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Stock bedding


ColinBR

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Hi all

I want to bed the action on my 22lr Anschutz as I only use the rifle for target shooting, and want to get the best accuracy I can out of the rifle. 

Can anyone recommend a bedding compound, and any tips for bedding the action would be greatly appreciated 

Thanks

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Colin,

Most folks have a bedding compound they prefer to work with, Devcon, Belzona, Accuglass & MarineTex comes to mind. They all ‘work’ but it is down to what each person has most confidence in/had best results with. You will not go wrong with any.

Pillars are used quite often but not sure what Annie you have ? If in a wooden stock then might not be necessary if you are looking to just ensure a snug fit - they shoot pretty well with no bedding/pillars from the factory after all?

Wrapping tape round the barrel near the front end of the stock to keep it in the centre of the inletting I’ve found helps? Play-doe or plasticine to fill any holes in the action. 

I use neutral shoe polish as a release agent and apply it twice to make sure I've not missed an area, I also like grey MarineTex as it comes in small pots (I’m not a Gunsmith so do not need lots), find it a nice consistency to work with (like clotted cream) and a Gunsmith who I’ve used before uses it for his rifle builds, but as per my first comment, no one compound is really ‘better’ than another, it is personal 

Terry

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I've just done my first bedding job and am very please with the result.

I used Devcon (from ebay) and pretty much followed Nathan Foster's technique, which is on YouTube. Assuming your rifle has a wooden stock, you might be better using Acraglass or Acragel as you can dye the bedding compound brown; Devcon is a medium grey colour.

Triffid

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Rimfire, especially benchrest /target rifles need very precise bedding, and always pillars.

This abortion came in to me some time back, after it had been "professionally" bedded.

This was done with acraglas, which is as much use as tits on a Boar.

4c2MCAv.jpg

I machined it all out, { what didn't come off with my fingernail ] and found the action had simply been sat down on the crap, without any wood removed to allow for bedding.

The action bent when the stock bolts were tightened. To the point the bolt was binding.

Properly bedded with Devcon afterwards, it now shoots like it should.

fCfawi6.jpg

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21 minutes ago, baldie said:

Rimfire, especially benchrest /target rifles need very precise bedding, and always pillars.

This abortion came in to me some time back, after it had been "professionally" bedded.

This was done with acraglas, which is as much use as tits on a Boar.

I machined it all out, { what didn't come off with my fingernail ] and found the action had simply been sat down on the crap, without any wood removed to allow for bedding.

The action bent when the stock bolts were tightened. To the point the bolt was binding.

Properly bedded with Devcon afterwards, it now shoots like it should.

And that is why I'd trust my rifle bedding (amd general gunsmithing) to a professional.  Like Dave Baldie....

I've seen too many home jobs cost the DIYer far more in terms of wasted time, expensive ammo and poor competition results.  But this is not to say that some DIYers CAN do a good job.  But not worth it for me.  IMHO.

Mind you, some professionals can do a poor job too and at the same time, damage the rifle while they're at it.  I've a few dings on my .22LR from the last 'gunsmith' who worked on it...

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Chris

Interesting link, it is very personal but that’s Speedy, Gnats Arse, KMW and the US Marine Corps who use MarineTex, don’t think I’ll venture far from that then 😉 (plus it’s cheap!)

Colin,

If you are a tool maker you have access to the right equipment and all the necessary skills to bed your rifle - go for it, pillars etc. Can come out your scraps bin! 😄

T

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Bedding is easy, so they say, and all the videos make it look easy. However, get it wrong and you either start all over again or get someone like Dave (Baldie) to do it properly.

When you consider the over cost of shooting, especially the horrendous hike in bullet prices, getting a good bedding job done properly first time is cheap in comparison.

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19 hours ago, ColinBR said:

Also maybe worth mentioning that I am a toolmaker to trade and work with CNC machines every day. 

Bedding a rifle properly (I say properly in terms of making sure it has only a neutral/positive effect on your accuracy) is well within your capabilities.

Like so many things in life sometimes its made out to be some mysterious dark art that you must pay others for. Anyone with a basic level of DIY competence and some relatively basic tools can bed a rifle right if they take a bit of time to think about whats involved. If you have access to a vertical mill and a lathe it certainly makes the job a lot easier though, as a tradesman I would expect it to be fairly run of the mill work.

Once upon a time I had never bedded a rifle but the skills needed are 1st year apprentice stuff, add a bit of thought, patience and some practical dexterity and you will be fine.

Devcon 10112 which you can buy easily online is fine for bedding, I use it on all my builds and Ive never had a gun that hasn't shot well with a Devcon bedding job. Aluminium pillars make sense and then it gets down to the small personal things some guys believe make a small difference. Use something like Mirror Glaze as a release wax or even Kiwi Neutral shoe polish works fine and then there are other release agents, again Ive never had one even close to sticking with three coats of Mirror Glaze or Kiwi.

At the end of the day your casting a mould of your action into your stock, its hardly rocket science.

If you need any further info drop me a line and we can have a chat.

 

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agree with Big Al.   Read, view Youboob,  think about it, plan it,  get the right materials and read the data sheets.  

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I hollowed out an old Anschutz match 54 stock with a hammer and chisel, and put a Musgrave 6BR into it.

A bit of stainless tube off ebay for the pillars plus a lump of plasticine to define the trigger space, (dug out after the resin had cured), a huge dollop of Devcon, and Bob's your mothers' brother...............the worst part was getting the Devcon out of my hair, the carpet, and next doors' cat.

Go for it.....it's a good feeling of achievement when you've finished and cleaned it all up. Even better when it shoots...........got a couple of pics if anyone's interested.

Pete

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5 hours ago, Brillo said:

Bedding is easy, so they say, and all the videos make it look easy. However, get it wrong and you either start all over again or get someone like Dave (Baldie) to do it properly.

When you consider the over cost of shooting, especially the horrendous hike in bullet prices, getting a good bedding job done properly first time is cheap in comparison.

Brillo,

It is a balance of things, your confidence and ‘keeness’ to do something yourself, but agree that it should not be undertaken with rose glasses on!

From another perspective, if you have a good but basic 22RF, the cost of aSmith doing the bedding will be more than half the value of the rifle, so doing it yourself has nothing to loose, as pointed out, understand what you are trying to do and plan then you should not have any issues.

T

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Thanks all

I'll have a look at whats out there online and use my own intuition, along with the great info given here. 

I've got a small milling machine out in the garage to use to mill out the areas for bedding. 

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Ok I've decided to go ahead and bed the rifle, not only because I want to get the best accuracy, but have now found out that the current bedding area of the rifle has been damaged by the previous owner and is not sitting properly. 

Originally I had thought that my scope or rings were the issue but delving further you can clearly see and feel. The stock has been squashed at 1 end. 

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 Thanks again 

I'll have a look at those later. 

I'll start a new thread once I get on with it. Just ordered a tub of devcon and will decide if I'm going to do it in my garage with the small milling machine, or go whole hog and do it in work on the Bridgeport mill. 

Hopefully be able to do a detailed thread on how I get on with a few pics added in. 

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