No need for wood. Besides, who wants the extra weight of wood in their rifle’s buttstock?
Here’s what I do:
With a dremel tool, hollow out about a 1/4” deep by 3/16” wide channel of the foam around the outer edge of the synthetic stock. What you are wanting to do is expose the inside edge of the stock shell.
Once you have that thin, inside edge of the stock shell exposed, you want to rough it up a bit with some sand paper or a small needle file….anything to score the inner stock surface will do so that your epoxy will bite and hold. Your dremel bit will probably have scored it well enough depending on which bit you used. If it’s still smooth(especially with a plastic stock) then using some 80 grit sand paper should be adequate to give the plastic some bite.
Next, take a small drill bit and drill a few small 1/8” deep holes in the bottom of the face plate of the recoil pad(around the outer edge so that the holes will be directly over the small channel you hollowed out in the stock once the pad is installed).
The holes in the bottom of the pad and the roughed up inside edge of the stock shell will give enough bite for your epoxy to bond the pad securely to the synthetic stock.
Next, completely fill the small channel up with epoxy and also apply a thin layer of epoxy on the bottom of the pad plate. Use a toothpick to make sure epoxy fills up each of the small holes you drilled in the plate. Brownell’s Acra-Glas(black) works good as an epoxy for this kind of pad installation because it stays in place well and its extended working time allows you time to cleanup or fix mistakes vs quick setting epoxy.
Warning…the stuff is incredibly sticky/tacky so be careful. That is a good thing as it’ll ensure that your pad doesn’t come off or come loose once the epoxy is dry.
Use masking tape to mask off the first 2” of the buttstock before starting with the epoxy. This will help keep the epoxy that oozes out between the pad and stock from making a mess once you mate the surfaces together ….Did I mention the stuff is sticky?
😁
Also, use a couple long pieces of masking tape stretched over the pad and down the sides of the buttstock to hold the pad in place until the epoxy has set. I usually just set the stock gently in a corner for 4 or 5 hours with pad up so the pad isn’t touching the wall while the epoxy sets. After a few hours the epoxy will be set enough that the pad will not slip. But allow for full cure over night before use.
Rubbing alcohol on a cotton swab will work good to clean epoxy spills off stock and recoil pad while it’s still wet but once the stuff sets it’s permanent! So, be patient and clean up as you go. This will ensure the job looks professionally done when you’re finished.
Using this method will firmly bond the recoil pad to the interior edge of the stock shell…it won’t come off unless you cut it off( no screws needed). Because of this I recommend using Pachmayr Decelerator recoil pads because they look great, perform great and last a long time and never get sticky like Limbsaver pads.🤔
Sometimes masking tape will leave residue on the rubber pad that is hard to get completely off. I’ve found that Armorall(original formula) works well on this and will also keep the rubber surface on a newly ground recoil pad from catching on hunting clothing. I wipe down my recoil pads with Armorall a couple time a year…great stuff…and will help keep rubber pads from getting hard and drying out.
Also, Acra-Glas gel has a 1:1 mix ratio. It’s easy to use just follow the instructions. Remember, you’re only gluing on a pad. It should only take about 1 to 1.5 tablespoons of the stuff for the whole job. The small black dye packet in the kit goes a long way. You only need a couple drops to get the epoxy dark black. Once you have mixed it up well and it looks dark black add another couple drops and mix well. Adding a couple more drops will really help keep the epoxy dark and ensure the best color match to the black base plate on most recoil pads.
Good luck,
Leftybolt
Last edited by Leftybolt; 06/05/22.
