Bedding/Refinishing Mausers -- Which first?

BBB

BBB

CGN Regular
Rating - 100%
21   0   0
Location
Edmonton
My Husky M98 in 9.3x62 just showed up, with better wood than I was expecting.
Small stock crack at the tang, couple of filed in grooves where some European guy counted his Moose kills (apparently, he only got 3), but altogether looking very nice. The recoil pad's butt ugly holey rubber with a white spacer, so that'll need replacing as well, but I would've put on a limbsaver anyways.

I'm thinking I'll refinish it -- it looks like somebody already did so I'm not worried about collector value, and the stock feels kinda grimey -- but the wood looks nice, and I think with a new finish it would look nicer.

So, since I'll be bedding AND refinishing, which should I do first? I was planning on stripping the stock, then bedding, fixing the crack, then finishing -- seems like the glass might bond better to a stripped stock, and any messes will be easier to deal with that way.

Is that the preferred way? Anything else I should consider before starting?

Also, I've heard conflicting advice on how to bed these things. Should I float the tang, or just bed it? I was planning on bedding it with a layer or two of tape at the tang to ensure clearance, but would full contact be better?

Other than that, I planned to just bed the lug, action, and the first 3" of barrel, right up to the first step. Tips?

Thanks guys.
 
Re-finish then bed or bare wood will absorb the glass and any stain it contains. However if there is still finish left on this one you could go either way. Mauser tangs need support. Is there a steel sleeve in the rear guard hole? That will support the tang but it does not hurt a bit to provide more surface under the flat of the tang. You should relieve the fit of the tang to the wood at the rear just a bit especially if you get any glass flow up the rear of the tang.. Check the web between magazine mortise and trigger mortise for splits as well. I like to hollow out those rear tang cracks from the inside for about 1/4" either side of the crackand fill the hollow with glass as well as getting epoxy into the crack. If you do this be patient working the glass into the hollow to avoid air locks.
 
303carbine said:
Take it to the range and shoot it,it may not require any bedding work. If it shoots good then finish the stock.:cool:
Click to expand...

With the stock crack, I think bedding is mandatory just for protection. It's fairly obvious that the recoil shoulder isn't taking enough of the recoil.

Anyways, I'm still waiting on brass, so I might as well screw around with it a bit.

To Stocker: Yes, it's got a metal sleeve for the rear screw. So, if I'm reading you right, full contact along the bottom of the tang, very slight relief along the back edge, correct? I'm thinking single layer of electrical tape kinda clearance.
 
BBB: You're on the right track and thinking clearly about it. You'll be limited by location of the sear or trigger housing for contact area but get what you can. Try to keep the bedding job stress free - don't cinch the screws down tight to the point you will flex the action. If you've got headless inletting screws they are the way to go and hand set the action to depth and secure with surgical tubing until set.
 
Yeah, I was planning on making some with some cut-down bolts, but forgot to bring the bedding screws with me when I was down at the hardware store. I'll get some tomorrow, hopefully.
 
The thread for Mauser guard screws is 1/4-22 so I doubt you'll be finding them at the hardware store. The good news is that the common 1/4-20 thread will work:) They'll turn in far enough without buggering the threads in the receiver.

I like to bed before I finish a stock. That way the messy job is out of the way and if any bedding material gets on the outside of the stock, it can be removed during refinishing.

After I complete the bedding on the receiver, I usually bed the trigger-guard under it's front and rear tangs.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom