Bedding?

[flintbuilder]

I am getting ready to bed my rifle with accraglass gell. The instructions say to degrease and clean all wood surfaces before you lay it in. I have used inletting black and have it on the sides of the inlet of the breach and tang areas. If I try to cut, or sand the blackend area out so they are clean I will end up with visible gaps in the inletting.

Does any one have some advice on how to clean this out before I put in the accraglass? Do I need to get it out or can I bed over it?

I have read that lyewater is a great degreasing agent. Can I use that to clean it out?

Thanks in advance

 

[rich pierce]

I don't recommend bedding a rifle- no need- but if you do, you should scrape the inlets that you will bed to allow the bedding to have something to grab onto and not be "saran wrap" thin.

I always file a little draft on the barrel side flats before inletting to make it easier to slide in and out of the channel, and this is even more important if glass bedding a barrel. Be sure to make sure you don't have any undercut areas around underlugs etc that could lock it all down.

 

[LRB]

Don't worry about it. Do your bedding about 1/16th below see level, and dig out about 1/16th to 1/8th of wood where ever practical. Use white vinegar to clean up excess acaglas that squeezes out. Do pay attention to what Rich said about areas that can lock it in. Use modeling clay to fill in anywhere that could do that, such as a notch or hole through the tang bolster. The area either side of the bolster where it meets the barrel breech, ect. I do like the tang and about 4" of my breech areas bedded, but I only bed barrels when really needed.

 

[hoochiepapa]

"see level" :rotf:

 

I have to respectfully disagree with Wick, and am in the group with Rich. Unless you have such a bad inletting job, that you need to fill large gaps. We're talking 18th, and early 19th century style rifles here. Black powder loads do not create the harmonics of modern guns, and should not be compared to such. It's a waste of good fiberglass, and time.

Bill

 

[hoochiepapa]

I have heard just the opposite, that it will improve accuracy.

 

[Bill Hall]

Well, here's my limited experience with bedding. I too heard that bedding can increase accuracy, so I bedded the breech area, and up a few inches, on the last rifle I built. I think it was totally a waste of time, as the bedding came out so thin it is practically invisible. I really doubt it's making any kind of difference.

I can't see using bedding unless there is a goobered up area, like a bad fit behind the breech plug. Bill

 

[Dane]

In a black powder long rifle, the pins hold the wood to the barrel, not the barrel to the wood.

There is NO need to bed a barrel. UNLESS, you don't have good contact with the lug area. Then it's a necessity. Fill that area in, to make sure the barrel recoils against the stock, rather than against the lock bolts.d

Otherwise, leave it alone. It will have no effect on accuracy.

 

[rabjr]

None of my Stroh's are bedded and I can't see how bedding would possibly improve on the accuracy which is better than I can hold em.

 

[xia_emperor]

I accraglass gelled my rifle because of my mentor had concerns about the woods ability to hold up to lots of shooting over time. I let you know if it worked out in a few years.

 

[LRB]

At worse, bedding does no harm, and if done neatly, cannot be seen. It also gives a degree of protection against oil softening the wood. If hamonics do not affect black powder accuracy, why are chunk guns heavy barreled? To each his own.

 

[Capt. Fred]

I bed around the breech too. I do it just to toughen up the breech area.

 

[Vaino]

I confess that I do use epoxy on some "mistakes" but don't use it for "bedding" purposes. If the breech has nearly 100% contact against the hard end grain, why apply epoxy? Seeing BP bbls are "massive" and LR forestocks are "flimsy" vs CFs, the need for bedding the bbl is unnecessary...but if it's a "feel good" thing, so be it....afterall, there's nothing really wrong w/ doing it....Fred

 

[Capt. Fred]

Yup, it's definitely a "feel good" thing for me. Probably not needed but it takes very little time. I'm not doing the .40 cal Hawken squirrel I'm finishing up right now. Recoil not a worry and I've got a real nice fit at the breech. The .58 I've got on the drawing board will difinitely be bedded though.

 

[tg]

I am of the less is better school of thought as far as bedding a ML is concerned, I do the breech and have done the barrels on used guns that were really over cut when fitting the barrel but for the most part there will be no return for the effort on a barrel bedding.