This is my first attempt at bedding a rifle. If it weren't for this recession, I would have paid someone to do it. That plus the excellent write-ups found on this forum gave me the impetus to give it a go. Listed below are some links to other threads on the Hide that I found particularly helpful. There are lots of tips out there and I won't try to repeat them all here.
Reference #1
Reference #2
Reference #3
Reference #4
The stock is a standard HS Precision for the 5R having an aluminum bedding block. I found that it actually touched the action in only a small percentage of the area where you might think it should be touching. Here is a picture before I did anything.
Preparations included making temporary guide bolts out of 1/4" steel rod, masking the stock, fitting a barrel "doughnut", removing the trigger assembly, applying putty, milling the bed, and taping the front and sides of the recoil lug with electrical tape. In this next pic you can see the "doughnut", which with the rear tang area suspends the whole action off the stock.
Here you can see the rear half of the action. I've plugged up holes and created dams with plumber's putty to keep the Devcon where I want it or out of where I don't want it. You can also see my custom guide bolts made from 1/4" steel bar stock and approx 5/16" of 28 tpi threads. There's electrical tape around them to center them in the stock holes.
The next two photos show the front and rear bed areas. I used a dremel to mill out material so that the Devcon can get a good bite on the stock. Also seen is all the plumber's putty I used to block the Devcon from flowing where it wasn't wanted. In this next pic you can see the front dam made up of many masking tape layers and some plumber's putty.
I blow away all the dust and give the bed a good cleaning with alcohol. I also apply my release agent. Several types are recommended. See the references. I'd probably try carnuba wax or kiwi shoe polish next time but this time I used Feed'n Wax plus a coat of silicone spray.
The action is greased up and the stock is putty'd so sandwich it all up and hold it together with some electrical tape. I wrapped it firmly and just enough to stretch it a little.
After like 45 minutes, my excess Devcon is firming up so I trim off the parts that squeezed out using a plastic knife. Wnroscoe recommends using WD40 + Qtips. I didn't learn that tip until afterwards and will try that instead next time. The knife worked okay but required some extra dremel time that I might have been able to avoid.
...to be continued...
Reference #1
Reference #2
Reference #3
Reference #4
The stock is a standard HS Precision for the 5R having an aluminum bedding block. I found that it actually touched the action in only a small percentage of the area where you might think it should be touching. Here is a picture before I did anything.
Preparations included making temporary guide bolts out of 1/4" steel rod, masking the stock, fitting a barrel "doughnut", removing the trigger assembly, applying putty, milling the bed, and taping the front and sides of the recoil lug with electrical tape. In this next pic you can see the "doughnut", which with the rear tang area suspends the whole action off the stock.
Here you can see the rear half of the action. I've plugged up holes and created dams with plumber's putty to keep the Devcon where I want it or out of where I don't want it. You can also see my custom guide bolts made from 1/4" steel bar stock and approx 5/16" of 28 tpi threads. There's electrical tape around them to center them in the stock holes.
The next two photos show the front and rear bed areas. I used a dremel to mill out material so that the Devcon can get a good bite on the stock. Also seen is all the plumber's putty I used to block the Devcon from flowing where it wasn't wanted. In this next pic you can see the front dam made up of many masking tape layers and some plumber's putty.
I blow away all the dust and give the bed a good cleaning with alcohol. I also apply my release agent. Several types are recommended. See the references. I'd probably try carnuba wax or kiwi shoe polish next time but this time I used Feed'n Wax plus a coat of silicone spray.
The action is greased up and the stock is putty'd so sandwich it all up and hold it together with some electrical tape. I wrapped it firmly and just enough to stretch it a little.
After like 45 minutes, my excess Devcon is firming up so I trim off the parts that squeezed out using a plastic knife. Wnroscoe recommends using WD40 + Qtips. I didn't learn that tip until afterwards and will try that instead next time. The knife worked okay but required some extra dremel time that I might have been able to avoid.
...to be continued...
