# MY first bedding job HELP!!!



## ac700wildcat (Oct 30, 2006)

I've been having trouble getting the groups I want out of my Savage 110 30-06 and had tried everything but bedding. I bought a kit from Gerrell's here in town called Brownells Glasbed. I prepped the stock and the action and used pam as a release agent on the action. I applied what I thought was a pretty decent amount of the bedding compound to the areas in the stock that I wanted to bed. I filled the recoil lug area about half full with the bedding material as the instructions said.

After all that prep I set the action in the stock and coated the action screws with pam and tightened them as i normally do, because that is what the instructions said. Waited the three minutes and backed them off then tightened them back in until they just started to pull the stock in a bit.

I had some of the material come out all around the action and cleaned that up and thought I was happy with the job so far. It states to let the bedding cure for 10 hours and then remove the action. I did that this morning and it wasn't even close to what i expected to see. Man it was ugly. Here's a pic:


















I'm not sure what to do with it. Its probably the worst bedding job ever. The action doesn't move around in the stock anymore, but if i put only the front bolt in it does still rock some. I really wanted to get out and shoot the rifle Thursday before deer season, so do i get out the dremel and re-bed it using another technique or wait the three days that the directions say before firing and hope for the best?

Thanks,
Matt[/img]


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## weston (Oct 25, 2007)

ok this may help you i cant see in you pictures if you drilled holes in the stock i have dun this a lot and you take a drill with the littlest bit you can get a put about 8 or 10 holes in it where the bedding is going to go and re do it it also looks to me like the bedding could not get a good grip of the stock and kinda went every where i hope this may be sum help you can e mail me at weston _redmond @yahoo.com if this still happens i will sit down and print you picture off and see what more i can come up with

weston redmond

good luck !


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## ac700wildcat (Oct 30, 2006)

I did actually drill quite a few holes and they are now full of the bedding material. It seems like when i tightened the action screws it just all squished out of where there isn't anything. I had roughed up the stock with some sandpaper as well.


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## weston (Oct 25, 2007)

well i am going to take this picture up to my local gun shop to marrow to try to help you out i will let you know what he thinks as Soon as i get out of school


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## Robert A. Langager (Feb 22, 2002)

It doesn't look that bad to me. Mind you, I have only done this once.

Did you remove any material in the bedding area? If not, then you basically did what they call a skim bedding job, where you apply a light coat.

You will need to remove the bedding compound from in front of the recoil lug, as well as around the sides and underneath it as well. Just the area behind the lug needs to be bedded. A Dremel is really good for this.

You should also remove the bedding compound in the areas around the magazine well. Only the areas around the front and rear pillars should be bedded.

You did pretty good for your first try. It took me more than once to do mine. You may have tightened the action screws down too tight.

If I were you, I would remove the extra bedding compound and see how it shoots. Remember that Savages like to have a floating tang. You should be able to slip a piece of paper under the tang from all sides.

There is a really good write-up on Savageshooters.com. The catch is that only members can access the articles. Here is my best effort at copy and paste:

The information contained on this website and that posted on the forum is based on the experience of the author (s) and is
only being provided to show their method used to achieve the desired results. What you do with this information is your
choice and your responsibility. Persons choosing to use this information do so at their own accord and risk, and thus
assume any and all responsibility for any damage, injury or death as a result.










Tools & Supplies:

Epoxy - Marine-tex or Pro-Bed 2000 ($18 @ www.scorehi.com). Pro-Bed is awesome stuff; has micro-balloons at the microscopic level, which means it won't compress and is incredibly stable - stays where you put it. Available in black or brown, it comes complete with instructions, wax release agent, brush applicators for wax, and epoxy mixing sticks.

Release Agent - I use Pam cooking spray with olive oil. Others swear by Johnson's paste wax; two coats. I prefer the spray as you can really coat the nooks and crannies.

Stock Bolts - Run to your local auto hardware store and get two 3" long ¼"x 28 threads-per-inch bolts. You will use these to center the action onto the pillars/bolt holes.

Masking Tape - Blue 3M brand preferred - leaves no residue, doesn't dry out.

Misc. - Metal cleaner/degreaser, Exacto knife or razor blade, chisel, rasp, screwdrivers, and Allen wrenches. Surgical tubing or good quality electrical tape to secure action in stock while drying. You will need a rasp or small chisel and a drill to remove wood/plastic where the action will sit. A dremel tool is handy for working around the pillars if you have one.

