Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Can an Edge Stock be Pillar Bedded (the 2nd time)?

My Edge has factory installed pillars, but I'm interested in having larger-diameter, machined pillars installed as part of the rebedding process. Long story, but the factory pillars aren't large enough in diameter to sit flat against the front of the bottom metal, so the bottom metal is slightly compressing the stock material under factory spec torque.

I'm not sure if the Edge composite will tolerate being hogged out like that and then rebedded, as it has already been bedded with Devcon at the lug and tang.

Personally I would look into countersinking around the pillars and bedding the bottom metal.

Have the pillar ground down so it it square (about .250"). Then install an aluminum "washer" directly above it and at whatever diameter you want and bed that. Simple and more than strong enough.

Karnis, PM sent.

Some smiths remove the factory pillars for their own pillars.

And a lot of them bed over the top of the pillars, preferring to not have metal to metal contact.....

Kinda negates the whole reason for the pillars doesn't it? The pillars aren't there to support the holes, they are meant to support the action. To give the receiver something solid to seat against, something to prevent the receiver from being pulled out of alignment. Metal to metal... Anything between the pillars and the receiver and/or bottom metal increases the chance of pulling something out of alignment.

I'm guessing that those who bed over the tops of the pillars either don't know how to properly fit pillars, or, they are lazy. I'm talking professional gunsmiths, not amateurs who don't really understand the purpose behind the pillars.

And Richard, yes it can. Just drill out the offending pillars and fit new ones, only longer so they make contact.

Maybe have a chat with Tom Merideth at TM Stockworks.....

Many savvy accuracy 'smiths bed over the pillars for several reasons. The last few I've seen that were done at McMillan also were this way.

Good shootin'. -Al

I'm sure there are, and that's their business, but to me, it defeats the purpose of the pillars.

There are two schools of thought. One school of thought is to have metal to metal. Second school of thought is that it is impossible to machine and mate metal to metal for a perfect stress free fit, so they machine the pillars short and use bedding epoxy for a perfect mirror fit. McMillan has already conducted tests to show that machined pillars are of no added value on a solid fill stock being the bedding epoxy itself has more than ample crush resistance at torque values used. McMillan only uses pillars as a matter of technique, not as a matter of need in a solid fill action area. They have published papers on this subject. Exception is with an Edge stock which uses a shell construction and is not solid. It must have pillars.

So, some prefer to pour pillars using bedding epoxy, some prefer using machined pillars for metal to metal, and some prefer to machine pillars short and make a perfect fit with bedding epoxy. You can find examples of top-end smiths doing all of the above techniques.

Best

I did not know that and now life is just that little bit more complicated. Glad I ran across this information.