The Blockheads' Guide to Rifle Bedding

by Lanny Steitz

Copyright Precision Shooting Magazine 2005

  Dreading all that laborious, precise shaving of wood, and endless fitting and marking to bed a rifle stock? Uncle Vinny says: Aaay , faggedaboudit !   Use a bedding block and save your eyeballs for iron sight matches. The finished product, shown in Photo 1, has all the bells and whistles installed, like handstop , cheekpiece , and buttplate , all adjustable. Well, faggedabout them, too. This lesson is just how to get a rifle action and barrel snugly bedded in any wood stock your heart desires. The action in the example here is a new Remington M700 short action, with a Hollands ' precision ground recoil lug, both from Brownells . The only truing I did was to lap the bolt lugs, and true the front of the receiver by using the recoil lug and slightly loosened barrel as a lap with 220 grit compound. It is fitted with a stainless 1-8 ² twist Pac-Nor 4 groove 6mm barrel chambered with a 6mm Rem . Ackley Improved reamer run in approximately .2 ² short, so cases could be formed from Lapua .243 Winchester brass. The stock is a recycled Savage BVSS stock, a stock I like for its' stable laminated wood and ergonomically nice target shooting profile. An aluminum bedding block epoxied into the wood of the stock converts the action into a single shot, but produces a solid, unwarping platform for Long Range target shooting. If you get really ambitious, you can mill out a box magazine into the block, but for Long Range Highpower targets, only a single shot rifle was needed. Reddish walnut stain and spray-can satin polyurethane turned the birch laminations into an unexpectedly nice imitation of the old fashioned linseed oil finish on walnut, after stripping the original finish off. If my name were Buck Rogers, I'd build an ugly space gun, OK? Wood looks nice, capish ? Pay attention, don't forget to wear your safety glasses, and keep epoxy off the kitchen table.

  The job can be broken down into four steps. One : Cut and rough shape the block to the bottom of the action. Two : Drill/gouge out a big ugly hole in the stock for the block (but not all the way through). Three : Epoxy the block into the stock, using the action screws and barrel as a locating guide. Four : Skim-coat the top of the block with epoxy, to produce a stress-free bedding of the action to the block. Bada-bing , bada -boom. Done.

  An aluminum block 1¼ ² x1¼ ² by approximately 7 ² long, a set of pillars for the screws, and one of Brownells ' Acraglas gel bedding kits are what you need to get. Pick a stock, any stock. The width of the block is slightly narrower than the action, so the block doesn't show along the edge of the action.   For a round action, the top of the block needs to be milled out to a radius slightly smaller than the action's outer radius, leaving a small gap in the center, to be filled with the final thin epoxy coat. In my case, extremely shallow progressive cuts diagonally across a carbide tablesaw blade made the proper shaped cut. Since this is a messy and dangerous procedure, I recommend that you take the block to a machine shop and have it milled out for you. They are the best source for the aluminum block in the first place, so this is definitely the way to go if you want to keep all your fingers intact to go shoot the thing in a match later. You should also explain to the machinist that a smooth finish is not needed, as a rough surface will give you a better bond to the epoxy later. See Photo 4 for how the top of the block should look. If you have a flat bottom action, like a Winchester, you leave the top of the block flat, and just saw the notch for the recoil lug square across the block. A rough finish is good here, too. The round barrel area that I like to support, out to about 1½ inches in front of the recoil lug, can be done on a flat block by adding a thicker pad of epoxy there, when the final coat of epoxy between action and block is done.

  Photo 2 shows the bedding block, screws, and action prepped for gluing into the stock. Note the cut you have to make for the recoil lug and the holes drilled for the two action screws. These all have to be about 1/8 ² oversize, to allow for clearance around the screws, and space for epoxy in the recoil lug slot. Tight spots can be fudged out with a rattail file. The plumbers' Teflon tape around the screws shown is cheap insurance that epoxy won't bond the screws forever into the block or into the aluminum pillars shown in the photo. I found the pillars in the local hardware store as bushings in those yellow spare parts drawers, and roughed up the outsides with a coarse wheel in my bench grinder. Brownells has pillars already prepped for epoxy. Just trim the two front ones shorter for the bedding block.   If you look closely at the block, you can see the rough sawn finish, and the 3/8 ² lightening holes I drilled from side to side. The holes and the roughness both help the epoxy bond the block into the hole you have to drill out in the stock next. The filler inside the holes are Styrofoam shipping peanuts, so the holes don't eat up too much of the valuable Acraglas . Finally, a use for these annoying peanuts! The trigger is covered with tape coated with Brownells release agent, so epoxy stays out of the delicate innards. Don't forget to grind a slot out for needed clearance at the rear of the block where the bolt release is on the Remington, if that's your brand. A Dremel -type tool, with a carbide 1/8 ² round burr is the tool to use. A dab of soft putty, like Ductseal , in the slot keeps epoxy out. Savage and Winchester actions can also be block bedded, with other appropriate clearance points filed out, like the pivoting sear area in the Savage. Clamp the block to the action with the front pillar and screw, and work the action. Eyeball judgment will tell you where to trim your block to fit the action.

