Hi All,
Have been bedding my rifles with Accra-Glass gel for some time, have a Stockade stock coming in (bedding block) and am thinking
of using Devcon. Any comments pro or con? Thought about Marine-Tex but don't know anyone who uses it. Who uses what, and what hints do you have?
Thanks,
CaliRN
They are all good and work fine, if properly applied.
I prefer AcraGlass Gel simply because I've used it the most and it's always worked perfectly on stuff up to 416......about as foolproof as it gets and easy to work with and trim up.
If you feel like you want extra strength, mix in powdered stainless.
MM
Most like Devcon b/c it is a little thicker and easier to work with.
I have not used Acraglas gel but used the regular Acraglas a few times and now use Devcon and find it much easier to work with.
I like Accru glass. It has worked well. Marine text is the cat's azz, I do not seem to get air bubbles with it and it stays put. It is very creamy and mixes well easy to work with. Does not want to make peaks like Accur-glass. I have a jug of Devcon I am about to break open. I need to make to alterations to a composite stock.
i've been using devcon twin tube 2 ton epoxy for many years, its handy because i can buy it locally. have added different things to it on some jobs, for instance oak saw dust works great to fill in a barrel channel just about the right color
Ed
I used to use Acraglass,Acraglass gel and did not like how they gave such short work times. I have since switched to Probed 2000 which is not picky about its mixing ratio , has a super long work time and sets up very nice and doesn't run. If you want to make it thicker it comes with a packet of material to do that. I won't use anything else but a gunsmith friend has very good luck with Devcon Titanium epoxy.
I mostly use devcon, as it just seems to have the best vescosity, and when it drys its very strong but easy cleanup. The only bad thing about devcon is the cream hardner (white stuff) has a short (aprox. 1 year) shelf life, so if you dont plan on using the all of it up in a years time, the remaining will be junk. That said, its still my favorite sticky goo......
Marine-tex gray is another favorite, easy to mix and works great with no air bubbles, easy to color match, in 6 hours you can pop your barreled action out, long working time to boot. Long long shelf life.
never did like accraglass, I simply avoid it.
Tried some epoxy I bought at an army surplus store some time ago, that too was some junk I wish I never bought.
If your willing to try some epoxy you bought localy in the store with a store name on it, bet try it on a sample project before using it to bed a rifle.
Brownells does have some spray release agent that works faster then bees wax, and goes on more consistintly. Bees wax is old school and just outdated. for filling in voids and place's I dont want epoxy to go, I use duct seal, about 2.00 for a brick in the electrical dept. popcicle sticks, electrical tape, are good things to keep on hand. For metal clean-up, brake cleaner works good. then a good wipe down with kroil oil. Avoid brake cleaner on painted finish's and wood finish's.
Something to keep in mind when brand names like Devcon and Acraglas are tossed around is that these include several different products with different specifications and purposes. I doubt that the industrial use Devcons are the same as the twin tube kits sold in hardware stores. Depending on the particular job, different fillers and consistencies may be appropriate. As Mule Deer has pointed out repeatedly, those with the longest curing time are generally the strongest. I prefer the metal putty epoxies for built up areas such as bedding, but I like original Acraglas for thin top coats. It seems to harden and cure OK in thin layers, something that is not true of all epoxies. It pays to read the fine print in the instructions.
Paul
Interesting what hotrodusa observed about the short shelf life of Devcon white cream hardener. My experience is that Devcon is chintzy about the amount of hardener they pack in the kits. I measure carefully, but I always seem to have leftover resin base, Maybe it's just me.
Another thing I have found is that if you have some old leftover epoxy resin base but no hardener, just about any brand of hardener will work well enough in a pinch for rough, non-critical jobs. I always seem to have some extra Acraglas liquid hardener in my shop, and I have mixed it into Devcon putty and it worked OK.
Like just about everything, epoxy is expensive these days, and I am too cheap to throw stuff away. I buy good fresh epoxy for important gun work, but there are lots of fix-it jobs around the house where old leftovers work well enough.
Paul
I use JB weld for some stuff like bedding scope bases but really liked the consistency of the Devcon in the can, much easier to with. The devcon available in the tubes in most hardware stores is not the same product as the devcon 10110 used by alot of smiths. Also if you go with marinetex make sure to use the grey and not the white. The white is much softer and is not for the same applications as the grey (yes I learned the hard way)
What really converted my over to the 10110 was when I removed it from the bedding of an old rifle, much harder to clean out than any of the accraglas products.
+ 1
Weird. I tried to post +1, and the + wouldn't show in the post. Either + or 1 worked, but not both together. Had to separate them with a space.
Paul
Some of the epoxies are rated as hardening in 5 minutes, and I have seen others rated as slower harderning, but able to hold up to 2000 pounds. In my experience, the 2000 pound rating is much stronger. I have never had much success with the 5 minute epoxies.
Some of the 5 minute epoxies I have used wouldn't harden at all.
Anyone for Steel Bed? I've used it for years. Need to do a new bed job and time to order more.... any flaws on steel bed or go to Marine Tex or Devcon, what Devcon product?
Thanks, Jeff
I like it. I'll leave the technical stuff to Sitka Deer, but to me it seems very much like Devcon Steel, maybe a bit smoother.
Is Steel Bed filled with stainless particles?
Paul
Rost,
I found devcon to be pretty much the same as steelbed but much cheaper. $35 gets you a pound of devcon which will do several rifles vs $50 for a few ounces of steelbed.
Either one will give you a great job, I just like the economics of the devcon.
Devcon it is then... economics being that O won't be giving me bedding compound I'm sure...
is it devcon 10110 like the title?
I think I have used or tried just about them all and a bunch of ones left unnamed in this thread. Well when McMillan told me to try Marine-Tex, I've never gone back to anything else. Any marine dealer will have it on the shelf. I don't have to worry about it freezing in the mail from Iowa to here.
Duh, guess I could have thought to question the stock maker....
They always talked Marine Tex when I was shooting M14s, I just never saw any. That happens when you live probably not quite as remote as Bush AK, but at least an hour from any store that MIGHT have it. And at that point I hate shopping so I buy by mail. Now by internet.
Jeff