DIY Rifle Bedding Questions

[BigDog00]

Ive got a Rem 700 with a B&C stock that has the aluminum bedding block. I've been researching for some time now and am going to give this a shot. I've watched pretty much every youtube video and read as much as I can find. With that said, I do think I'm ready enough to get the job done. I plan on getting some long headless action screws and then will run some electrical tape around the action once bedded to hold in place, making sure not to create any stress points. I've got the Devcon, release agent (I know, use lots of this), tape, Qtips, wd40, etc. However, I do have some questions before I dive into it.

1. Seem like there are two main schools of thought..."skim bed" it by only using minimal amounts of epoxy to create a thin coat OR relieve the stock in the appropriate areas by about 1/8" to create a more solid surface. I was leaning towards relieving the stock with a dremel, leaving a reference at the tang and around the front action screw hole. So which is the better option?

2. While we are on the subject of relieving the stock...completely hog out the recoil lug area or leave a small reference point for the lug to contact before applying the epoxy?

3. On the B&C stock, they have the tabs at the front of the stock where the barrel rests. Obviously, free floating barrels is the goal but the rifle shoots pretty good for a "crappy remington" in a cheap stock (.75-1MOAish). Float the barrel? Or leave the tabs and see how it shoots after bedded?

4. What other tips and tricks have you guys used that were helpful?

 

[wapitibob]

I use Ernie the gunsmiths method, action rests on pillars. The bedding simply replaces the air around the action. I've done mine several times, the dremmel makes it easy to grind out the devcon and bed it again.
Only tip would be to use the kiwi hard wax shoe polish. PAM spray is too thick and will leave voids. And to use devcon steel putty. Much better results than with Accra glass.
My factory rem 700 shot better with forearm pressure.

 

[BigDog00]

Did you use Ernie's shims/washer or just use the existing action screw holes as reference for height?

I'm going to use kiwi shoe polish so should be good there.

 

[ramont]

1. Seem like there are two main schools of thought..."skim bed" it by only using minimal amounts of epoxy to create a thin coat OR relieve the stock in the appropriate areas by about 1/8" to create a more solid surface. I was leaning towards relieving the stock with a dremel, leaving a reference at the tang and around the front action screw hole. So which is the better option?

Skim bedding is for repair of cracked or worn bedding, if you use a skim coat for your first bedding you will find that the thin coat of bedding will crack pretty quickly. Initial bedding should be at least 1/8" thick, especially in the places where the rifle will experience the greatest recoil forces. I've always just used the action screws and pillars for my bedding so there was no need for using tape to hold the rifle together.


2. While we are on the subject of relieving the stock...completely hog out the recoil lug area or leave a small reference point for the lug to contact before applying the epoxy?

The recoil lug recess should only have complete contact at the back of the lug, the bottom, sides, and front of the lug should have a slight bit of clearance. You can get that clearance by putting a layer or two of electrical tape on the those faces of the lug.


3. On the B&C stock, they have the tabs at the front of the stock where the barrel rests. Obviously, free floating barrels is the goal but the rifle shoots pretty good for a "crappy remington" in a cheap stock (.75-1MOAish). Float the barrel? Or leave the tabs and see how it shoots after bedded?

I'd probably try bedding with the tabs in place first, if you don't like how the rifle groups then cut the tabs and free float the barre. Some rifles just work better with contact along the barrel. If you free float then I'd recommend only bedding from the receiver ring forward to the point where the barrel profile starts to get smaller or no more than two inches forward of the receiver ring.

4. What other tips and tricks have you guys used that were helpful?

Use painters tape on the entire stock everywhere that you don't want bedding, it helps keep excess bedding from getting on the stock and it makes it easier to clean off the excess bedding that squeezes out when you seat the rifle in to the stock.

I drill holes in to the stock directly under where I put bedding (if there is enough thickness in the stock). The holes are anchors and they help ensure that the bedding will be stable.

Keep a little left over bedding so that you can monitor how hard the bedding is during the curing time. This helps to determine when you can pull the receiver, I always pull my receiver after a couple of hours of setting time so that if I've messed up and locked the receiver in to the bedding I can still get the rifle apart, it'll ruin the bedding and you'll have to do it over again but at least you can get the rifle out of the stock. I wait until the bedding is still soft enough that I can push a thumbnail in to it.

Make sure that the recoil lug is square, if it has a wedge shape you'll have a tough time separating the receiver and stock.

 

[BigDog00]

2. While we are on the subject of relieving the stock...completely hog out the recoil lug area or leave a small reference point for the lug to contact before applying the epoxy?