Optional - But highly recommended! A rifle rest is preferred; if you were to bed the rifle and leave it lying sideways on a table, it's own weight would shift the action to one side. Remember, the objective of bedding is to eliminate stresses in the action-to-stock fit.

Definitions:

Mechanical Lock - You have to be careful to prevent any hole or feature from "locking" the pieces together. If you had a small hole or recess (negative feature) in the action, but need to bed in that area, fill the hole with wax or modeling clay, then apply release agent over it.

The standard Savage 110-type action is pretty easy to bed because it is tubular. Some rifle actions have knobs or screws that protrude from the sides (positive features) these can create a mechanical lock too.

Procedure:

1. Prep the action:

Before removing it from the stock, remove the scope. Yes, a pain to sight-in later, but you'll protect your investment. Remove bolt. With the action still in the stock, wipe down action with cleaner/degreaser; I prefer Roson lighter fluid (naphtha). Place a reference strip of tape down action sides just above the stock line.

2. Savage rifle "tang" check:

Before you remove the action from stock, check the tang area. Unlike other rifles that have a stock bolt into the rear tang, the Savage rifle needs 0.010" to 0.030" clearance all the way around. With wood stocks I try for the closer tolerance. If you get interference before you bed, you may want to relieve a bit now, or at least be prepared to check this area once you apply the epoxy. You do have some working time &#8230;

3. Remove action:

Remove action from stock and remove trigger assembly. If you have never taken one apart, they can use 3 hands to reassemble them for the 1st timer. Please make notes and/or sketches of "what goes where" before you take it apart.

Now you can clean the area of the action that was in the stock, using your tapeline as a reference. Place tape at that point and above only - this is to prevent epoxy run-off that will seep out when bedding from getting on anything; specifically those areas you may not have applied release agent to.

4. Prep the stock:

Two things to do - (a) Remove material where the action sits so that you get a nice even bed of epoxy and (b) Tape off areas on the stock, inside and out.

Wood Stock: Wherever the rifle will be bedded, remove wood. Using the pillars as a guide, I removed about 1/16" or less of wood, using a combination of sharp knives, chisels, rasps, and/or a dremel tool. Synthetic Stock: These are more difficult to bed, or at least prep. The material is a ***** to remove (dremel tool a must) and you need "mechanical locks" to hold the epoxy bedding in place once bedded. Use exacto knifes and rough sandpaper to really make the bedding surface fuzzy; remove all "shine".

NOTE: Some have had good luck merely doing a skim coat of bedding between the action and bedding surfaces without removing any material. I'm not sure this will last over the lifetime of the rifle &#8230; but so far they're very happy with their results !!

Above shows an "after" picture of a bedded 12 BVSS-S. Where the light blue dots are I drilled into the wood so epoxy would flow into these holes to really add support to the epoxy bed. These are a must in my opinion for synthetic stocks.

If you look carefully at the stock Savage pillar you can see "bright" marks where I got full contact between the pillar and action after bedding it. (I put black marker on there beforehand)

This sketch on the right shows the Savage action using the internal magazine. Where you see blue are the only places where you can bed. Also note that the rear surface of the recoil lug is also bedded into the epoxy. Again, stay away from the tang area, you need clearance there - it floats above the stock, unlike other rifle actions.

On some rifles people bed the 1st two inches of the barrel. I take the "try it without" method first and have never had to bed that area, which is touch anyway on the Savage with the barrel nut. If you do bed that area, any recess on the nut in epoxy must be filled with clay or wax. On a switch-barrel rifle I'd forget about it.

When bedding a Savage rifle with pillars, check to make sure you have adequate clearance in the tang area now. Once settled in the epoxy and onto the pillars, this dimension won't change. When bedding a Savage rifle without pillars, you need to take more care on prepping the bedding area and checking the tang. The bedded area needs to be roughed out parallel to the action. I would go for clearance to the tang on the "min" side if no pillars are in the stock. It's far easier to remove than "add" wood !!

5. Prep the action:

Using the tapeline we first established as the action sat in the stock (before we took it apart), I apply at least one width of tape at the stock line to the entire action. Epoxy will weep out the sides between the stock and action and you want both surfaces there to be taped to protect your rifle.

If there is any hole or feature on the action (other than stock-bolt hole) that needs to be protected so epoxy doesn't flow into it, use either modeling clay or melted candle wax to fill it in. Make sure you avoid creating "mechanical locks"; you want to get it apart again!

