I have a newer rifle in a laminated wood stock. Accuracy is nothing to brag about after trying various loads. I was just going to glass bed but thinking of pillar bed as well. What is the opinion of one over the other or do both?
Glass Bedding, Pillar Bedding or Both?
- Thread starter StoneHorse
- Start date
Pillar bedding was done to prevent light synthetic stocks from crushing when the screws were tightened a lot.
This isn't really needed in a laminated wood stock... and really quite rare pillars would improve it...
It is very common to bed on top of pillars...
This isn't really needed in a laminated wood stock... and really quite rare pillars would improve it...
It is very common to bed on top of pillars...
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I mostly agree with this, because in 95% of the cases, likely in the case of the OP it will work very well.
However, there are ham fisted firearms owners out there that use butter knives for screwdrivers and the handles of those knives as hammers, when working on their firearms.
K98s for instance realized this could be a problem so they used a cross bar for the reciever to rest on and the recoil lug to come back to. Then they incorporated a pillar system that consisted of a rear tube of proper length to stop overtightening of the screw and alleviating the issues caused by this.
The front of the trigger guard has a pillar with a recess to mate with the extended pillar on the base of the recoil lug.
They considered it to be enough of an issue, to do this time consuming and expensive effort all through even the worst times of WWII.
Stonehorse, follow Dennis's advice, because it's very good, for someone that understands why he does it. I do it as well.
Pillars can be great aids, especially with porous wood or extruded plastic stocks. They aren't the holy grail of accuracy that many people believe.
A good bedding job, as described by both Dennis and #### will be just as effective 99+% of the time.
If you insist on pillars, filling the screw holes and lubing the screws, so they can be removed, then drilling out the holes for clearance is just about as easy as it gets for people that don't have access to the tools needed or are unfamiliar with the process of making pillars that will do the job properly.
It's not difficult but if you've never done it and aren't handy????
I don't think SH suffers from that condition.
- Location
- Western Manitoba
I have bought used rifles that someone called "glass bedded" - was mostly not helpful at all - several points mentioned above already - done well, bedding provides very positive contact for recoil from action to stock - and everywhere else is "free" to "wiggle" and return to battery. Action screws need air all the way around so they do not carry any of the recoil impulse. Much written on Internet and books about how to do it - seems a few principles do follow through - want to end up with action screws pulling action down into a solid support - when done carelessly, can actually have the action "bowed" when action screws tightened. If a Mauser style, need to have air-gap at top of magazine box to underside of receiver - do not want the mag box supporting the action.
I suspect that "tinkers" like myself are okay to get a hunting rifle bedded so it is showing 3 or 5 shot groups at 100 yards into about an inch or so - with hunting bullets - there is no doubt in my mind that the bench rest types take it to a very different level to shed that 3/4" and get their groups into the "2's" or better. I don't think any bedding job can overcome a "bad" barrel - I know of at least one poster on this site that tends to buy three barrels at a time - tries them all and keeps the best one of the three. Same bedding, etc. - but different results from different barrels - maybe that is part of getting down into the "2's"...
I suspect that "tinkers" like myself are okay to get a hunting rifle bedded so it is showing 3 or 5 shot groups at 100 yards into about an inch or so - with hunting bullets - there is no doubt in my mind that the bench rest types take it to a very different level to shed that 3/4" and get their groups into the "2's" or better. I don't think any bedding job can overcome a "bad" barrel - I know of at least one poster on this site that tends to buy three barrels at a time - tries them all and keeps the best one of the three. Same bedding, etc. - but different results from different barrels - maybe that is part of getting down into the "2's"...
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