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No luck in the express rifle section so re-posting here.
I am going to bed a Win. express rifle with cross bolts and fore end lug.
Not sure if I should glass bed the cross bolts. I know originally they were adjustable, but I have also bedded them in solid with epoxy especially the hidden ones. I was thinking about full length neutral bedding including the fore end lug while leaving the cross bolts so they could be adjusted. Or should I glass them in but with plenty of release agent so they could be removed or adjusted? I don't think I should epoxy them in place or form a sort of horizontal pillar with them.
This is on a 375 H&H so recoil is really not a big issue unless there are imperfections in the wood that don't show. I assume it was kiln dried and is at least 12+ years or more old so hopefully it is stable. It's black Walnut.
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Joined: Jan 2001
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jan 2001
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Just me - but I'd only epoxy in the long part of the cross bolt and leave the screw-in section alone... Even then, I only do that IF there's a visible crack anywhere in that area.. I just did that exact thing on my son's rifle about two weeks ago.. But I do not bed the entire stock area up to and including the forward lug. Those barrels are stiff enough that anything additional really does nothing.. FWIW
Ex- USN (SS) '66-'69 Pro-Constitution. LET'S GO BRANDON!!!
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Joined: Feb 2001
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
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If you are installing them for nostalgia I understand, but from the pure direction of mechanical strength they became anachronous a long time ago. Epoxy with glass strands is far stronger than any wood. Improperly installed crossbolts weaken the stock, every time. Cut sloppy and fully bedded they will not weaken the wood.
The adjustments of course were about changes in humidity and you must use them in unbedded bolts. Not so much in bedding...
Mark Begich, Joaquin Jackson, and Heller resistance... Three huge reasons to worry about the NRA.
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Thanks
I think I will bed them but not glue them in place so they can be adjusted or removed. The stock already is inlet for them or otherwise I would just add a steel plate behind the recoil lug and epoxy that in place.
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Joined: Feb 2001
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Feb 2001
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Plain epoxy with fibers is more than strong enough. Adding another material with a vastly different rate of thermal movement and a somewhat difficult surface to glue detracts far more than it adds.
Mark Begich, Joaquin Jackson, and Heller resistance... Three huge reasons to worry about the NRA.
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Ok then should I tape the bolts for clearance? Maybe one layer of pipe tape, this seems like a good expedient as if there is any movement a gap will reduce any pressure incurred. I think the tape I have is 0.01" so I could do two layers just to be certain. I know anything solid along the grain is likely to split at some point but I thought across the grain was less critical.
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Joined: Feb 2001
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
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You want the bolts to fit tightly, but wax them. Do not tape.
Mark Begich, Joaquin Jackson, and Heller resistance... Three huge reasons to worry about the NRA.
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