Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Bedding issue

I've done several but this time after removing barreled action the bedding feels slightly tacky. Think I didn't put in quite enough hardener. With a point of a knife I can make a mark in the bedding. I'm using bedrock and really hoping I didn't have to dig it out. I was thinking I could put a film of grease over the bedding and put the rifle together and reduce the chance that it sticks to the bedding or make up another batch and skim coat it, whats your thoughts. Like said it did harden but not completely if I can make a mark in it I think. It's a Rem 700 and has been sitting for 48 hours.

My advice is to leave it alone for another week and see if it hardens. -Al

Sounds like a good idea Al, thanks.

Most of the time (not all) too little hardener will still get the job done, as Al said, it just takes longer.

Warm area might also help.

Throw it in the freezer buddy... Or wait another week. See if it hardens up. If you are in a hurry, put it in the freezer overnight and re-do it..

Heat tends to make epoxies cure faster. Maybe it's upstate NY and there was a little bit less hardener than indicated and it's in a cool garage or workshop. The difference between cure times in my air conditioned shop here in summer (75 deg) vs putting epoxy outside in 100 degrees (25 degree temp change) is huge. With some epoxies the small increase in temperature makes it setup 2x as fast and with others it's 3-4x as fast. When I lived in the north I had to take my rifle bedding jobs into the house to get them to set. They would not set up in the garage.

Not sure I understand the fridge comment.

It was done in the house and still is. About 72 in here no ac for several days now. I looked at it today and I can actually press my fingernail in it but going to give it time.

Yeah....freezing epoxy to make it hard doesn't make it cure.

Good shootin -Al

Freezing it will allow him to pop it out of the stock and start over. Are you really that fu cking stupid? Are you a democrat? That's a general practice if you don't use enough release agent as well.

Actually...I think you should reread the OP's post.

He did mention that "after removing barreled action the bedding feels slightly tacky." He doesn't seem to have an issue with popping it out.

BullSchittArtist is a Stick wannabe that has to make a comment, regardless, to let everyone know how brilliant he is, and how stupid everyone else is. A true legend in his own mind.... hang on for a few and he'll post up some target pictures......the same ones he's posted a hundred times.

Take the advice of Al and TX. Give it some time and heat.

Mr. Passive Aggressive strikes again.
And apparently has reading comprehension challenges as well.

Another thing that I've found helpful after initially popping the barrelled action out of the bedding:

Do the clean up....radiusing edges, etc. Then, put a coat of release wax on all the surfaces and put the barreled action back into the stock and snug the screws down. Let it sit for another 24-48 hrs and then take it back apart. This helps stabilize the bedding as it continues to cure. If you do this w/o a release wax, you'll be surprised at the bits of bedding that can come up when you pull it apart...a sign that it's continuing to cure.

Bedding that is technically 'cured' per the mfgs recommended time will often continue to harden over the next 24-48 hours. When you get in there with a sharp end mill to clean things up, you can hear the difference in hardness as it cuts.

Good shootin' -Al

Thanks Al, well I looked at this morning and it felt softer than it did, peeled up an edge on the barrel channel with ease. It didn't adhere to the roughed up wood at all and I pulled a little and see it was all like that and pulled on it like a zipper and the entire bedding pulled right out with ease. I roughed the wood up a little to be sure there wasn't and residue and rebedded it. 6 hours I pulled it apart and it felt about completely hard, did some clean up and tomorrow or the next day should be able to put it together. I have no idea what happened the first time but that stuff afterwards felt like pliable rubber. This batch I stirred it for 5 minutes where the last time less than 3 and I also didn't add any color this time.

Did you use Bedrock again? -Al

Yes from the same containers

Doesn't Bedrock specify a 24 hour cure time?

I just looked and yes it does, didn't see it before. I've only done a few and when my mixing container was hard I pulled them apart, cleaned up some of material, put on more release agent and put it back together till the next day.

Taking any epoxy apart before it's cured interrupts...and basically stops...the chemical bonding activity. That chemical bonding activity is why mfgs. expressly specify a specific cure time.

Disrupting an epoxy at 25% of it's cure time (6 hrs. into a 24 hr. cure time) is not going to produce good results. It may seem 'hard' but it won't be completely bonded to the substrate (the stock).

Just sayin'..... -Al

Sounds like I'll have to go at it again. If I was to shoot and satisfied then there's a chance since it hadn't cured correctly this could change and not for the better?

The long term durability will definitely be compromised. And the durability is what really seperates a good bedding material from dozens of others that might seem like they'd work.

It sounds like you've got a good handle on the process. I'd not compromise, at this point.

Good shootin' -Al

P.S. There's always the freezer. I hear all the really smart gurus use 'em.....

Appreciate it Al

I've used Bedrock once. A kit.

The tubing was nice to have, some of the other stuff too.
Didn't care for the epoxy, it didn't seem to ever get as hard as
others I've used. I'd use JB Weld before that again. (Did)
Or hardware store Devcon.


JMHO

About $20 from motor parts shop here for tubes of Devcon. That's what I use now.

All epoxies work well it's just some are less tolerant about inconsistencies in the ratio of hardener to epoxy base. Heat is your friend in this situation - if you're in a warm environment and can leave it outside in the direct sunlight for a couple of days - if it IS going to finish cure, that should do it. Another option is to make a temporary cure box or "oven" of sorts. The quickest way is to go by a the storage or moving company and buy one the big stand-up "wardrobe" carboard boxes that are abour 4-ft high & have a small bar across the top for clothes hangers. You can get them at Lowes but they're about $20. Anyway, hang your stock inside the box and and cut a round hole just large enough that it will firmly hold a hairdryer nozzle, down near the bottom of the side that's furthest away from the stock. Start it out on high for about 5-10 minutes, then drop it down to low and let the sucker run but take the time to get an idea that you have the temp under control - it would surprise you how hot that thing will get = you can cut a flapper at the top that you can keep adjusting to regulate the heat - running it in the garage, back porch, etc. would be better than in the house or shop. You want that stock to get almost too hot to comfortably hold in your hand, but not so hot as to melt paint, epoxy or the stock. Also remember that when you take it out to check, you have to let it cool first to really check the cure - that's why I would let it run for several hours since the cool down will take at least an hour or so.

In the winter if I'm doing stock work, I typically have to use artificial heat like this to get good prompt epoxy cure. If this doesn't do it, nothing will and you'll need to dig it out the best you can and start over. Typically the thicker areas cure best and thin or 'skim' areas are more problematic. Hope this helps.

Epoxy works best when post-cured.