Rifle bedding glue

guninhand

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Several hard drive crashs ago I had information on a glue which competitive rifle shooters, Australian or New Zealand, I think, used to bed actions to stocks in military rifles. It had the property of being strong enough to anchor the action but weak enough to allow the action to be pulled from the stock. I remember it was not that uncommon of a glue but I couldn't find any locally at the time and now I forget just what it was called.

Anyone know what the glued used was?
 
You don't really want a glue. It is called a bedding compound. There are several on the market. One of the easiest and stiil best to use is the Acra-Glas mentioned above.

Some sporting goods stores handle it.
 
JB-weld can be found at almost all Canadian Tire stores (its in the auto section, not glue section....go figure) Works well, relatively cheap, if you can't find the Brownells product.
 
Devcon Epoxy, the steel filled stuff, is used to good effect as well.
Just make sure you use a good release agent (""Pam")

I understand Aklands/Granger (the auto supply place) carries it in 1 pound jars.
 
"...don't put any release agent on the barrel..." Eh? No release agent will cause a permanent bond.
It's not glue. It's epoxy. The Acraglas kits and JB Weld are epoxies. I'd suggest you use the Acraglas kit as it comes with everything you need plus directions on how to use it. Use the release agent liberally.
 
I believe this is what you are refering to::D

The Recent thread on fluxes reminded me of a rifle bedding trick learned from the Kiwis at the 1979 Palma Matches at Trentham (Upper Hutt), New Zeland.

Flake Rosin, dissolved in alcohol unti it is a syrup, is handy substitute for epoxy bedding of actions to stocks, and has several advantages over epoxy. (Dissolved rosin, of course, is nothing more or less than old-time furniture glue.)

It works very well, particularly with wood stocks. It will not fill large gaps like epoxy will, but works better than epoxy where a fairly close fit already exists.

To use it, simply pour some dissolved rosin into the area of the stock you want to bed, and assemble the barreled action to the stock. Wait overnight for it to thoroughly dry before disassembling or shooting the rifle.

The advantages are:

- No relase agent is required. To disassemble the rifle, simply hit the bottom of the barrel a good whack with the flat of your hand. Most Kiwi and Aussie shooters I knew did not disassemble their rifles between shoots, because doing so broke the bond between stock and rifle. They were essentially shooting "glue-ins", with the advantage that they were easily "unglued".

- The resin is thin enough to easily penetrate wood some distance and strengthen the area under the bedding. It shrinks VERY little and fills every pore of the metal/wood it touches...producing a good bond unless the action is really highly polished.

- Each time the rifle is disassembled, a thin "paint" coat of resin can be reapplied to the existing bedded area. It will "melt" the surface of the resin already in place, so the bedding doesn't get thicker....it just re-adheres to the action as it dries.

- Available at real hardware stores as "flake resin" or "flake glue" (make sure you don't get some modern, compounded substance), this stuff is CHEAP. Enough for seventy-seven rifles will cost you a few bucks.

The Kiwis/Aussies considered this one of their "accuracy secrets" for high-power competition. Maybe it will work for you.....


I have used this method on Enfields and it works pretty well. Flake rosin is just flake shellac you just don't mix in as much alcohol as if you were going to re-finish wood. Hide glue also works pretty well, you can buy both of them from Lee Valley Tools.
 
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