Apply at least 2 layers of tape to all surfaces of the recoil lug, except the rear surface. I use an X-Acto knife to trim the tape neatly. I did these pictures after the bedding job - you want yours to be neater. Apply 2 layers tape out on the barrel bottom too.

6. Stock bolts:

Two methods here. Cut off hex-head and insert into action before putting action into the wet epoxy bed or inserting them into the action afterwards. I used to do the former, but had success trying it the other way.

For your first time, I would probably cut the head off and screw it into the action. The tape on the bolt body keeps the bolt centered in pillar/stockbolt-hole while the epoxy sets. When done, you do not want the bolts to bear against the stock during recoil, that is solely the function of the recoil lug. I highly recommend you attempt a few dry runs (no release agent or epoxy) with bolts in the action trying to fit them into the stock, as it will be a moderate challenge when the stock bed is filled with epoxy.

I'll give you my reasoning for leaving the heads on the bolts and inserting into the action "after" the action was set into the stock and epoxy bed. When bolts are already in action (with heads cut-off) you can't help but push epoxy down the stock-bolt holes, where the clearance is tight enough already with the tape on the body.

I feel that placing the bolt into the action "after" the action was placed is less disturbing to the epoxy bed. Yes, epoxy will get onto/into the action bolt holes, so make sure that the threads on the bolt is well sprayed/prepped with release agent and that the action is too, even inside (that's why I use Pam spray). When I did it this way, once I put the bolts in, I turned them every ½ an hour or so for the first few hours drying and then checked them periodically. That way they never set into the epoxy. When done, there was a small "ball" or "plug" of epoxy on the ends of the bolt in the action, but where the action was sprayed with Pam cooking spray inside and out, it had nowhere to stick.

Just be comfortable with whichever manner you use. And I highly recommend you do one or two dry runs. With action and stock taped (but not sprayed or coated with release agent) run through the process of placing the action to-be-bedded into the stock. Look for mechanical locks (you don't want any) or places where the tape could be better done. Another tip - get some kids "Play-Dough" (thinner and more pliable than modeling clay, usually) and put it in the surface to be bedded - to give you an idea of just how much epoxy you need to put in there. Any surface you do this to needs to be roughed up again though or at least wiped with acetone, as these materials have a solvent (??) or base that could interfere with the epoxy.

Bottom line: You want the epoxy to really stick where you want it and to not stick where you don't. Let's look at a few more pics before we place the action into the wet stock.

The picture on the left is my completed 12 BVSS-S bed. You see a few "holes" in the epoxy, one ½" behind the forward bolthole and the other midway between the two boltholes. These were probably area where I was a touch thin on epoxy. That's not anything to worry about at all. In the other picture you can see how tight that area is around the rear be to both prep and tape off.

NOTE: You must apply tape & release agent around the magazine well on repeater actions.

7. Release Agent and Bedding:

Check again to make sure you have everything covered and please do a few dry runs (without epoxy or release agent) to make sure your fit or prep work is sound.

Using Pro-Bed 2000 I prefer to use Pam cooking spray with olive oil as a release agent. It is so simple and effective. Others use Johnson's paste wax, at least two coats, and Pro-Bed comes with a wax release agent in it. I have never tried wax yet as I "grew up" on the cooking spray method.

Remember: you only want to spray/wax the action and stock bolts - DO NOT apply or spray or apply any release agent into the stock. Spray/wax the exposed metal on the action where it will bed into the epoxy as well the tapelines around the action where it sits above the sides of the stock. Handle the action carefully when using the spray as it could lift the tape if not handled with care. Put action aside and spray the bolts. Give the action underside another thin spray immediately before placing into the epoxy.

8. Epoxy Bedding:

Mix the epoxy of your choice and apply only into those areas where the action sits. Action with magazine (by two stock-bolt holes and recoil lug area), single-shot version: (full action bottom in the stock and recoil lug area). Make sure you have enough epoxy in the extreme bottom of the stock and in the recoil lug area. If it thins out anywhere else, that's usually OK. You do not want to be thin in coverage at the recoil lug. This is where it all happens. Any excess should weep towards the muzzle, that's why you also taped the bottom surface of the barrel forward of the barrel nut (which should be taped for 3-4") with at least two layers.

Ready to go?? Good!! Insert action as carefully as you can into the wet epoxy. Using electrical tape because it stretches or silicone tubing, bind the action into the stock as tight as you can. Using a gun rest will help when drying, if you were to simply place it on its side, the weight of the barrel will pull to that side and your purpose of bedding will be destroyed in an instant.

