Thread: Someone to bed a rifle for me?

Originally Posted by matagouri

Question for you,, how easy is it for an amateur to your own bedding job?? Is it straightforward or in your opinion best left to someone who knows what there doing??

Bit of a dilemma locally, 2 bloody good gunsmiths that I know of retired in Central,, plus 2 bloody good gunsmiths in Chch pretty darn near retired.... All you retired/semi retired guys are so good at what you do!!

It is not a big job if you are patient and work in a logical manner (many people struggle with that!). Richard Wilhelm at wilhelm Arms & Optics used to import bedding kits (with instructions) from Brownells and could still have some. Basically you remove wood from the front and rear of the action recess to give the bedding a good grip (from the front of the mag well to about 50mm ahead of the front of the action in the barrel channel, and from the back of the trigger mechanism to the end of the tang. Work carefully with a gouge chisel and get a nice undercut but leave the edges intact to keep a neat looking fit. Grease all the wood around the cut out area to prevent the compound sticking where you don't want it, and cut a shim from the lid of a plastic ice-cream container to act as a packer (well greased) between the cut out areas to lift the action slightly. Remove the mag box and trigger mechanism from the action and thoroughly clean the action and barrel before you apply a liberal coat of release agent to the metal. Do not forget to put release agent on the action screws and on the trigger guard where any bedding compound can seep through! Mix your bedding compound according to the instructions and apply it to the cut out ares of the stock with a wooden spatula. Take care to make sure there are no air bubbles, and be liberal enough to ensure that some compound overflows when the screws are nipped up. Do not tighten the action screws too much, just enough to hold things in the right place. Make sure that the stock can rest in a reasonably warm place for at least twelve hours (cold weather can prevent the compound from setting properly). Trim the excess bedding compound off with a craft knife or chisel (being carefull not to scratch or gouge the rifle) before you crack the screws free with a neat-fitting screwdriver. A swift smack on the underside of the barrel at the fore-end with usually snap the action free of the bedding. Trim the bedding neatly with a chisel, clean, oil, and assemble the mechanism, and put the rifle back together. Allow another 24 hours to cure before test-firing. The barrel should be free of stock contact from the bedding forward. See! Nothing to it!