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Rifle stock bedding compound


1forthepot

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Marine tex, Devcon and Hysol are all used very regularly for bedding. As noted above, it all comes down to personal preference. Unsure whether one is superior to the other.

An interesting article from a well respected gunsmith 'Speedy Gonzales' has a friend who scientifically studied a number of bedding compounds in a controlled environment over a period of time. Their tests concluded Marine tex showed the least shrinkage of all.

 http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2017/01/what-are-the-best-bedding-materials-speedy-speaks/

But I've heard Devon is great stuff and nice to work with.

 

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I'm not even going to read it, because its exactly the opposite !

I use both compounds, and marine tex shrinks a long way. You usually have to go back over the stock edges and fill them up.

Personally i think it looks better than devcon though.

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To your point Baldie, another article also by a well respected stock maker / gunsmith, Richard Franklin, who only  recommends using only Devcon.

http://www.6mmbr.com/pillarbedding.html

It think both articles and the various comments from people above just goes to show that there is, seemingly, no-one product better than the rest.

I wonder if some of the issues related to shrinkage, using any product, are down to how it is mixed, whether previously opened tubs were used, the curing environment etc. 

Interesting nonetheless to hear different peoples experiences on these products. 

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I find it interesting that while most if not all of these bedding articles are written by Americans, who use products readily available in America, people read these articles and then automatically decide those American products are the only ones to use

Devcon is a good choice, so why bother looking elsewhere?

Brownells have been selling Acraglas for years and countless rifles have been successfully bedded with it, but then you also get stuff like Marine-Tex and Bisonite....Bisonite, a few years ago some American Gunsmiths mentioned they used Bisonite and then there was a huge clamour over here for Bisonite!

Marine-Tex is primarily used for fixing boats, well we have boat repairers over here, and I bet any one of you they don't rely on some American made filler for their repair materials, in fact Plastic Padding do a Marine repair epoxy, has anyone ever tried that?

Surely there are materials available over here (not including Devcon) that are more than up to the job of bedding a simple rifle action, it's not the most technically demanding or stress imparting job in the world after all, it's just about producing a snug fit for what is the most effort for minimum return part of building an accurate rifle

What about other fillers?

The article states it's on par with a couple of Araldite products and Araldite has always been great stuff, but given shooters, when it comes to 2 part epoxy they will always plump for JB Weld because they read it on an American shooting forum and instantly dismiss products already available here

Kroil.......you can buy Plusgas down at Halfords or even make your own by mixing ATF and acetone 50/50....but some moly coating Benchrester in Buttf*ck Arkansas said he uses Kroil, so I'm going to search the interwebnet until I can find someone here in the UK who can spare me a dribble of the stuff and then rave about it

 

Shop around, try new stuff, don't be reliant on America and buy British (or something close)

Rant over!

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Mark,

Concur, just the same applies to any other 'thing' related to rifles, you have the never ending reference to 'what the pro's use' as if that is 'it' and unless you follow the herd you are onto a looser, pretty sad state of affairs ( do folks think they miss because of the brand of barrel they are using - come on, really?? :) ).

I did use Devcon when it was a free product to me (leftovers in one place = a bedding job in another), then Belzona but actually do now use Grey Marine-Tex, why? because I have the opportunity to pick it up for about £9 a pack, some of the Riflesmith's I've used use it and I can work with it better than I did with Devcon. But I'm not doing this all the time so probably have a different view /set of needs

Araldite - agree, great product, been around a very long time (from memory WW2 era, but might be wrong?), would not consider JB weld in the same category.

Bottom line - use what works for you or you can get hold of.

 

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5 hours ago, bradders said:

I find it interesting that while most if not all of these bedding articles are written by Americans, who use products readily available in America, people read these articles and then automatically decide those American products are the only ones to use

Devcon is a good choice, so why bother looking elsewhere?

Brownells have been selling Acraglas for years and countless rifles have been successfully bedded with it, but then you also get stuff like Marine-Tex and Bisonite....Bisonite, a few years ago some American Gunsmiths mentioned they used Bisonite and then there was a huge clamour over here for Bisonite!

Marine-Tex is primarily used for fixing boats, well we have boat repairers over here, and I bet any one of you they don't rely on some American made filler for their repair materials, in fact Plastic Padding do a Marine repair epoxy, has anyone ever tried that?

Surely there are materials available over here (not including Devcon) that are more than up to the job of bedding a simple rifle action, it's not the most technically demanding or stress imparting job in the world after all, it's just about producing a snug fit for what is the most effort for minimum return part of building an accurate rifle

What about other fillers?

The article states it's on par with a couple of Araldite products and Araldite has always been great stuff, but given shooters, when it comes to 2 part epoxy they will always plump for JB Weld because they read it on an American shooting forum and instantly dismiss products already available here

Kroil.......you can buy Plusgas down at Halfords or even make your own by mixing ATF and acetone 50/50....but some moly coating Benchrester in Buttf*ck Arkansas said he uses Kroil, so I'm going to search the interwebnet until I can find someone here in the UK who can spare me a dribble of the stuff and then rave about it

 

Shop around, try new stuff, don't be reliant on America and buy British (or something close)

Rant over!

My .20 practical is being bedded today with devcon, so I'm happy about that☺,  kroil, simply the best. I have a new 8oz can of kroil unopened in the cupboard, must be worth at least £40 to you mark😂

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I put a Musgrave action into an old (but nice proper walnut) Anschutz match 54 stock using Devcon.................my first attempt at such a project. The worst bits were hacking the wood out with a hammer and chisel to make enough room for the receiver, and drilling the holes for the stainless pillars in the right place with a very wonky Chinese pillar drill.

