Bedding a Mark II BTV magazine plate

[Dr. Vette]

Hi,

I was reassembling my Mark II BTV yesterday after adjusting the AccuTrigger, and found that it only takes 25 in-lbs to bend the magazine plate and dent the wood underneath. :o As you know there are no pillars through the wood, and I was wondering if it would be feasible or recommended to attempt to just bed the plate to give better support when tightening the screws. I'm going to order a new plate, and want to do this right so that I can use a repeatable torque measurement when reassembling the rifle.

Or, any other ideas are welcomed.

Thanks!

[thirty06]

Had the same problem. What I did was make a new bottom plate
out of 1/8 in. aluminum, left it flat and dremeled the wood flat.
There's still a gap between the post and stock but seems solid.
Thinking about making a wood block and epoxy it in and drilling it
out for post.


Kenny

[Dr. Vette]

In the short term I cut up a piece of transmission pan gasket (had one in a drawer) and it's a temporary support to keep it at the right height. As beefy as the trigger guard is, why not make the magazine plate as nice?!?

If I had the ability to make a thick one from steel, I'd do that. Dremel or carve out that poor excuse for a wood "support" and place the new plate in place.

[Quickshot]

Had the same problem on my Mark ll. Opened up the bolt hole in the stock and used a 1/8 IP threaded nipple, cut to make contact with the front stud, acting as a pillar. Epoxyed in place. Hammered lightly on the plate to flatten it out and snug it up with the bolt. No more bent plate and good solid base to torque down to. Quick

[Dr. Vette]

a 1/8 IP threaded nipple

Umm, picture?

I'll admit it - I don't know what a threaded nipple is. Well, not when referring to a piece of hardware anyway. :D

OK, Google helped me. You mean the infamous threaded lamp rod.
That did cross my mind as well as attempting a "fancier" pillar.
Doing a search on this site there were a few who said that adding a pillar to this stock was not easy, so that's why I was thinking of bedding the plate.
A custom thicker plate also is a great idea.

[King Ghidora]

I put a flat washer and a lock washer above the wood and below the pillar post. It made a huge difference. It keeps the wood from giving which keeps the magazine plate from bending in. I was able to put a lot more torque on the bolt and I still didn't bend the plate. Not only that but it gave me a lock washer, which of course will keep the take down screw from getting loose as quick.

It took me a few minutes to find the exact right size washers. I always save washers from everything just for stuff like this. I had to get the diameter right on the flat washer so it would get a good bite on the wood but not push up against the mag well. I had to get a lock washer that was just slightly smaller than the flat washer. And I had to get the right combined height of the two washers to make it work right.

Now the gun feels much more solid with a lot less flex between the stock and the receiver which holds the barrel in place better. I can put more pull on the sling too. I'm thinking about trying to find the right washer to put in the slot between the rear pillar and the wood but I'm not sure I can do that because the screw is just long enough as it is. If I can get the threads started it should work fine.

I didn't want to bed my stock because I have never done that before and I didn't want to start on a nice rifle then mess it up. I'll practice on a cheap rifle sometime. In the meantime this fix works great for me. I can shoot in the local fun shoot too which doesn't allow any bedding.

[Dr. Vette]

Thanks for the washer tip. That had crossed my mind as well.

[bbaker]

Just bought the Savage Mark II BTVS with thumbhole stock last week. I have fourthe other 22 rifles including an old Savage model 87D semi, two Marlin Model 60's, one a stainless steel, and a Marlin model 39a. This new Savage Mark II is by far the most accurate and easiest to keep on target. I am exceptionally pleased with it's feel, accuracy, and good looks, and most outstanding is the accutrigger. I have spent days and days trying to lessen the trigger pull on the Marlin 39a and the Marlin Model 60 with moderate success, but lots of anxiety and hair pulling and spring shortening and action polishing. The Savage is very easy to adjust and is the perfect trigger pull for me.

The bottom plate bending problem was solved by using a stainless steel washer (which is stiffer than a normal steel washer) under the bottom plate. I had to chisel out some of the wood next to the hole to allow the washer to lay flat, and grind one side of the washer so it would not hit the magazine housing, but it works great. The washer has to be the correct thickness (took a little searching), and wide enough to span the gap across the hole in the wood. Problem solved, it torqued down to about 28 pounds, which some say is a good torque for this screw, and the plate did not bend. Took only about one hour in total. Hope this is helpful. Beats $35 to order a thicker plate!

[Conaso]

On CZ452/453, some people pillar the action using "lamp-tubing," i.e., threaded (outside) tubing for lamps. I bought a 4" section of brass lamp-tubing for $1.xx and cut it into two pieces 1/16" less than the thickness of the stock. Then I screwed both pieces into the stock where the receiver bolts would go. Some cut a screwdriver slot into the tubing. I used a moly-bolt inside of the tubing; once installed I backed the moly-bolt out. DIP sells something similar for stock repairs when someone strips out the wood where the wood screw holds down the trigger guard.

No wood cutting/relief needed. Go to the www.rimfirecentral.com nder CZ/Brno and do a search. Great instructions.