Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing bedding a M700

I am going to attempt to bed a M700 rifle rather soon. I have a box of Arcaglas Gel and I forgot when I bought it but it says shelf life 7 to 10 years.

I got a wood stock and want to try to bed this M700 rifle and lean on. This rifle came as a donor action and I bought a LVSF stock that was already bed so I decided I want to bed a rifle myself. My only concern is I do not have a freezer to put my rifle in if I [bleep] up and need the freezer to do its job.

So where is there a tutorial I can use to guide me as I learn this??

Also should I buy something else instead of using this Arcaglas product? This product is from Brownells. Does it do one rifle?

Thanks for the help.

YouTube Videos

Read and follow the instructions, Do not skimp on the release agent. Do not allow the glass to get above the stock and on the barrel (you'll for a "tube" or "tunnel" that will require cutting to get the action out.

Not a hard job, take your time!

Good luck!

Hancock

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/5929664/Re_Bedding_a_Kimber_Montana

http://www.accurateshooter.com/technical-articles/stress-free-pillar-bedding/

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbth...t_bedding_compound_for_Kimb#Post11445958

It's not a difficult job. The main thing is to make sure you have everything plugged with clay or blocked so that you can't get a mechanical bond. Tape your stock everywhere except the very edge where the metal contacts. The tape will prevent you getting epoxy on your hands and touching the stock somewhere and not noticing it until it's dry.

I prefer to just clean the excess epoxy off rather than trying to prevent it from touching the stock with masking tape. It will somehow get under your tape. You are better off just cleaning the edges with a Q tip and denatured alcohol. Make sure the denatured alcohol will dissolve accraglass gel. It works great with the Probed 2000 I used.

Well yeah. Don't use masking tape! Vinyl tape, duct tape, barrel wrap tape etc. I have used the blue painting tape successfully also.

Masking tape works fine, I hate Acraglass however. You can use it but unless you have steel bed, you should fortify it with some metal powder or at least flock. I don't like that PVC release agent either. The Brownell aerosol work good and it's easy but clear Kiwi shoe polish works just fine. Make sure you have enough relief that your bedding is at least 1/16" deep in the shallow spots or it will want to flake off.

Good luck.

Never had that problem with Acraglas (the gel, already fortified with nylon). Clean with denatured alcohol, rough up be it Dremel or sandpaper. On a resin stock clean again, I doubt the factory worries about removing all of their release agent. And I rub unthickened epoxy on the stock to insure it adheres and isn't floating on top of the substrate. (A good thing to do whatever the epoxy and whatever the substrate.)

Agree on the Brownell's liquid release agent. But if I use a paste wax I worry about missing a hard to reach spot. Haven't yet but I worry.

PS: Don't worry about the shelf life so long as the resin and hardener are soft and creamy. If (usually the hardener) is stiff or lumpy - crystallized - usually it can be restored with gentle warming double boiler style and stirring.

And I prefer Acraglas Gel. IMHO preferences relate to user's technique. I've used the Gel long enough we're on good terms and it gives me no more surprises.

PPS: I prefer vinyl electrician's tape, epoxy cannot stick to that. Used to use masking tape with that liquid release agent or paste wax on top which worked just as well. But the electrical tape, particularly the good kind like 3M 33, is easy to stretch around gentle curves. No trimming.

Good idea to give the whole exterior a good coat of paste wax, can be buffed or not, to guard against the inevitable drips or fingerprints particularly if you're inexperienced. Then you can, with just a little luck, flip them off with a fingernail or piece of plastic. First couple of tries I masked the whole stock with newspaper like I was painting a car. Being a little clumsy with the first few it paid off.

Whatever you got from Brownell's will be more than enough for one rifle whatever technique you use. I'll bed a 700 differently than probably everyone else here and use even less. Have yet to purchase a Brownell's product that didn't exceed expectations.

valad, as someone who has been in your current position I recommend you just do a lot of reading and view a few videos. Even within this short thread you have run into what you will throughout all your research. Exact opposite things are represented. You will see a lot of "never do this" while another person, referring to the same thing will say "I always do this" or some variation of that theme. Even between people generally held to be quite expert and knowledgable, it is amazing in the differences of what one should never do being the same as what some will always do.

