Pillar vs. Glass Bedding

Sakoman

Sakoman

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I am looking for a little help. Casn asnyone give their thoughts on glass vs. Pillar bedding? Is one better than the other?

I have a Model 75 Sako Finnlight chambered in .270 WSM I am looking to get some work done on. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
 
IMHO its not a case of either/or, as I normally opt to have both done. The glass bed provides a mirror image of the contour of the action, so the surface contacts are even and no movement can occur between the stock and the action. The pillars meanwhile, prevent the stock material from being compressed by the action screws.
 
Pillars offer more benefit in a light crushable fibreglass stock than they do in heavier more solid stocks. They do not always need to be done but many find comfort in doing so.

Glass bedding done correctly is always a benefit.

Glass bedding should always be done on top of pillars.
 
I agree with guntech.
Correctly done glass bedding is the most important thing. After experimenting with different types of wood and fiberglass, sometimes pillars are unnecessary. I have some guns with solid stocks , no pillars and shoot one hole groups. I wouldn't change a thing. I heard stories in the old Target Rifle days where pillar bedding was born because of bedding jobs going soft and/or soft wood during bad weather.
 
Aluminum pillars give me a bit of concern( steel also) for anyone who does any machining they will know that when you turn aluminum or any metal it really changes dimensionally with heat. So those aluminum pillars in a hunting rifle where you maye be hunting in 30degC early in the year and maybe chasing whitetails in -40C later on in the year the pillars have to be moveing, In a conversation with Bill Leeper he mentioned that he made glass (fibreglass/epoxy ?) type pillars and installed them and he felt they worked well . That being said some of my hunting guns have aluminum pillars and it would be hard to determine on a hunting rifle if the pillars /temerature had any noticeable effect.

:)
 
IMHO, the concern is more theoretical than practical, but I'm not gunsmith and I would certainly defer to Bill Leeper if he suggests otherwise. But I have detected no issues with the aluminum pillars installed in my rifles, and my guns are carried and used in cold weather. Neither have I experienced any failures related to the use of dissimilar materials in temperature extremes. Other firearm related examples might include: aluminum scopes in steel rings, a steel bolt in an aluminum receiver, a stainless barrel threaded into a chrome moly or aluminum receiver, or an aluminum floorplate held in place with steel screws.
 
stovepipe699 said:
What about in a plastic stock? Would the pillars be a waste of time, since plastic is pretty hard?
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I've seen some pretty soft plastic stocks, and although I don't know if I would invest the expenditure of pillars for a cheap stock (the cost of installing the pillars could exceed the cost of the stock) there is no question that it would stop the plastic from compressing. It could be better argued that pillars don't offer much advantage in a good quality fiberglass stock, but as Guntech says, "many take comfort in doing so." I would be one of them; my McMillan stocks are pillar and glass bedded. If you are spending big dollars on a stock, why not make it as good as you can?
 
stovepipe699 said:
What about in a plastic stock? Would the pillars be a waste of time, since plastic is pretty hard?
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The cheaper plastic stocks seem to be made to wrap and distort around the metal. They are so flexible the barrel channel requires huge clearance and the action usually requires inletting and a lot of glass fill to center the barrel in the barrel channel. Top that off with the fact the bedding does not adhere to plastic and a huge amount of labour goes into this 'junk' stock, I don't recommend doing any bedding alterations with them.
 
As a rule of thumb, I have always ascribed to metal pillars in composite stocks, and glass pillars in wooden stocks. Guntech - who really knows what he is talking about - echoes what i have always believed to be correct/best.
 
I have a 695 tikka, Rem 700 SPS, and now a savage 16 fcss. They're hunting rifles. If it's not worth bedding, would it be worth it to sand the barrel channels to make sure the stock doesn't touch the barrel?
 
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