Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Devcon bedding

First time bedding a rifle.
The gun is a Norinco JW-15.
I have Devcon Putty 10110
There is youtube of course but........I'm interested in any tips, hints or recommendations regarding this project you folks might care to make.
How do I determine where to apply the putty and where to avoid?
Is bedding the length of the barrel channel pretty much SOP?

Did a beaver get in there?

Not my Beaver!

It's fine as far as form, fit, and function goes. But it looks like pan hammered s hit.

Use wd40 and qtips to clean up anything that spills. Use more than you need and clean up the splooge with the q tips. Make sure your height is set and go for it.

Most of us bed the action, at minimum front and rear, and the chamber portion of the barrel. I put masking tape on any surface I don't want bedding material on. Also, when bedding, I do not torque down the action screws, as I want everything to settle in a completely relaxed state. To float the barrel, I put about 3 layers of masking tape around the barrel just inside of ones fore end.

A little rough but it should bond well!! I would rather see that than the people that leave finish in there that the bedding compound can’t bond to.


Not sure what your plan is but I use shoe polish as my release agent and have never had an issue with removal

You are looking to be able to tighten the action without any
Bending forces on it.

The bolts need to pull it down against solid, fitted surfaces.

The recoil lug should rest against a solid fitted surface.
But, if it bottoms out, that becomes a fulcrum.


Your bedding compounds job is to mold those solid surface into
perfectly fitting ones.

Clear?

There are all kinds of instructions for individual actions, but if
you understand the goal, you can figure any type out.

Some have the bolt hole up into the integral recoil lug.
Obviously, the bottom of the lug must be bedded, along with
the action bottom.

Either use the action screws or get blanks without
screw heads (or make th em) Do not tighten. If you use the screws.
Use surgical tubing
to seat the action in the stock. Tightening the screws on the unbeded
action can induce those bending forces. That would cause the bedding
to set with the action bent. Then, you have created bad bedding
which will force the issues you were trying to avoid.

"You are looking to be able to tighten the action without any
Bending forces on it."

I posted something similar once, and Big Stick was abusively all over me.

He was right of course - it is the stock that will be warping or bending, not the action and barrel - for the same effect - creating potential pressure points, non-repeatability (without a torque wrench, anyway), etc. I've long advocated that the acton screws should turn no more than a half turn from coming snug to fully tight. A quarter is even better.

What model of 22 is that? It looks like a Chinese copy of a CZ. GD

The viscosity of the bedding compound is important to thick and it will not ooze out and the action will set high, use a reference mark pencil mark on action. Using Marine Tex in cold garage in the winter, I had issues.

I do not see the need to bed the bottom of the recoil lug, even with the screw in it. The reasons for clearance remain in both circumstances.

I've only done a few, but I look to bed the front of the action, at the sides and back of the lug, as well as the tang area.

I use putty to fill action holes, spray it well with Hornady case lube, wrap electrical tape around barrel at fore end to help center, and then hold the action tight in the stock with a section of bicycle tire innertube wrapped and tied. After it starts to set I carefully trim any epoxy squeezed out with a razor blade. Big amounts are wiped up quickly. I go pretty conservatively with the bedding compound though.

It's worked so far.

Each style of action and stock has a particular approach that works best. You have to evaluate each situation and bed/pillar accordingly.

For example, you don't bed a Model 70 the same way you do a 700. -Al

I've found that Johnson's paste wax makes an excellent release agent.

Sometimes bedding isn't just making a flat surface, but a stock reinforcement as well. Mauser 98s have smallish recoil lug, so recoil force has to be transferred to the stock over a wider area. Any time a laminated stock is used , it needs bedding to reinforce the brittleness of the glue and the wood layers. I use minifibers with the epoxy to achieve that.

Before bedding I always shoot the rifle first. I'm not gonna bed a rifle that shoot's better than an inch out of the box. Kinda like if it works, don't fix it! I also tighten down the action screws then slowly release the front screw and watch for the action to rise up, indicate's stress in the action. I don't believe man of machine can bed a rifle as good as using bedding compound, ain't possible I don't thing. They can sure get close though so I shoot the rifle first to see where it is and if it works, I don't fix it. I do make sure the barrel is free floated weather I bed the action or not though. That lump in the front of Remington stocks I always remove!

Good point kk alaska on the putty being kinda hard to get to flow and let the action set down far enough. I always put my resin and harder in warm water for 10-15 minutes before I mix and bed the stock. Let’s it flow much better and doesn’t seem to affect strength in anyway

I have already installed aluminum pillars, and I left them a wee bit proud, so I'm pretty sure they are taking all the pressure. That being the case I would think I would want to tighten down the screws fully, or very close, when I add the MarineTex.

I guess 1/4 turn back is pretty close, though, right?

Also, since I am on solid pillars is there any reason to bed more than the recoil lug? Even that seems questionable.

Here's something to think about: Why would you want the action resting on dissimilar materials (alum. pillars and bedding compound)?





The purpose of bedding is so the action remains in the same place from shot to shot. That's not the job of the pillars. That's the job of the recoil lug. On a typical recoil lug, the only area where contact should occur is the back face of the recoil lug and the bedding in the recoil lug mortise. Not on the bottom, not on the sides and not on the front.

On those lugs that have the action screw into the bottom of the lug (Sako, etc) the bottom of the lug should be tightly contacting the bedding material with an aluminum pillar installed. Again, the lug should not be hard against the aluminum pillar, but the bedding compound. Contact should also be at the back of the lug as in convention lug bedding and free on the sides and front.

Good shootin'. -Al