthntn247]

Looks very good. Didn't see it mentioned, but make sure you put two layers on the lug. Tape the barrel nut also. I don't bed the barrel channel either, just installed a barrel .833 at muzzle and didn't have a problem. I can offere one bit of advise from experience. You want to pop the action out after 3-4 hours depending on how much hardener you add. You want the devcon hard enough to stay in place but soft enough to cut with a exacto knife. When you pop the action out to do this. Make sure you unscrew your guide screws first. There could be some devcon that gets in between the top of your guide screws and your action. If you just pop it out with the screws in there, it will pull the devcon up, leaving a void in your bedding. I did this on my first try, I have unscrewed them every time after and had no problems. Clean everything you can with the exacto knife which will limit cleanup in the mill or dremmel.

[jsthntn247]

Adam330,
I just bedded my rifle this past weekend. You're doing everything right - the only suggestion I would give you it to take a dremmel tool and slot the ends of the action guide screws. It makes it infinitely more easy to remove them once the action is bedded and cured. Slip a screwdriver in there, give 'em a twist and back them out. Then pop the action loose from the stock. Much easier than putting a pliers on them and trying to crank them out. Take your time, Kiwi everything and you'll be fine - good luck and let us know how it goes.


This is a very good tip, I never thought of that.

[gotcha]

Adam, You're getting some good advise here. Unfortunately, you are also getting some really bad advice. Well meaning though it may be..................... My offer still stands. I've got unlimited calling so you can call me & I'll return the call. Dale

[adam330]

Ok here is the latest additions to my prep work. I recieved my devcon today. I still need to to add the 2 coats of kiwi. I plan on bedding on suday.

I added a dam of clay to the barrel channel just in front of the recoil lug area
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee18/adam330/IMG_04771.jpg

The recoil lug now has 2 layers of tape on the sides bottom and front and the barrel nut is completely taped off, you can also see where i added tape to the barrel to center it and keep it floated in the barrel channel
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee18/adam330/IMG_79801.jpg

The inside of the action is taped off
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee18/adam330/IMG_49381.jpg

[daisy2007]

I used to rub on the Kiwi shoe polish. Then, someone said to heat it up in the microwave and use a small paint brush to apply it. I find this method works better; easier to apply, and I feel more confident that it gets in all the nooks & crannies.
Jake

[rinodods]

Didn't see it mentioned but while you have some epoxy mixed you could also go ahead and bed the scope rail. Maybe not 100% needed but hey why not. Pretty good thread here on it http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f26/epoxying-bases-74730/ . I usually do it with JB Weld because most of my stuff has already been devcon bedded and I don't mix it up if I don't have to.

[adam330]

I was kicking around the idea of bedding the scope base also thanks for the link. Has anyone else used daisys method of applying the kiwi, heating it up and using a brush to apply it? It sounds alot easier.

[adam330]

Is there a recommended time period to wait between coats of kiwi? Also, how do you know if you put enough on? I just put on the first coat. Plan on bedding this sunday!

[M.O.A.]

is that a accustock you are bedding ???