Epoxy Bedding

[1.618]

It worked great! Thanks for all the help, everyone. Pics to come.

[1.618]

You guys have been so much help, I figured I'd post up in case any other first timers in the future are thinking about epoxy bedding.

Here's a pic of the stock after I relieved all around the pillars.

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/42/y0kc.jpg

The way it came from the factory, the metal tubes that the action screws go through were actually below the surface of the wood laminate. I had to use a carving gouge and chisel to dig out a lot of the wood to get a thick enough layer of epoxy in there (also drilled some holes to give the epoxy some "tooth" to adhere to). Then I got all obsessive/compulsive about making sure the tops of the pillars or action screw tubes were all in a line (had to use a Dremel on one to get them all in the same line). In hindsight, I'm not sure whether or not this actually matters. Seemed like a good idea at the time!

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/62/z6zp.jpg

Here's prepping the barrelled action...here I'm putting clay into any crevices where epoxy might bind. You want to be especially careful of places where the epoxy could squeeze in and harden in a blob (like the head of a nail) where you couldn't separate the pieces even if the epoxy wasn't adhered anymore (if that makes sense). I like to think of it like a Jello mold or an ice cube tray. You don't want to have anywhere where the epoxy could "key" and prevent separation. Think "smooth curves" and "no crevices" and LOTS of wax. (I use Bowling Alley Paste Wax which has a lot of carnauba, but almost anything like that will work).

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/534/56sl.jpg

Same idea at the forward side. I filled the grooves in the barrel nut with clay, then wrapped with electrical tape. You don't need a lot here -- one or two layers should do it. Copying others on the Internet, I put tape on the forward side of the recoil lug, as well as the edges, and left the aft side of the recoil lug "naked" (except for a coat of wax). Wax everything -- tape, clay, stock, anything you don't want the gook to stick to. (That's why I buy mold release by the pound.)

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/849/7kdp.jpg

Here's the main part of the receiver. Following the advice of others here and elsewhere (thanks OldDood), I bought three 1/4-28 bolts at the hardware store, cut off the heads and threaded them into the receiver to act as "locating pins" when I put the action into the mudded-up stock. (They also help prevent too much gook from squeezing out through the action screw holes.)

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/856/o6a9.jpg

OK, take a breath, now go back and WAX EVERYTHING including the cut-off bolts in the action screw holes, the insides of the steel pillars (or action screw tubes), everything you could conceivably get gook onto where you don't want it to stick.

Let the wax dry, and when you're almost ready to start mixing up gook, POLISH the wax on the underside of the action. Really buff it like a congressman's shoe. The thinner this layer of wax is, the better your epoxy "bed" will match every detail of your receiver. Don't worry about getting it too thin. Getting it buffed and shiny actually makes it stick less than if you hadn't buffed and polished it.

Then make sure that your barrel will be in the right place (floating) when you make your epoxy bed, by putting some kind of shim between the barrel and the fore-end. I used two layers of electrical tape.

Now mix your mud and put them together. As I explained yesterday, I used a board and a piece of steel angle to sandwich the barrelled-action and stock together, to prevent getting any kind of strain or distortion that could be caused by using the action screws to pull them together. I don't know whether doing so would give a bad result (seems like it would take one heck of a lot of force to bend one of these receivers) but it seemed smart to err on the side of caution. So here's the way it looked.

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/585/pwo6.jpg

I only tightened the c-clamp enough to hold everything in place. When gook started running out near where the trigger would be (I removed the trigger first which wasn't too scary -- smart move and thanks guys for that advice), I tilted the rifle upward to get it to run forward. I also wasn't sure I had enough gook in there to do the job, so I figured that tilting it up would fill at least the area around the recoil lug and aft of that, making it easier to fill the rest with more epoxy later. Luckily, I didn't need to:

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/38/5hkd.jpg

Anyway, I used a lot of the suggestions you guys offered -- along with advice I found in other "epoxy bedding" threads out on the net -- and tried to pick and choose the methods I liked best. I really appreciate the help, and maybe somebody can pick up a thing or two from my own mistakes, one of which was almost (but not quite) panicking when things didn't want to come apart this morning. (The gook kind-of bound the "locating bolts" to the action screw tubes. Even though everything was waxed here, the only way to separate them was in shear – and there were three bolts, which made it harder.) All I have to say about that is, DON'T PANIC! They'll come apart! Take your time and if you get flummoxed, walk away. It'll still be there in one piece when you figure it out and come back.

Like I said in my OP, in my research, Google turned up a thread called "Bedding 101" or something like that here at this site, but I couldn't find it here on the site. I suspect it's probably a lot better than what I have here, but in lieu of that, here's how I did it.

Thanks again for all the help, fellas.

1.618

[sharpshooter]

Why didn't you take the safety off?

[1.618]

Why didn't you take the safety off?

Didn't know how it came off and didn't see any pressing need, since I didn't anticipate any epoxy getting on it.

It fell off when I was banging on the indexing bolts to separate the stock from the BA ... and then I didn't know how to put it back together, until RP12 told me how.

[1.618]

I like how the action screws are loose right up until they get tight, and then they're immediately rock-solid tight now.

Question: Are people using a torque wrench on bedded rifles to tighten the action screws in a consistent, repeatable way?

[missed]

I like how the action screws are loose right up until they get tight, and then they're immediately rock-solid tight now.

Question: Are people using a torque wrench on bedded rifles to tighten the action screws in a consistent, repeatable way?

I still torque mine so they are even and have enough torque that they won't loosen.

[1.618]

Thanks, Missed. Also (I forgot to ask) are you or others using blue Loctite on the action screws, as well as torquing them? Seems like I go crazy chasing the action screws on my hunting rifles (though I've never used Loctite yet)...

[missed]

I do not. Only on scope base screws. Loctite can be a pain. Proper torque and checking screws during cleaning I have never had a surprise loose screw.

[old_dood]

great write up.

[scpaul]

Terminal ballistics Research has a very nice vidio,By/with Nathan Foster. It's on a Rem action but still shows alot of finer points.