Rifle Bedding !

When i was looking for a release compound, I tried a bunch of them, PAM (thank you Hungry), Kiwi shoe polish, Aero paste wax...

Then Ian Robertson told me what he uses. And frankly, if there is anyone on our board that does more moulding than Ian, I want to know about it.

He uses SynLube 531, and the stuff is amazing! Spray it on and let it dry (like 15-30 minutes) then if you are chicken, like me, spray another light coat and let that dry too.
Then into the goo it goes!
On release you need to see it to believe it. The smallest marks in the action are perfectly reproduced in the epoxy, and it comes apart so nicely (provided you did your job preventing any mechanical locks).
 
I've had really good results using the Devcon and Kiwi shoe polish for the release agent. Nice thing about the Devcon is that it's pretty forgiving when it comes to the ratios. By volume I've just eyeballed it every time and that's not just for bedding rifles but doing various other repair jobs.
 
I have used just regular slow cure epoxy(big bottles from hobby stores) with 1.5mm chopped fiberglass(thickens it up), and paste wax for a release agent. Yeah numbers, small marks, machining marks ect ect all get transfered lol. I lay on the wax, let it dry, and the lightly buff it off.

What is everyone using for making dam's ect to block the flow of the bedding compound? I have been using modeling clay.... but its a mess to clean up. I wonder if sticky tack wouldn't be more neat?
 
I just did my first bedding job as well and used modelling clay for the dams and to plug holes, didn't find it too bad for cleanup at all.
 
Right after he told me about it I bought some online, but I discovered that "Industrial Plastics & Paints"
http://www.ippnet.com/EN/main/5061.html
There is a store near you!
 
Big JD-From the hills said:
What is everyone using for making dam's ect to block the flow of the bedding compound? I have been using modeling clay.... but its a mess to clean up. I wonder if sticky tack wouldn't be more neat?
Click to expand...

Playdough.

Seriously.

It's cheap, easy to mold and trim as needed, and cleanup's not bad at all. Once the bedding job is done I scoop out the bulk of it and whatever's left over will dry out in a few hours. Then what doesn't just flake away comes out with a little bit of picking.
 
Is there any practical difference in any of the bedding compounds and epoxies? I've bedded numerous rifles and always use the Acraglass Gel, and really see no need to switch as it does everything I want it to with no fuss. Also always had good luck with their release agent, though I would like to try some of that SynLube 531, as it sounds a bit easier to apply. I need to bed my Stevens .223, and was going to use AcraGlas again, any reason to switch?
 
I've used both marinetex and devcon. I suspect the marinetex I had was old because the putty was quite stiff and difficult to mix for the first few minutes, then the hardener softens it up a bit. I liked working with it, good consistancy 5:1 mix ratio. Seems to set up faster than Devcon.

Devcon mixes much much easier than the marinetex I had. And seems to be more readily avaliable.

Don't think you can go wrong with either.
 
My first experience at bedding was with the Acraglas, the pre-gel stuff (like 30 years ago). At that time I had some experience with fibreglass moulding, so the PVA release was just what I was used to using.
Now I realize that the PVA really isn't an ideal release, it's too "bulky" and easy to tear.

What does the AcraGlas Gel use for a release?

As for practical differences? I suspect not in the vast majority of cases.
The Devcon Liquid Steel and Plastic steel are very strong and exhibit very low rates of shrinkage. They are not the strongest epoxies Devcon makes; but what sold me was the low shrinkage. One needs some shrinkage if you want to get the parts apart again; but (IIRC) the Liquid Steel shrinks about 0.004" per inch.

I've used MarineTex on guns; but never for bedding. I've used it to make trigger stops and reshape trigger guards and it was superb for that.
 
Splatter said:
When i was looking for a release compound, I tried a bunch of them, PAM (thank you Hungry), Kiwi shoe polish, Aero paste wax...

Then Ian Robertson told me what he uses. And frankly, if there is anyone on our board that does more moulding than Ian, I want to know about it.

He uses SynLube 531, and the stuff is amazing! Spray it on and let it dry (like 15-30 minutes) then if you are chicken, like me, spray another light coat and let that dry too.
Then into the goo it goes!
On release you need to see it to believe it. The smallest marks in the action are perfectly reproduced in the epoxy, and it comes apart so nicely (provided you did your job preventing any mechanical locks).
Click to expand...

Ian prefers Synlube 531 but he has told me that he used Kiwi neutral on a few occasions with good success. He also uses Marine Tex, not because it's better than Devcon but rather because he can buy it commercially in grater quantity. If you ask, he will tell you there's little to choose between Devcon and Marine Tex
 
I use Playdoh, Pam and JB Weld. Cheap and easy to find, even in the North. All the super fancy special purpose stuff in the world doesn't do me any good if I just can't get it. And my three simple ingredients seem to work great so far; my sporter P17 consistently shoots 5/8" groups after I bedded it.
 
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