Stock question: bedding related

[Estes640]

What is everyone's opinion/experience on a fiberglass (manners/McMillan) stock in regards to bedding and pillar bedding?

1) Is pillar bedding necessary (I.e nothing. Fiberglass to action)?
2) is pillar bedding alone good enough?
3) Are both pillar and glass bedding necessary?

Ryan

 

[JMGlasgow]

I like pillar and glass bedding. My stock came with pillars, and I also bedded it in.

 

[Kadams1563]

My Manners came with pillars but I also had it bedded.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Ledzep]

What is everyone's opinion/experience on a fiberglass (manners/McMillan) stock in regards to bedding and pillar bedding?

1) Is pillar bedding necessary (I.e nothing. Fiberglass to action)?
2) is pillar bedding alone good enough?
3) Are both pillar and glass bedding necessary?

Ryan

Barring any binding fit issues... in other words, assuming a correct inlet and fit, You probably don't need any bedding at all. I don't believe you need any pillars with modern composite stocks (manners, mcmillan).

All epoxy does is ensure that there is a correct 1:1 fit with no chance for multiple "homes" for the action to bounce around to. Pillars, IMO are a carry over from wooden stocks that compressed over time and behaved goofy in changing weather conditions.

Here's what I'm using now with my Manners EH1. JB weld in the recoil lug and front action screw area, and a dab around the rear action screw. This was done with the action screws "snug" but not tight, and the barrel wrapped in masking tape to keep it free-floating and centered in the barrel channel. I haven't experienced any zero shift, loss of accuracy, screws coming loose, etc. Did this about a year ago.

The full-on pillar glass bed jobs are mostly for show/presentation/warmfuzzy/feelgood.

 

[Estes640]

Barring any binding fit issues... in other words, assuming a correct inlet and fit, You probably don't need any bedding at all. I don't believe you need any pillars with modern composite stocks (manners, mcmillan).

All epoxy does is ensure that there is a correct 1:1 fit with no chance for multiple "homes" for the action to bounce around to. Pillars, IMO are a carry over from wooden stocks that compressed over time and behaved goofy in changing weather conditions.

Here's what I'm using now with my Manners EH1. JB weld in the recoil lug and front action screw area, and a dab around the rear action screw. This was done with the action screws "snug" but not tight, and the barrel wrapped in masking tape to keep it free-floating and centered in the barrel channel. I haven't experienced any zero shift, loss of accuracy, screws coming loose, etc. Did this about a year ago.

The full-on pillar glass bed jobs are mostly for show/presentation/warmfuzzy/feelgood.

thanks for all the responses guys. Ledzep, did you bed t yourself? If so, how hard was it?

Ryan

 

[308pirate]

Successful epoxy bedding jobs are 95% preparation and 5% actual bedding and cleanup.

 

[Ledzep]

thanks for all the responses guys. Ledzep, did you bed t yourself? If so, how hard was it?

Ryan

Yes, it's not hard. As was said, preparation is the main thing. Don't mix epoxy until you've planned everything out.

Tape around the barrel so it's centered in the channel, paper towels underneath the stock/action, a pile of paper towels and Q-tips at your disposal, release agent on the action (I use Imperial sizing wax-- just because it's what I have on hand--, very thin coat, nothing wrong with getting an actual release agent). Generous release agent on the action screws and action screw holes in the receiver. Tape off the front and sides of the recoil lug.

Then when everything is laid out (but not in the way) with all the tools and whatever you could possibly need, mix up the epoxy, use a small paint scraper to get it thin on a piece of glass to get rid of all of the bubbles. Then scoop it up and put it where it needs to go. I'll cut the heads off of a few Q tips and use them to move the epoxy where it needs to go. If your stock is already properly inletted, you don't need much, it's going to lay out in a fairly thin layer. Hard to quantify, but use common sense. If you get too much in there it will squish out all over hell and lock everything together. Doing it the way I do it with a minimal amount of epoxy you don't need to clay-pack the receiver or do any serious post-bedding machining/filing/inletting etc.

Once you put the action in the stock, make sure it's sitting level in the stock and you don't have any interference anywhere. Look for gross spills/overflow, clean up what squishes out, and forget it exists for a day or two. Pop everything loose and clean it up.

 

[Jon Rinaldi]

how do you pop it loose ?

 

[Ledzep]

Usually I'm able to insert the bolt but pull it all the way back, and pull up on the back of the bolt body while pulling up on the barrel. Sometimes thumb pressure against the stock, sometimes have someone else hold the stock and it pops loose fairly easily unless you have some sort of ooze-related mechanical lock.