Use this time to wipe of any excess epoxy that seeped out of the action/stock juncture. Let it dry according to the epoxy instructions or at least > 24 hours. If you inserted the stock-bolts into the action after the action was placed into the wet epoxy, make sure you give these a few turns in and out as it dries, when you leave it, make sure bolt is turned "in" all the way it can go.

9. Getting the action apart:

Go slowly, you will need a plastic/wood/rawhide mallet to knock the assembled pieces before you can get them apart. You can rap on the stock bolts a bit (don't use enough force to damage the threads), and then remove the stock bolts. I know one friend who had to put a brass drift up the forward bolt hole to help knock apart the action. Someone on the forum once had to place an entire bedded rifle into a chest freezer so the metal would shrink a bit in order to get it apart. I also use the palm of my hand and strike the sides of the stock hard in order to help break the bond.

Even though we used release agent, you have a perfect 1-for-1 impression in the epoxy, so the fit is exact. Please use patience and care - go slowly and don't rush it or force it &#8230; don't ruin all of your work now.

Clean-Up:

1. Clean: Clean of all tape or wax and give the action a good cleaning. Makes sure any and all epoxy is removed from the bolt or lug recesses &#8230; you may have knocked a piece loose and who knows where it could go. Check everywhere!! Clean action and barrel.

2. Reassembly: Reassemble your trigger and CHECK FOR SAFE & PROPER FUNCTION!! For the action bolts I use an inch-pound torque wrench that I got on eBay for $15, works slick. The recommended torque range for the wood stocks is 40 - 50 inch-pounds. I'd go 40 if no pillars. I set mine at 45 in-lbs in the laminated stock with pillars and it seems perfect. I will try setting them @ 50 for groups later on. The setting for synthetic stocks approaches 65 in-lbs from everything I've read or heard about on the net. My synthetic stock was bedded before I got the torque wrench and it's shooting great, so I won't fool with it for now. A new Wenig (www.wenig.com) custom stock will soon be ordered for it so I'll fool with it then.

3. Re-Check: You just did work on your firearm, please check and re-check it for proper assembly and operation. Replace you scope and &#8230; off you go!!


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## ac700wildcat (Oct 30, 2006)

I didn't remove any material in the bedding area. Just basically sanded it down and drilled some holes. I taped around the recoil lug on the edges and the muzzle side of it and left the back side bare. How would you actually get bedding around where the rear mount bolt comes through the stock without making a huge mess.

When i did set the action in the stock the bedding was still very easy to work with. Should I have let it set just a little to make it sorta tacky so it wouldn't have moved around as much. I think I will take it out and shoot it and see how it shoots and maybe my few fliers have actually gone away. Once deer season is over do you think if i removed all the bedding and pillar bedded it and removed a little of the stock material I would end up with better results?

I know it hasn't been three days, but I think I might just go shoot a couple groups today anyways just so i know if its good or bad and I can work from there and possibly just dremel out what I have done and re-bed this winter sometime. My groups weren't terrible to begin with, but I was getting really annoyed that i could make three shots touch each other and then have a couple fliers.

Here is a few pics of my groups I was shooting:


































These are shots of four different loads I had made up and is why my groups were moving up a little on the target. All were shot using a bipod on the rifle and a bag on the rear.


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## DuaneinND (Jan 22, 2005)

If you rough up your existing bedding you can add some more to finish the job. I would just grind out the majority and start over. Use guide pins as suggested and surgical tubing works the best to hold the action in the stock.
Analyzing your groups- The vertical dispersion is a result of a couple of things. #1. It is very easy when using a bipod to put downward pressure on the stock with the shooting hand and any variation in pressure will change the point of impact.
#2. A bipod has a tendency to "stick" to the shooting bench and not allow the rifle to slide backwards in a consistant fashion. If possible put something like a piece of hard plastic on the bench under the bipod to allow the bipod to slide easily. When shooting benchrest many shooters use talcom powder on the front bag to make it slippery and allow the rifle to recoil in a uniform fashion.
#3. Depending on the amount of trigger pull and the caliber of the rifle the amount of pressure you pull the gun into your shoulder needs to be the same everytime.
Consistancy is the #1 requirement in shooting small groups or the smallest possible groups with any rifle and the more varibles you can eliminate in the equipment and the shooting methods the smaller your groups will become.


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