Bedding question
 

So I am going to bed a savage accu stock that won't shoot. I have looked for instructions for this stock on the net to no avail. I have watched more than a few youtube videos on bedding. Some people wrap the recoil lug in a single layer of electrical tape on the side that does not make contact against the back of the recoil lug slot in the stock and the sides of the recoil lug. Others do not wrap the lug at all and just in bed it in the compound. Which is better and why? I can see a little wrap of tape helping from keeping the lug from being to tight, but it seems a little counter productive.

I put a single layer of tape on the front and sides ...and a double layer on the bottom. The single layer on the sides not only provides sufficient space to insure easy removal of the barreled action, but also a bit of room for the the lug (if tapered) to “seat” without hanging up if the action sucks down when the guard screws are torqued. The double layer on the bottom of the lug insures it can not “high center”. Those situations should not occur if the bedding job is properly done, assuming there is zero shrinkage... Perhaps I don’t trust my work enough? The rifles I have bedded with a little clearance on the sides/bottom of the recoil lug seem to shoot OK.
I use alcohol to degrease the lug to insure the tape sticks. And, find that duct tape sticks better than electrical.

I did this as well, although I only used one layer of tape on the front, sides, and bottom. I used masking tape. It’ll be a touch thicker than electrical tape I would think, but easier to clean up than duct tape.

Just makes you you use lots of release. When you think you have enough, use more.

I wanted to bed the action of a CZ527 cuz it shot poorly and the stock to action and recoil lug fit was poor as well. Like you I watched a few videos and away I went. But I didn’t see anyone using tape except to use it to mask certain areas to prevent the epoxy from ending up where it wasn’t wanted.

I agree with your thought of tape on the recoil lug to be counterproductive. You want that lug and action to be completely tight to your stock. Just make absolutely sure that you are very thorough in applying your release agent to all the surfaces that you don’t want permanently bonded together. I used clear shoe polish, the wax stuff that comes in the little flat tins. The main idea behind bedding is to have uniform pressure between your stock and action.

I wish I knew how to attach a link and I’d forward the videos that I ended up using as my guide.

The bedding on the CZ was a success. And now when I take the barrel off the stock, I have to give it a pretty good bump to get it to separate. And it takes good pressure to get it back on again too. I also did a Tikka T3 with the same results.

I have bedded a great many stocks. I never tape the recoil lug as I want the tightest friction fit I can get. I bed the front of the magazine well to 2" forward of the recoil lug first. Float the barrel and try the gun for groups.

If it needs it I do from the front of the mag well back and the tang. If it still isn't shooting the way I want for groups, or shows signs of heat wander, I full length bed the barrel with five pounds of up lift (you tie a five pound weight on a piece of mono to the front swivel and seat the barrel into the epoxy). Doing a full barrel bedding is some work but it has produced some really terrific shooting guns. I full length bed all Manlicher stocked rifles just to be sure they shoot the best they can. This is also very useful in many of the flimsier synthetic stocks to get rid of the flex in the forearm.

Taping the recoil lug sole purpose is for easy removal from the stock . Not all are square and may lock action into stock

If the Accustock is a plastic or poly type stock, I'd be cautious about bedding it. The composition of the stock may not adhere to the bedding compound well. I purchased a Sako 75 with a synthetic stock. Unbeknownst to me the idiot that owned it previously decided to bed the recoil lug, why I will never know. In a magnum chambering, repeated shots loosened all the epoxy. A replacement stock is close to $900. If it's a fiberglass type stock, no problem. Plastic, problem!!

You are right that a taped recoil lug makes removal easier but it also makes for a looser fit, which to me counteracts the major purpose of bedding a rifle. To your second point I agree that tapered recoil lugs can be a problem. Realistically though, if a recoil lug has a lot of taper, where the bottom is wider than the top, a couple of layers of electrical tape isn't going to stop it from locking in place. Those types of recoil lugs need to be squared up so they don't mechanical lock into place. Looking for those type of mechanical lock issues is a big part of making sure you do a good bed job and don't end up with a one piece gun.

Leo, bedding compound is fairly easy to remove. Use a heat gun to heat it up and it will come out with a bit of work. Clean it out till you get down to the the original stock. The lack of adhesion by the epoxy is far more likely to be the result of oil on the plastic not being removed with alcohol and no purchase holes being drilled into the stock. It may also have something to do with the type of epoxy used but I have bedded lots of plastic stocks with Devcon, Marine Tex, Micro Bed and a few others and never had an issue with the bedding holding.

I am fairly near to you, if you need a hand PM me.

This is my normal approach. However, I have a rifle that was bedded by an individual that quit possibly has bedded more stocks than any other single individual in the world. He beds with clearance and it is a beautiful thing.