Second worse was the following morning, trying to get the ironwork out of the Devcon..................it all worked, though, and the result is a 6BR that'll still shoot 1/2 MOA 4 years on.

Wouldn't do it again, though, a right pain trying to get the Devcon out of my hair/trousers/kitchen floor. If you use this, or any other epoxy type resin, it's worth having some Iso-propanol and rag handy. It cleans the uncured resin off the bits where you don't want it very easily.

I used Devcon because a workmate had used it to successfully repair a hole in a cast iron gearbox..........I'd never heard of it before that.

Pete

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I'm going to re visit Hysol shortly. A long time since I last used it, but I remember it being good, and possibly harder than Devcon, purely for experimentation's sake.

I use a lot of Devcon, and usually get through 4 tubs a month or so, so price always has to be a consideration.

I have a couple of tubs of Marine tex, of which, both are black. Its really nice stuff to work with, and gives a beautiful finish. That is not the material though, its the time put into prepping the action.

I think possibly, the black stuff may shrink differently to the grey ? Who knows.

Looking back over the old posts, the slack jobs I saw were possibly down to the recoil lugs being heavily taped.

If you bed a bare, tapered lug, it will grip the bedding every time you pull it out.

I prefer to tape the front and sides to allow for barrel's on and off, paint etc.

The only critical area is the rear of the lug, which must be bedded bare.

Marine tex is about impossible to get. A friend in the trade imports it for his own use, and usually lets me have some when spare. I believe the nearest importer is southern Ireland of all places.

All good fun .😀

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6 hours ago, terryh said:

Mark,

Concur, just the same applies to any other 'thing' related to rifles, you have the never ending reference to 'what the pro's use' as if that is 'it' and unless you follow the herd you are onto a looser, pretty sad state of affairs ( do folks think they miss because of the brand of barrel they are using - come on, really?? :) ).

I did use Devcon when it was a free product to me (leftovers in one place = a bedding job in another), then Belzona but actually do now use Grey Marine-Tex, why? because I have the opportunity to pick it up for about £9 a pack, some of the Riflesmith's I've used use it and I can work with it better than I did with Devcon. But I'm not doing this all the time so probably have a different view /set of needs

Araldite - agree, great product, been around a very long time (from memory WW2 era, but might be wrong?), would not consider JB weld in the same category.

Bottom line - use what works for you or you can get hold of.

 

Araldite was used to bond Mosquito bombers together, the Sydney Opera House is held together with it, Audi R8's and Lamborghinis are bonded with it

There must be something right with it, My dad was a fan and so am I

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11 hours ago, bradders said:

Araldite was used to bond Mosquito bombers together, the Sydney Opera House is held together with it, Audi R8's and Lamborghinis are bonded with it

There must be something right with it, My dad was a fan and so am I

Apparently its good for makeshift fillings as well

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I used to watch with fascination when my dad would mix the two-part Araldite together then bond all manner of things with it. 

I know it's a good sticky bonding compound but dunno about shrinkage, hardness, brittleness or longevity against all that recoil. Maybe one to test on an old action & stock??

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43 minutes ago, Catch-22 said:

I used to watch with fascination when my dad would mix the two-part Araldite together then bond all manner of things with it. 

I know it's a good sticky bonding compound but dunno about shrinkage, hardness, brittleness or longevity against all that recoil. Maybe one to test on an old action & stock??

Well the Sydney Opera House hasn't fallen apart yet and Mosquito bombers seemed to perform quite well with it 😉

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Araldite

Notable applications

  • Araldite adhesive is used to join together the two sections of carbon composite which make up the monocoque of the Lamborghini Aventador.
  • The use of Araldite adhesive in architecture to bond thin joints of pre-cast concrete units was pioneered by Ove Arup in Coventry cathedral and the Sydney Opera House. At Coventry cathedral, Araldite adhesive was used to bond its columns and fins, while at Sydney Opera House, Araldite adhesive was used to bond the rib sections of the shells, since a traditional concrete joint would have slowed construction, as it would need 24 hours to cure before stressing.
  • Highmark Manufacturing uses Araldite epoxy resin in the manufacture of advanced ballistic protection body armour.
  • Schlösser Metallbau, a manufacturer of metal parts for railway carriages, uses Araldite epoxy resin to bond aluminium profiles of cab doorframes on the BR 423 Siemens Bombardier tram.
  • Fischer Composite Technology GmbH uses the Araldite RTM System to produce carbon composite side blades for the Audi R8.
  • Araldite epoxy resin is commonly used as an embedding medium for electron microscopy.
  • Some Flamenco guitarists (e.g. Paco Peña) use it to reinforce their fingernails.
  • Brian May used it to seal the pickups in his homemade Red Special guitar to prevent microphonic feedback.
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I had a Musgrave come in a while ago that had been bedded with Araldite and the bedding was still in fine condition however it had yellowed a bit at the edges. The customer said the work had been carried out in the early 90's and I suspect it will outlast the customer. My only issue with the stuff is the smell.

I personally use Henkel industrial adhesives (Loctite) for a few  applications including gluing barrel liners, mostly because the technical support is superb. I have some Hysol here however I am yet to use it so thank you for reminding me Dave!

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