Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Preferred Bedding Compound and Release Agent?

Was wondering if someone would mention JB, mostly because I have some new tubes bought this week for fixing a forend tip.

Have been testing putting a pressure point on some rifles that are free floated with good results. Three business cards under the barrel at the forend have tightened up groups significantly on three out of five rifles, and I was going to put a permanent pad there on those rifles.

I'm assuming that JB Weld would work as good as anything else for that small area?

I've run into one issue with the storage of AcraGlass Gel - sort of. When I moved from Alaska to Colorado my supply of AcraGlass Gel was exposed to -35 F temps. The white filler turned gritty - not smooth. However, lightly heating it with a hairdryer prior to mixing it with the hardener restored the buttery smoothness. I used on my last bedding job and it cured just fine.

Interesting observation Al. Do you think the difference would be material in most situations, short of bench rest shooting I mean?

I do favor Acraglas Gel, most likely because I've used it enough that there are no surprises. And it's worked well for my purposes which aren't as demanding as yours. At least not as demanding so far.

devcon,and johnson wax

I've used acra glass in both liquid and gel, Devcon, JB weld and a couple other epoxies. All have been satisfactory for most uses but none have proven superior to acra glass and neither Devcon or JB weld adheres to tupperware stocks quite as well as acra glass.

i mostly use Steel-Bed for bedding and Hornady One-Shot for release agent anymore

AcraGlass Gel sometimes add steel dust for toughness/rigidity.
Hornady 1 shot case lube for release.

Either Bisonite, Devcon, or Marine Tex with Accra-Release Spray Release agent from Brownells.

Yes. Proper bedding with a proven product is always the goal, regardless of the intended use. Matter of fact, it's not hard to make a case for the long term durability in a hunting rifle being more important than in a competition rig.

When I started doing bedding and stock work, Acra Glas Gel was my first choice. Later on, the need for a better bedding material led me to try others. For me, Pro Bed has simply outperformed anything else I've tried and continues to do so. Others use products that give them the results they look for...Bisonte, Marine Tex...lots of good stuff out there.

I still use Acra Glas Gel for some jobs, primarily bedding scope rings. The Nylon in Acra Glas Gel gives it just enough flexibility so the rings can flex a bit when tightened, making a set of bedded scope rings somewhat 'universal' for any scope used in them. 'Course, the Nylon is also the cause of the durability issues...

Honestly, of all the rifles out there that are 'bedded', probably 80% or more still have issues.

Good shootin'. -Al

+1 I will not use anything but ProBed.

One shot case lube works great, with Acraglass gel.

Yep one shot case lube...two coats let dry between coats...pro bed 2000 is what I've been using the past couple years

Doggoneit Al, thought I had that part of it pretty much figured out. So now Pro Bed is on my list of things I need to check out. I've had great results with Acraglas Gel but now it's gonna bug me until I do.

Thanks (Really, not sarcastically)

Been using Marine Tex and 1 shot and a good paste wax. On rifles for a little bedding needed Marine Tex works well. When you want to fill in large areas it is to thick to flow well.

Used to use Acraglas gel but it seems to not harden as rigid as
Marine Tex. Looking for a epoxy that is not runny but viscous
enough to flow as action is seated but hardens rock hard.

One interesting thing about acraglass, I recall back in the 90's they started selling powdered metals to add to Acraglass, I believe to strengthen and reduce compressibility of it.


Any wonder if it was attempting to upgrade to replicate Devcon steel bed? Could be marketing from Writers using Devcon causing reduced sales of Acraglass, or a deficiency in Acraglass as sold w/o the aluminum or Stainless powders.

I have been using Devcon steel bed and spray case lube on my last 6 guns, all shot better after bedding. I don't use a dial indicator, but I do tighten the front screw ( Rem 700's) to a full 45 inch pounds and see if the tang draws down on it's bedding pad, checked with a piece of paper before torquing ( front screw tighten, feel no paper movement, loosen slowly and feel for paper movement) and lastly place finger across tang and stock, tighten frot and rear and feel for movement. I don't have 0.2" guns, but most are sub 1/2" 5 shot groups ( crossed fingers)


I think not using a torque wrench, you might as well not bed the action ( That will get some comebacks, LOL)

Allen

1. Devcon 10110
2. JB weld (been using this for most bedding jobs lately).
3. Marine tex
4. Brownells steel bed.
5. Don't really care for acraglas.


Release agent is always Hornady one shot case lube (spray on).....works great and gets into those hard to reach spots..

Marine tex and hornady one shot (2) coats, and johnsons paste wax for the actions screw holes/guard screws.

My god, it's all epoxy - none is stronger than the resins that bind the fillers.

I started with Micro Bed back in the 1970's, then used Devcon Aluminum Liquid and Aluminum Putty (if you want to mess around with Devcon go here http://www.superkleendirect.com/devcon.aspx), followed by Acraglass Gel and Brownell's Steel Bed, then Pro-Bed 2000.

I've even used Power Poxy's Marine gel coat epoxy. It has to be stained, as it's white, but no biggie. Cures rock hard unlike Acraglass. Used it to mount bronze plaques on stone monuments, and even as a white fill on lettering carved in stone memorial markers. Sort of like Marine Tex, but a whole lot cheaper. http://www.overtons.com/modperl/pro...&i=27341&merchID=1006&r=view It can be purchased through Amazon. The smaller syringe type dispensers allow mixing just the right amount.

Then there is JB Weld. I use it for bedding scope bases and small skim coat bedding jobs.

Release agent is nothing more than auto wax, silicone or carnanuba based, nothing fancy is needed.

Acra glass gel won't get hard. That's what it won't do. You need a metal filled epoxy for BEST results. I don't think it matters whether you use Devcon, Steel bed or whatever as long as it is metal filled. If you are only skim bedding, it doesn't matter if it is even metal filled.

I have tried a lot of stuff and I like Marine tex for skim bedding and Devcon (10110) for everything else. I have used a lot of release agents and neutral shoe wax is pretty effective. I have used the aerosol sprays designed for mold release and they work as advertised- just expensive.

When I first became frustrated with Acraglas, I started adding powdered aluminum. That made all the difference in the world. It is just easier and cheaper to buy stuff that already has powdered metal in it.

For really strong repairs and thin stuff where you want it clear, red box Acraglas with kevlar fibers and fiberglass flock is even better than the green box gel stuff.

I made up a bunch of test board and repaired them all with different methods and then broke them to see what was strongest. The way Mel Smart showed me how to bed with straight Acraglass was the strongest (tensile strength) repair. He would actually mill a little trough out and wad steel wool up in it. He poured plain acraglass over the wool and then used the flock and fiber reinforced stuff over the top of that!