The recoil lug recess should only have complete contact at the back of the lug, the bottom, sides, and front of the lug should have a slight bit of clearance. You can get that clearance by putting a layer or two of electrical tape on the those faces of the lug.
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Yeah I also planned on tapping the lug, I left a lot of assumptions out of my original post to keep it somewhat short....probably not the best idea. But I guess what I was getting at, do you completely relieve the recoil lug area or just enough on the front and sides to get bedding material in there? In my head it makes sense to completely relieve all sides to allow a stress free bed. If not relieved the action screws could pull the lug into the stock, thus creating a bind or stress point...does this theory make any sense?? I get that you want the back of the lug and the stock to be a solid surface, but not sure the best approach here.

 

[N2TRKYS]

I've never bedded any of my B&C stocks and all the barrels are free floating. I have them on M700s and Model Sevens.

 

[30338]

Wrap the barrel with blue tape just where it leaves the stock. Use enough that it directly centers the barrel in the stock. Low skill way of being sure it is centered when the bedding dries.

 

[LaHunter]

Ive got a Rem 700 with a B&C stock that has the aluminum bedding block. I've been researching for some time now and am going to give this a shot. I've watched pretty much every youtube video and read as much as I can find. With that said, I do think I'm ready enough to get the job done. I plan on getting some long headless action screws and then will run some electrical tape around the action once bedded to hold in place, making sure not to create any stress points. I've got the Devcon, release agent (I know, use lots of this), tape, Qtips, wd40, etc. However, I do have some questions before I dive into it.

1. Seem like there are two main schools of thought..."skim bed" it by only using minimal amounts of epoxy to create a thin coat OR relieve the stock in the appropriate areas by about 1/8" to create a more solid surface. I was leaning towards relieving the stock with a dremel, leaving a reference at the tang and around the front action screw hole. So which is the better option?

2. While we are on the subject of relieving the stock...completely hog out the recoil lug area or leave a small reference point for the lug to contact before applying the epoxy?

3. On the B&C stock, they have the tabs at the front of the stock where the barrel rests. Obviously, free floating barrels is the goal but the rifle shoots pretty good for a "crappy remington" in a cheap stock (.75-1MOAish). Float the barrel? Or leave the tabs and see how it shoots after bedded?

4. What other tips and tricks have you guys used that were helpful?

When I bedded my M700 into my HS Precision this is what I did:

1) I used my dremel to create a grid of shallow channels in the front bedding area and around the front action screw hole. I also sanded this whole area pretty well to give a good surface for the Devcon to adhear to.

2) I dremmelled out the recoil lug area pretty good. I did a similar grid pattern on the contact surface for the recoil lug and roughed up this surface of the aluminum really good.

3) I extended the bedding about 2 inches under the barrel beyond the recoil lug, but after that, I floated the barrel. I would recommend free floating the barrel.

4) Take your time with the dremmel, you can't replace any material that you remove accidentally.

5) I used neutral shoe polish as my release agent on my action and it worked really good.

good luck

 

[gumbl3]

I use playdoh to fill all the holes, crevices, etc on the action that may create a lock with the bedding

Probably not ideal but I have a kid and lots of playdoh laying around

 

[wapitibob]

Did you use Ernie's shims/washer or just use the existing action screw holes as reference for height?

I'm going to use kiwi shoe polish so should be good there.

Washers, just to get some space above the alum bedding block.

 

[Cahunter805]

BigDog
Plenty of good advice given already. I would sand off the tabs in the forend and put a few wraps of blue painters tape like stated. It will center the barrel in the channel and also freefloat it.
Relieve the recoil lug cut out on the sides of the lug just a little and make sure the bottom is clearanced. Tape the lug off on the bottom at least 2 pieces. You don't want the lug to bottom out when you snug everything back together.
I wrap the action studs with tape to ensure they are centered in your stock holes And apply release agent to them. Check the alignment on your BC stock before bedding and drill them out a little if needed. The inletting on BC stocks is IMO pretty lousy. I usually dremel and sand it to fit well before bedding.

 

[BigDog00]

Thanks everyone for the advice!

Well I glued it up last night so we'll see how it turns out. Everything cleaned up really well. I took all the tape off after about 3 hours to make sure I got everything cleaned up that got under the tape edge. I'm a little anxious to see how it turned out but am going to wait until this evening (~24 hrs) before breaking it apart. I took some pictures of the process and may post them up if I get around to it....if I can't get the action out of the stock I will probably never mention it on Rokslide ever again!!! Lol

 

[Cahunter805]

It will come out! It's always a little nerve racking but they always pop free. Make sure to pull it straight up and out of the bedding. You might have to wiggle it free a little then pull up. Remove your studs before pulling the action out.