A couple of interesting differences in bedding practices (neither right or wrong...do what makes you comfy). Let’s examine our individual “why’s”.
Lug clearances (sides/front): I have tried both tapping and naked bedding the lug and found no noticible difference in performance so I settled on opting for clearance as it makes for easier disassembly. Early on, I switched my square sandwich lugs to tappered (Holland). One time with a naked bedded lug, I got inconsistent performance which was remedied only after I ground out some epoxy at the bottom of the lug pocket. I suspect the issue in that case was that the lug had bottomed out after the action was torqued? Perhaps that should not have happened but it did. Also, the fact that all the stocks I bought with aluminum bedding blocks, had both side and bottom lug clearances ...shot well with just skim bedding.
Bedding forward of the lug: My early reading on that practice suggested that it should be done to provide extra support for a heavy barrel “hanging” on the front of the action (= stress). Then I noticed that a friend who shot heavy barreled BR rigs had no bedding forward of the action. He suggested two reasons, first that anything touching the barrel could affect harmonics as the barrel temperature changed, and second that since barrels were often switched out, bedding one would not be practical. I now have a couple of very heavy barrels (HV contour) that hang unsupported on the action and typically shoot in the twos and threes (you know, “when i’m doing my part” :) ).

I use a parting/release agent on the barrel. It puts a thin film on the barrel that acts like a barrier to the bedding compound. I used a hysol product from my work as beddingon on a remington 700 sps stock.

Thanks Dean, I'll take you up on your offer in the New Year. It's on my 340 Weatherby Mag that KS Arms barrelled for me, so it's got to be done right with that kind of recoil.

I have done both methods taped and not and both work.

One point to watch on recoil lugs that have not been taped is that upon reassemble the edges of lugs may scrape the edges of the bedding and minute pieces of bedding material gets trapped in the recoil lug area .

I've used scotch tape on the lug with a light coating of clear shoe polish as an additional release agent. No regrets so far.

I don't use tape on the lug, taping only places where I don't want bedding material to flow into. I carefully measure the lug and file where necessary so that the lug isn't wider or fatter at the bottom locking the receiver into the bedding so that the action can be removed from the stock later if need be. I use wax for release agent as it doesn't add a thick film on the receiver making it and the lug larger than the actual dimensions of the receiver and lug creating a loose fit when the release agent is washed/cleaned away like so many of the release agents that come with bedding kits do.

Hm
 

That's interesting. I have never used a bedding kit before. The stuff I got from my work was a loctite brand releasing agent. It makes adds almost zero material. It is expensive to buy though

On the Tikka did you peranantly epoxy the recoil lug in?

I just finished pillar bedding and added 3rd action screw plus action bedding on 50 cal. savage. did the Tupperware stock as well to see if could improve, filled and stiffened the fore stock on Tupperware and made sure free float . than did the Boyd's as you can see in pictures had to over size pillars as stock holes they did not not mate up with action on Boyd's. Turned them down to 1/2 inch and drilled front and third stock hole 9/16 to get bedding on pillars. Used Devcon for pillars and bedding, tang is not bedded and free floats this 2 step project. Left out the ramrod as I use a 3 piece I carry in my pack. hope posting pics work. have to see how to upload pics first try did not work.

There are two types of "plastic" material. They are categorized as either "thermoset or thermoplastic". Thermoset plastics are formed using a chemical reaction and once formed will remain is a solid state. Think of fiberglass and epoxy. Thermoplastics are heated to become a liquid form and cooled to become solid. They can subsequently be re-heated back into liquid form and re-shaped. These are most commonly TPO (thermoplastic polyolefin). Some others are polypropylene and PVC.
In the world of paint, thermosets are two-part epoxies and two-part urethanes while thermoplastics are lacquers and alkyd enamel. (air-dried)
The two types of plastic do not bond well at all to each other for long. In the case of epoxy to TPO which is a common material for plastic rifle stocks, the integrity of the bond can be enhanced mechanically by drilling holes and grinding surfaces to which epoxy will be applied. There is also a bonding agent available called "adhesion promoter" but it is for thin coatings (paint).
All that being said, I wouldn't trust epoxy bedding compound in a non-fiberglass plastic stock. Dual pillar bedding alone would be a better option.

picture posts.[IMG]<a href="https://imgur.com/JvqiI31"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/JvqiI31.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>[/IMG]

picture heavy.
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Sorry I took so long to get back to you. No I did not permanently epoxy the recoil lug in. I applied the clear shoe polish (release agent) to it so the recoil lug comes out with the action when taking the stock off.

But your question brings up another possibility. If the recoil lug was permanently epoxied into the stock, then that would make it even stronger yet.