The other thing you will note is that rifle nuts like us are like photographers. We either like to display our knowledge in a flaunting manner and guard the little important details or we make assumptions that everybody else knows exactly what we mean when we make a statement or use a term, especially as it pertains to necessary and foundational information. When you see "that" post with "that" reference, pm the individual and ask him. Most individuals are quite helpful.

I have found that Acraglass, green or red box, never gets truly hard like the better epoxies; Devcon 10110, Marine Tex et al.

The late Mel Smart (precursor to Serengeti stocks) showed me how to properly bed using Acraglass. It is more work than using better epoxy. I used to send me carbon fiber chips so he could reinforce his bedding. He wouldn't use it without reinforcement. He theory was that it was like pouring concrete without rebar. He liked to use coarse steel wool in heavy areas too!

When I have thick sections to fill, I still use strands of Kevlar or Carbon fiber- it makes a noticeable difference. I know thousands of bedding jobs have probably been done with strait Acraglass but using that red box stuff without thickening it up is really tricky and doesn't yield as good as results as otherwise.

As far as the epoxy going bad, if you can get it to soften up in the jar (I just leave it in the Arizona sun for a few hours) it will set up just fine. Always leave a little in your mixing cup so you have a coupon to prove what it is doing under your action.

You know, I think BigSky has it about right. I remember all that conflicting advice when I was in valad's position. People using completely different materials and techniques claimed excellent results, and I believe them. So I tried to look at the problem as an engineer might as far as how to bed and came up with my own ideas. And I got excellent results like everyone else.

As far as materials I still think it's what fits the way you work and what you have experience with. Had some excellent failures the first few attempts with Acraglas Gel which taught me more. So I "stick" with Acraglas Gel. Have used other products and they are fine but I'm low on the learning curve again.

As far as adding reinforcing materials that's a whole 'nother can of worms! Personally I don't feel it's necessary in most situations but it certainly can't hurt as long as you still get good adhesion. That's where wetting the surface of the substrate with the unthickened product comes in. Not my idea, comes from the industry.

My only real advice is once you decide on materials and technique, think through how you're going to do it from beginning to end before you start. With epoxy curing and maybe flowing a bit it's not the time to say, "Lessee, what am I going to do next?"

True, this.

I love it.. Been using it for over 18 years now w/o a hitch.. In fact, I hafta remove an action this morning from a bed job..

Hornady One Shot case lube makes a good release agent and is easy to just spray on

I not read anyone mention needing pillars and remember reading on Brownells where pillars can be ordered. So should this be a consideration for me? On the surface it looks like Pillars make sense so as not to crunch anything anymore than need when tightening down a stock after a bedding job.

I am not a shill for Brownells, but I have been using Acraglas for 40 years and have not had any problems or comebacks. Been using the gel since it came out, much easier to use than the thin stuff and just as good a result. Tried several release agents, none better than paste wax.

If you install the pillars first, using them to ensure that your barreled action is at a perfect half-depth and centered in the barrel channel, bedding the action in a second operation is far easier. With the pillars installed, you can torque the barreled action down using the guard screws once you've applied the epoxy.

I'm a big fan of aerosol mold release spray for a release agent.

You also can go here and find everything for a Remington 700 bedding job: http://www.scorehighgunsmithing.com/ They have it all from Pro-Bed 2000 Epoxy (highly recommended) to pillar bedding kits and drilling jigs (rent the jig kit), everything you need. I have used their adjustable pillars with outstanding results.

Also have used Brownell's Steel Bed kit http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-t...ng-adhesives/steel-bed-kit-prod1048.aspx on precision varmint rifle builds, with superior accuracy and stability. Like anything else, preparation is everything, work carefully and take the time to get it right according to directions, and good results will happen.

I have bedded rifles(Hundreds of which were Remingtons) using Acraglas, Bisonite, four or five different Devcon products, and a half dozen different commercial epoxies. I like original (red box) Acraglas as well as any but it must be thickened. It is more resistant to solvents than most others. There is probably no other rifle which has more accurizing information available then does the Remington 700. GD

dennisinaz,

Where do you find the kevlar or carbon fiber strands?

I mean, I'd hate to chop up an Edge............


Casey