Question about Bedding the recoil lug area?

[jonrobinson]

It seems that most everyone here, including the "Bedding 101 article", recommend only beading the
back of the recoil lug.

Why? Not trying to be difficult, just trying to understand.

It seems if you bedded the whole thing the action would fit tighter.
Everyone here seems to highly respect the 6mmbr.com bedding article, and he does the whole lug.

Thanks for the help! This is my first time to bed and first Savage.

Jonrobinson

[groupshooter22]

I think the majority of it is that it is easier to put the barreled action back into the stock. That being said I dont tape off the lug because its a pita to tape, I break the edges on the lug so it wont shave the bedding.

[xhogboss]

I went back and reviewed the 6mmbr article on bedding - photo 2 shows masking tape on the sides and bottom of the lug, and in the second paragraph on Step Four, it says not to bed the front or sides of the lug.

I think the reason is two-fold; 1) it's easier to remove and replace the bedded action later with some clearance on the sides and front of the lug, and 2) bedding the front and sides doesn't really do anything. The contour of the action and the action bolts/pillars position the action in the stock laterally, and the rear of the lug is the primary surface where the recoil of the action is transferred to the stock.

I've done it both ways. I know initial removal takes about the same effort, and reinstallation is easier when I've taped the sides/bottom of the lug. All have shown improvement after bedding. Would it hurt to bed the lug on all sides? Good question, and I dont' think it would.

[jonrobinson]

Thanks for all of the replies! My factory wood stock has a huge trough for the recoil lug AND all of the free space is in front (toward muzzle).

[Eric in NC]

If you do the bottom you also run into having the potential for yet another contact point (two points - i.e. the pillars are always in a straight line, when you add a third it can get tricky!).

If it has contact on all sides, you also have a VERY tight fit that might not be assembled the same way every time (if the action is angled just a tiny bit as you insert it).

I always tape the front, sides and bottom - easy to do, just stick the tape on and use the edge of the lug as a guide for your xacto knife.

[xhogboss]

Thanks for all of the replies! My factory wood stock has a huge trough for the recoil lug AND all of the free space is in front (toward muzzle).


Then it might make sense to put a couple of layers of tape on the front of the lug and let the bedding fill in that trough. Can't hurt and may just make the stock more stable. You can always make a small dam out of modelling clay or plumber's putty to keep the bedding compound from migrating too far forward in the barrel channel.

[jonrobinson]

Thanks for the input guys! My stock is an older wood one that does not have pillars. I do understand about not wanting it rocking on the bottom of the recoil lug.

Thanks!

[durango]

I gotta jump in here. First off, I'm not a gunsmith, but I started messin' with military conversions back in 1964, and never had one that I didn't improve.

One of the recent articles about the new Savage accu-stock noted that the designers took high speed movies of firearms as they were fired and it was found that the barrel/action did, in fact, move backwards AND forward during recoil. That's the whole reason for the accu-stock wedge in front of the recoil lug--to tighten that sucker down! FWIW, I think that's probably the most important feature of the accu-stock other than stiffening the forearm of that new fangled plastic stock.

That said, when I learned this bedding thing, it was GLASS BEDDING-as in fibreglass. Polyester resin with glass wool or chopped fibres to thicken it up and give it the strength to withstand the recoil. I still have a 1903 springfield and a '98 mauser rebarreled in .308 Norma Magnum and the bedding is still intact in both, and the 1903 shoots under an inch. All of my early bedding was from 2"-3" of the barrel to the rear tang with a little relief at the rear of the tang. Yes, it was sometimes a chore to reinstall the actions, but they were tight!! Fully machined lugs were, for the most part, fairly true and straight and you could get by with full bedding around the lug, unlike these stamped and distorted lugs of today.

While I'm not a chemist, I did start working with epoxies in the NASA space program and learned a little from destructive testing. Resin and most epoxies are rather brittle in their pure form, so you have to add something for strength, like a boat--with the fibreglas fibres and resin they're strong and flexible, not brittle. If you add little hollow balls (such as micro-balloons or some other powder) you have no strength, just filler and the whole thing can shatter under impact. The fibres interlock and provide the strength--I've even used matting and roving around lugs on some heavy thumpers--a little messy, but it worked great.

I received two new Boyds stocks today and I'll be bedding the lugs-front, back, sides, and bottom. Thanks for your time, Steve

[pdog06]

The difference with the accustock is that you can take the bolt out to release the tabs grip on the front of the recoil lug, allowing you to remove the barreled action. You cannot do that if you bed the whole lug on an older model. Big difference.

[dcloco]

I bed the entire lug - front/rear/bottom of lug and 1-2" of the barrel as well.

A light coating of car wax allows you to remove the barrelled action easily....and keeps the rust bandits at bay.

[bluealtered]

I bought a bedded rifle from one of our members here who it appears used something other than the action bolts to hold the action in place while the bedding material set up. After taking the rifle apart for my first look see, i found that the recoil lug area had been bedded. However since it wasn't pressured in place by the bolts, (or something equal to that) when set up it raised the action almost .60 above the front bedding pillar, kinda like a rocking chair. I drilled out the bottom of the lug area and it sets great, shoots great. Just something to consider. blue

[durango]

Blue--The present day theory on bedding is not to use the bolts, but to let the barreled action suspend from a pad of tape at the end of the forearm and under the rear tang --at least on Savages. You can use rubber bands or clamps over these two points--not too tight--whatever your preference or availability may be. I use spring loaded plastic clamps. I have no idea what may have been used on your rifle that would expand as it cures, but it's certainly not the right stuff for bedding. The expansion would negate the whole idea of bedding. I would suggest that you should use your Dremel to remove all the bedding material and start over. Heck, bring it over and I'll do it for you! Steve