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Old 08-26-2013, 09:36 PM
Teancum1 Teancum1 is offline
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Default First bedding job - hope for the novice!



Photo of the completed stock for my Vartarg project on a Savage action. This is a Boyd's laminate stock in "Pepper." Mixed up 100 grams ( I weighed it at 9:1 ratio) of Devcon 1011 and that was about 40 grams more than I needed. I used a rasp bit on an electric drill to mill down the stock, and it worked beautifully - with a gentle touch. Used Kiwi shoe polish as a release agent. I should have polished it more. Used PAM spray over top of that "just to be sure." Should have wiped it down more. I bedded with the magazine box still attached to the action. While I could see how to get it off - and even started it - it looked like I would bend the lips on the box getting it off, and input off the net was basically, "If you get it off, you may wish you hadn't." I had sanded, sealed, steel-wooled and sealed (again) the interior of the stock to give it a smooth finish using "Tru Oil" . Used $0.97 worth of modeling clay to fill it good and used release agent (carefully) inside the stock as well. The actual bedding went exceptionally well. Had very little ooze and almost no mess. It went so well I was sure I must have done something wrong. One thing I would do differently is I would set it to cure upside down, thinking cleaning ooze off the outside of the action would be easier than from inside the wells. I used electrical tape to cinch it down tight as close to the action screws as I could without being on top of them. I did break the action screws loose about 4 hours later and again the next morning at about 12 hours. 21 hours after bedding (I know, I was impatient) I wrapped a towel around the barrel and whacked it a couple times with a rubber mallet and wiggled the action out. There was some ooze past my clay dams into the magazine well and trigger well and a bit in front of the barrel nut. Used a cut-off saw on my Dremel to very carefully cut across the ooze and broke it off with a screwdriver before using a diamond drum on the Dremel to smooth the edges and do the final shaping. Finished with another coat of Birchwood Casey "Tru Oil" and did several coats of Birchwood Casey "Stock Sheen" on the outer surfaces of the stock. Cleaned the clay from the action and used Barnes CR-10 to remove the wax - that worked very well. Oiled and reassembled everything - a YouTube video was a great help in getting my trigger group back on correctly. In summary, I spent a lot of time reading action bedding horror stories on the net and watched a couple hours worth of bedding videos on YouTube to get an idea of what to do and how to do it. I spent a lot of time prepping the stock and action. Was very careful and took my time using excess material and shaping the bed afterwards, but it went very smoothly with the Dremel, so long as I used a gentle touch. For my first bedding job, I was immensely pleased and it wasn't half as difficult or messy as I expected it to be. Just thought I'd share that for anyone who is nearly as intimidated at the prospect as I was.

Now waiting for my barrel and reloading dies. (Yes, I had the barrel - I was bedding the action an hour and a half after it arrived. When I finished the job, I took the black plastic protective cap off the barrel to find two big dings at the edge of the muzzle and some scratches on the crown, so it got sent back.)
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Old 08-27-2013, 02:18 AM
Bill K Bill K is offline
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Default First bedding job

Looks good, is this for the up coming 20VT ? Bill K
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Old 08-27-2013, 01:08 PM
Nor Cal Mikie Nor Cal Mikie is offline
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Looks REAL good! Smooth barrel nut?? It's amazing what you can do when you set your mind to it.
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Old 08-27-2013, 01:39 PM
Teancum1 Teancum1 is offline
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I'll post a photo of the finished project - and hopefully of the groups it shoots - in a few weeks. Yes, it will be a 20VT (my first excursion to the dark side of wildcats). Has been educational. Learning about bedding, head spacing (bought the tools to learn how to do it - fairly easy with the Savage). Nothing against my gunsmith, I just really wanted to learn how to do it. Learning about case forming and annealing as well. The Devcon is pretty amazing. If you could blow up the picture, you would actually see the machining marks from the bottom of the action and the proof stamps as well.

This actually has the corrugated barrel nut - I filled the slots with clay to avoid a mechanical lock and to leave open the possiblity of using a smooth nut. Plus, you don't want it bedded to the point where there is only one position for the nut to fit properly without interference.

Last edited by Teancum1; 08-27-2013 at 01:42 PM.
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Old 08-27-2013, 01:43 PM
Nor Cal Mikie Nor Cal Mikie is offline
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You filled the slots with clay? Good thinking. I usually just carve them off when I'am done. I learned something today. Thanks.
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Old 09-14-2013, 03:15 PM
Teancum1 Teancum1 is offline
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Default Final Project

Just got the barrel last night. Still have to set head space, but while I am waiting for the gauge I wanted to see what it looks like.

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]
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Old 09-14-2013, 04:20 PM
Nor Cal Mikie Nor Cal Mikie is offline
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As far as "setting the headspace" on a Savage?? My guess is you won't be using "factory loaded ammo" so use a full length resized case. No SAAMI specs to deal with and with a tighter headspace, you won't be overworking your brass.
And no waiting for gauges to show up either.
Drop the case in the chamber, close the bolt and run the barrel up close and snug the nut.
Open and close the bolt till it feels good "to you". Tighten the barrel nut. Now, go shooting.
I gave up on using gauges a long time ago. And if you're dealing with a Wildcat round, gauges might be tough to come by?? I never plan on using factory ammo so with tighter headspace and not overworking my brass, it lasts a loooong time.
Do what feels best for you.
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Old 09-14-2013, 06:45 PM
Teancum1 Teancum1 is offline
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Default Thanks for the advice

Thanks. I kept trying to think of a reason why that wouldn't work. But being as this is my first wildcat, I was proceeding with caution. There is a actually a place here in Kalispell, MT that rents reamers and gauges of all kinds, 4D Reamer Rentals. $5 for a go-gauge. $8 for a set. $80 for a reamer. However, I was planning on setting head space with a gauge, then re-setting it on a fired round and FL size case to see which was the tightest setting that would still accommodate everything. They also supply drop-in barrels for Savage from Shilen, Douglas, PacNor, McGowen, etc., and cheaper than I got mine for from Shilen. If I only knew then...........
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Old 09-15-2013, 04:33 AM
dcloco dcloco is offline
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Just a thought....something I do on all plastic/resin stocks....and all wood stocks that I bed. With the trusty dremel and a 1/8" bit, I drill small holes wherever I plan on bedding to be applied. Drill all at slightly different angles, as this allows the bedding to have "fingers" to help hold the bedding compound in place.
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Old 09-15-2013, 04:34 AM
dcloco dcloco is offline
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By the way...NICE job!!
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