I just bedded my savage model 12, this was my first bedding job,
I used Devcon steel putty, kiwi shoe polish, and modeling clay
I went with one of my action bolts to a hardware store and bought bolts the same thread but 5 inches long ($2), cut the heads off em and used them as alignment pins, its also good if the action is a little stuck you can tap on the pins with a hammer to break it free
I also removed the trigger from the action (just that one pin on accutriggers), so I could fill that whole cavity with clay
I didnt bed the rear tang area, isnt really enough meat there because of the safety
mine is a single shot, so I bedded from 3/4 of an inch infront of the barrel nut, (filled the grooves of the barrel nut with clay), recoil lug area (no tape on recoil lug like some people do), stopped the bedding just before the trigger at the rear action bolt
I got a little bit of chipping around the bolt holes (not a big deal), the action fits snug in the recoil lug area now
worked out good for me, you learn alot the first one, but i would do it again
Alex