Devcon/Kiwi/Bedding questions

[calvados.boulard]

Hi everyone,

I have a few questions before I dive into bedding my rifles...

1. How many rifles can you bed with 1lb of Devcon?
2. How many rifles will 1 tin of Kiwi Shoe Polish protect/release?
3. Will Play-doh work to fill the voids?
4. Has anyone experienced staining with brown or black Kiwi Shoe Polish?
5. Where's the cheapest place to pickup Devcon? The cheapest I've found is $61 + tax and ship.
6. Is bedding a rifle with the scope still mounted a terrible idea, or a non-issue?

Thanks,
Cal.

 

[oppy]

1. I've done 2 rifles so far with my 1lb of DevCon (mauser type rifles). I'm guessing I have enough left for at least two more rifles. Someone more skilled than me might be use/waste less material than me.
2. I used MinWax Floor Paste. It didn't take to much. I'd guess that Kiwi Shoe Polish would be similar in effectiveness/amount required. One tin would probably be enough for all the rifles you'd want to bed.
3. Yup.
4. Can't say.
5. Sounds about right. IIRC, the 1lb of DevCon I have was $62/lb here in Edmonton.
6. Never considered that, but I'd take the scope off. One less thing to get in the way.

 

[Dogleg]

How far a pound will go depends mostly on how much you waste. At the beginning you will likely waste half of it.

Something to consider is aluminum Devcon. It costs more, but there is a lot more of it in the tubs.

I use floor wax for release agent. It releases effortlessly, and clean up is effortless. Give it a wipe and call it good, can't see it anyway. If someone questions that, call it weatherproofing. That'll shut em up.

Playdough or plastercine works.


Ive done them with the scope on or off, mostly depending on how easy or hard it is to take off and replace. Weaver style off, Talley ringbases or double dovetails forget about it. If it took you 1/2 day and 10 tries to get it level don't take it off. Saran wrap is your friend.

 

[r204]

I use the aluminum devcon and so far I beded 5 actions with it and still prob have enough left to do 2 more. I use the kiwi shoe polish a little container of that goes a long way. I bought my devcon at Acklands but can't remember what I paid for it.

 

[DILLIGAF]

I get my devcon from Brownells. But If you need some for just 1 riffle I can hook you up for a few beers. or buy it for you with my Mil discount from acklands

 

[jonh172]

Expect to bed max 3 rifles with one pound and don't be stingy with it!
Once u put the action and stock together there is no turning back!
At that point it's too late to realise you missed something and will end up with a void. You can bed the void later, but just use enough the first time around.

Take the scope off, the compound will go everywhere, plus you will want to be able to remove excess bedding through the top of the action. Again, it goes everywhere.

Good luck

 

[swissrallyman]

How many rifles can you bed with 1lb

-depends if you full length action bed, or only bed your recoil lug. 1 lb of Devcon got me one full length action bedding job and two recoil lug/tang bedding jobs

How many rifles will 1 tin of Kiwi Shoe Polish protect/release?

-I use Johnsons floor wax, you can get a tin at home hardware and it will probably last you a lifetime..

Will Play-doh work to fill the voids?

-I use plumbers putty... works better than play-doh I find

Has anyone experienced staining with brown or black Kiwi Shoe Polish?

-use neutral if you go the Kiwi route

Where's the cheapest place to pickup Devcon? The cheapest I've found is $61 + tax and ship.

-Amazon.ca if you can't find locally. Acklands probably the most expensive place

Is bedding a rifle with the scope still mounted a terrible idea, or a non-issue?

-not the best idea, you will be working around the scope with devcon and cleaning up with solvents etc... You could tape it off completely I guess but when you break the barreled action from the bedding job and it involves some banging it might not be kind to your scope. I always pull them off.

 

[hunter5425]

I've done 4 rifles with 1 lb and have enough for another 2 or 3 . I use minwax for a release as its easy to get and would do more rifles than you would ever bed. I use plumbers putty to plug voids as it comes easier than other stuff I've used. If this is your first rifle make sure every nook and cranny has release agent and you have no possibility of a mechanical lock because you took out too much material from the stock or left a void unplugged.