Favorite Bedding Material

[tbpollard]

What are some preferred bedding materials? I tried acraglass and thought it was a little on the runny side. Is devcon worth the extra cost, or does something like MarineTex etc give just as good results?

[22cf45]

I use Acraglass on hunting rifles and Devcon steel on bench rifles. As to the runnyness of Acraglass, when I mix it I don't stir it for the prescribed amount of time, just enough to get it mixed. Then I set it aside and keep a close eye on it. It will gradually harden and when it reaches a slightly firm consistancy, I use it.
Phil

[Pressman]

Acraglass Gel is not runny and very easy to apply. I like the Steelbed version for building feed ramps in some of my oddball older rifles.

[Shawlerbrook]

+1 on Acraglass gel.

[country gent]

Bisonite was the preferred material for service rifles ( garand and M1a) in my high power days. was very good with steel filler. was very hard and very low shrinkage. Held up well to the limited bedding area of these rifles. It was a little harder to mix being 10-1, but also had very good working time and longer cure time.

For most rifles ( bolt action) marine tec, plastic steel putty, accraglass gel all work well. Marine tec is easy to color and can be found in most boating shops. Devcon steel putty is available from most machine supply shops, never tried to color it. Accra glass gel is a brownels product available from them and most Gun stores.

I have taken to mixing in a large veterinary syringe then using it as an applicator to fill cuts and spread. does a nice neat job. Available at most farm supply stores like TSC.

[waksupi]

Acragel is the gold standard.

Edited, meant to say Acragel!

[Texas by God]

Acraglas Gel. But decades ago, a product called Micro Bed was very good and easy to use. It came in tubes Ala JB Weld but was a nice dark brown color.

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

[M-Tecs]

Devcon steel is an industrial product with known specification. It's compression strength, shrinkage and resistance to chemicals is verifiable. Marine-tex also a large following by some very well know smiths. That being said most product with do the job. Some better than others. For a simple bolt gun hunting rifle application they will all work well. For a high end competition rifles the builder tend to use specific products for specific reasons.

I prefer Devcon Titanium but that has become cost prohibitive. For most applications I have switched to Marine-tex. M-14, M1A and Garand's still get Devcon Steel or Titanium

Good read here from on of the best Benchrest smiths in the business.

http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/...speedy-speaks/


Step by step guide

https://rifleshooter.com/2014/09/rif...a-match-rifle/

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

https://www.ballisticstudies.com/Kno...tructions.html

[DougGuy]

Steelbed! It has stainless steel particles even the jar is heavy to the touch. Great stuff!

Edit:

I have switched to Marine-tex.

Good read here from on of the best Benchrest smiths in the business.

http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/...speedy-speaks/

Had I known about the shrinkage, I would have likely chosen Marine Tex over Steelbed, but I bedded my M77 Ruger back in the early 1990s with Steelbed and at last count, it would still put 3 into a guitar pick @ 200yds..

[Mk42gunner]

I like Acraglas gel for bedding most rifles, although Steelbed worked fine on the one rifle I used it on.

The one time I used regular Acraglas, I made a big mess. Must not have used enough floc.

Robert

[Mr_Sheesh]

Technical term for when materials like epoxy start to gel up is "B stage", to name the situation. Handy term.

[oldhenry]

I used Acraglas Gel for years & was happy with the results. However, I use Marine Tex (grey) now.

[gnostic]

I don't know if this is considered 'bedding,' I'm using Loctite 620 on my AR's with good results...

[405grain]

At work we use omegabond 101 epoxy to glue in thermocouples, but once it reaches it's expiration date it gets tossed. This stuff is an excellent bedding compound so I asked then to give it to me instead of throwing it away. I add some powdered brown pigment to it and it works great. This stuff is way too expensive to get just for bedding compound, but one mans trash is another man's treasure.

[recumbent]

I've used JB Weld for years.

[tbpollard]

Ah I didn't try acraglass "gel", I used the traditional formula. I do have some Marine-Tex and JB Weld. This stock isn't high end by any means, so aside from some extra labor grinding, I'm not opposed to trying a few different things. This was more of a play rifle to learn / hone my bedding skills. That being said, what are some of the viewpoints on bedding the lug? My understanding the the lug should be bedded on the side facing the action, but not under or on the side facing the barrel. Is that the general assumption?

[stubshaft]

Acraglas gel is my choice too.

[ulav8r]

Ah I didn't try acraglass "gel", I used the traditional formula. I do have some Marine-Tex and JB Weld. This stock isn't high end by any means, so aside from some extra labor grinding, I'm not opposed to trying a few different things. This was more of a play rifle to learn / hone my bedding skills. That being said, what are some of the viewpoints on bedding the lug? My understanding the the lug should be bedded on the side facing the action, but not under or on the side facing the barrel. Is that the general assumption?

You are correct, the front, sides, and bottom of any recoil lugs should not touch the bedding. I said lugs (plural) because some guns have a lug on the barrel, and other parts such as tangs, magazine boxes, or trigger housings can act as recoil lugs it the bedding is improperly applied.

[Ateam]

devcon stainless for stocks

JB weld for scope bases

[Mk42gunner]

Just remember, "Release agent is my friend."

The toughest gun I ever glass bedded was a Savage 340. The recoil lug is very deep on them (about three times as deep as a 98 Mauser, by guess). It did not want to come out of the stock, it did, but not easily.

Robert