Glass bedding question

[sneakon]

Rookie question: What is the process for glass bedding a barrel?

 

[rich pierce]

Brownell's Acraglas has instructions. I did it once but am still blushing about it as I am now more traditional.

You must coat the barrel with release compound or wax, etc. Then you must make some room in the stock for the glass to "go"- it's best to have more than a few thousandths of an inch of glass. So you need to gouge your barrel channel some. You also need room right at the top edge of the forestock for the stuff to "gooze" out. It is also good to have a couple of blowholes for air to go. I'd putty the underlug areas, duct tape the underlugs, etc because if it binds in there, your barrel will never come out again. Same at the breech- fill all of the holes, undercuts, anything that would hang up on the breechplug if the glass got into a crevice.

Mix the bedding compound a little darker than you plan to stain the stock. Darker does not show up against the barrel but lighter does. Make more than you need. Spoon it all along the bottom flat of the inlet and get a fat bead of it there. Flatten the bead out with a wooden paddle etc. Put some extra in at the breech and smear it up against the recoil face. Then install the barrel and use clamps at the tang, muzzle, and 3 places in between to slowly draw the barrel down, evenly, and seat it firmly. Then start cleaning up the mess.

Tell the truth, I'd not do it again unless I had to. I see no advantage and now it rubs me the wrong way. But when we were building back in the day, a friend got a halfstock pre-inletted for a 1" barrel then bought the barrel. That doggone barrel was rough as a cob on the outside and by the time we got it filed down, it was sloppy in the channel. That time it was needed. Would have been a pain to glue in long slivers of wood and we didn't have any to match anyhow.

 

[Birddog6]

The only thing I will add to that is if you are building with a new barrel, I would glass bed the barrel before installing the tennons & etc, as you have less to get hung up. When I am going to bed one, draw file the barrel if it is really rough, leave it alone if it is not rough, I inlet the barrel breech, tang & all. Get it all fitted & get the lock in about 90% to the barrel so I am sure I have the barrel where I want it & vent position located & etc.. Then I mark the barrel for reference points, relieve the barrel channel, apply the release agent, spoon in the bedding & clamp the barrel in lightly to the reference marks & let it dry.

When it is about 8 hrs old I scrape off any large excess.

In 24 hrs. I take the barrel & forestock & open the deep freeze & stick all I can get of it in the freezer for about 45 min. Take it out & start tapping it with a plastic mallet I have and the barrel will usually pop right out.

It is IMPORTANT you have the release agent a solid coat on the barrel & etc. and you don't scrape it off anyplace, no missed a place, and no lips anyplace or you will lock the barrel to the stock.

Then I put the dovetails in for the tennons & drill the holes for the lock & etc.

:results:

 

[SAJones]

I've used Brownell's Acraglas & Microbed from the Micro Sight outfit. I prefer the Microbed, as I found it easier to work with. Most of my use was for them modern "all contained" guns.

Same cautions apply as mentioned above. Be very careful in bedding the barrel full length; a well constructed ML has only a sliver of wood for a forearm & could get broken easily trying to get the barrel out of the channel. Only bedded one ML, a Colt 1861, for matches. To avoid the problem in "knocking" the barrel out of the stock, I bedded it in sections. Left two small (<1/2")areas not bedded, but not in any place that barrel vibrations would affect (I believe).

 

[rrgr40]

I like the Brownells Acraglass and have used many times. As far bedding the entire length of the barrel goes, (on a Hawkin style rifle), I prefer to bed the first three inches of the forearm and the breech end of the barrel about three inches from where the tang meets the wood. Several barrels that I have worked with had very thin wood in the middle of the forearm and I was afraid that the wood would pull out as I tried to remove the barrel. You should'nt have much call or need to bed a full stock rifle. Good luck. :imo:

 

Thin fore arm wood (and a long crack caused by me) is why I Glas-bedded my barrel. That super tough two part epoxy strengthens weak areas and fills in piss-poor breech lug inletting I applied the stuff just about all over except I stayed away from the barrel pin tennons and sling lug. I was careful to fill the hole in the breech lug with modeling clay to keep the epoxy from locking things down and used the release agent as directed and still I couldn't release the durned barrel until after I shot it. Someone once suggested using plastic kitchen wrap between the barrel and stock to ensure a smooth release. My rifle seems 100% more sturdy knowing the wood is reenforced and the breech lug is snug. I also convince myself that it aids in keeping water out to some extent.

 

[rrgr40]

I use Turtle wax as a release agent. It works great. Next time, if you ever happen to get one stuck again, take it to the your local store and see if you can put it in the deep freeze for a few hours, when you take it out it will warm and release. Careful about moisture between the bedding and the barrel, if it does get in it will stay as there is no wood to soak it up. :m2c:

 

Careful about moisture between the bedding and the barrel, if it does get in it will stay as there is no wood to soak it up. :m2c:

Now that you mention it, I should remove my barrel and apply something like bees wax or gun grease or something like that since my barrel will pretty much stay pinned to the stock and may need some flood insurance. :hmm:

 

[Birddog6]

I have used the Acruglass & MicroBed & prefer the MicroBed. On Micro-Bed I use brown Kiwi Paste Shoe polish as a reliece agent & also to fill any voids in the barrel. At the breechplug area I fill that out even with the shoe wax & take a razorblade & level it off smooth. On the Acruglass I use the blue release agent for it and fill any voilds with shoe wax or modlers clay.

As for the forestocks, I bed them before I work them down as I want the barrel, lock, tang & all where I want it before I do any forestock work. Lots stronger this way & less chance of breakage.

:results:

 

[ZUG]

I have used the Brownells Acraglas gel and the original stuff on M1's/cartridge guns and muzzle loading barrels but for different reasons. On the modern guns I do it for maintaining accuracy and for the muzzle loading barrels I use it to seal out moisture and to give me a smooth flat base for the barrel. I also use a heat gun to flow the epoxy and make it runny to release the air bubbles and flow the stuff into ALL gouge marks and totally seat the breach plug. One thing I learned VERY early was to throw the release agent that comes with the product AWAY, it is garbage! I stuck a .223 action in a very expensive stock which I ended up with very expensive splinters after I got the action out. I now use only Johnson paste wax and coat the metal twice, let dry check it for TOTAL coverage then work it. Its good stuff if you don't abuse it (read as make a epoxy stock with it).

 

[Nightwind]

I use Turtle wax as a release agent. It works great. Next time, if you ever happen to get one stuck again, take it to the your local store and see if you can put it in the deep freeze for a few hours, when you take it out it will warm and release. Careful about moisture between the bedding and the barrel, if it does get in it will stay as there is no wood to soak it up. :m2c:

"take it to the your local store and see if you can put it in the deep freeze for a few hours,"??? You've GOT to be kidding!!! :shocking:

I can just hear that kid in a crocery cart saying; "Mommy, why is that man hiding a gun under all those turkeys?" :no: :no: :no:

 

[tg]

I like to use it under the buttplate just to seal off the end grain.

 

[shmrck1]

Sneakon,
I could be wrong about this and if am i will
be :redface: and corrected very quickly, and
rightfully so. I don't know how serious you are about
your shooting but in some,maybe even most competitive
matches bedding the barrel is a :nono:
snake-eyes
If i'm wrong i apologize

 

[B.Habermehl]

The only matches that I am aware of that a glass bedded barrel would be DQed at would be the international matches and NSSA. I am not aware of any other governing bodies objections BJH