  If this is a stock made for your action, you only have to line up the holes you drilled in the block with the action screw holes in the stock, and draw a line around the block where wood is to be removed to sink the block into the stock. ¼ ² dowels through two of the holes will hold the block in position while you draw the outline. Pinpoint accuracy is not needed here, since epoxy will fill the gaps. Now, with a ½ ² or 3/8 ² Forstner bit in a drill press, with the depth stop set so you leave at least ¼ ² of wood in the bottom of the stock, just drill vertical overlapping holes all around inside the drawn line to hog out the wood enough to let the block drop into the stock about 1/8 ² lower than the final position. Leftovers get taken out with a 1/2 ² wide chisel, leaving a gaping rectangular hole in the stock, looking almost as big as the average septic tank. Rough sides are good, non-vertical holes drilled through the sides of the stock are really bad. Pillar holes are drilled 1/8 ² oversize for epoxy space, and a helpful fudge factor. Mating of my Savage stock to the Remington action also required plugging of two previous locations of the Savage action screws, and clearance cuts for the safety on the Remington trigger mechanism.

   The final block position is verified by taping two 1/16 ² thick shims in the front insides of the forend channel, like a vee block, so the barrel floats where the block is not supporting it. Bolt the block on the action with the front pillar and screw only. Drop the assembly into the stock, and verify that the block has 1/8 ² or so space around it. The three pillars go all the way through the stock, and should have about 1/16 ² clearance around them for epoxy to bond them into the wood. The two rear pillar bottom ends hide under the trigger guard, and are trimmed to be barely longer than the wood depth (+1/32 ² ), so that any seasonal wood swelling won't change pressure on the action. My stock was a blind magazine type, so the fatter front pillar goes all the way through, with the screw countersunk into the pillar for a neat looking final finish. When the time comes for the first epoxy glue-in of the block, this screw will hold the pillar, block, and action together. Check for proper bolt release, safety, and sear operation with the block held to the action with this screw and pillar before proceeding. Then drop the barreled action, sans bolt, into the stock with the forend shims in place. The shims will keep the barrel centered in the stock channel. A quick two or three wraps of stretchy electrical tape will hold the action assembly down into the stock for final pillar and hole adjustments. Run in the other screws and check for any adjustments needed in the stock holes, so the trigger guard screws don't bind. A rattail file will fudge the holes into the right place, allowing space for the epoxy around the pillars. I used Brownells extra long action screws, wrapped with Teflon pipe thread tape for clearance in the bushings, since the Savage BVSS stock was deeper than the factory Remington model. Grind these shorter as needed, to avoid interference with bolt operation inside the action. The front pillar is trimmed to a length flush to the outside of the stock for a blind magazine, or just long enough to support the front of the floorplate assembly if you have that style stock. The bolt handle should be centered in the stock notch, with no wood contact when closed. Here, you might have to shave wood…. but only a little…and now's the time to check.

  The rearmost pillar gets glued into the stock at this stage, as the rear reference point for locating the block and action in the stock. Coat the rear tang threaded hole, screw threads, and bottom of the action and trigger guard with Brownells release agent from their Acraglass kit. Mix up a half teaspoon of epoxy, butter a thin layer in the stock hole, and on the outside of the pillar, and insert it in the stock with a twisting action to distribute the glue evenly. Wipe off excess at top and bottom, and inside the pillar. A glob of putty in the end of the pillar before inserting will keep epoxy out of the pillar. Firmly tighten the back screw with the release coated trigger guard in place, and the electrical tape wrap holding the barrel centered between the stock channel shims. A shim of a paper match laid flat should be placed under the action tang just behind the pillar to keep the action from contacting the wood while the epoxy cures. After at least 6 hours, untape the barrel, back out the Teflon taped rear screw, peel out the match, and your action should be resting on the top of the pillar, not the stock wood. This should now look like Photo 3.

  Now, we get to the messy business of gluing the block into the stock. Cover the trigger mechanism with masking tape, or remove it. With the action (no bolt), screws and trigger guard coated with Brownells release agent, mix up enough epoxy with a dab of the brown dye Brownells puts into their Acraglass kits to fill the gaps around and under the bedding block. A piece of gasket cork, or even styrofoam can be used to fill in the bottom of the magazine recess in the stock, to save epoxy and weight. The gel style of Acraglass will not run into spots where you don't want it, but to make sure, I put Ductseal soft putty into any holes in the action that the glue might get into, including the rear action screw holes, and the bottom of the block hole for the middle screw. Putty up the bolt release crannies in the action, too. Then you butter up the sides and bottom of the block, with front pillar and screw holding the block to the action assembly. The bottom and sides of the rectangular stock hole, and the front pillar stock hole should be buttered up with the epoxy, also. Squeeze the assembly down into the gaping hole you drilled out in the stock. The excess will be forced up along the sides of the block, into the lightening holes, and around the outside of the front pillar, locking the block into the stock. Wrap electrical tape tightly around the forend and barrel to ensure the barrel is indexed down on the shims that are still in the front of the barrel channel to align the whole schmeer . At this stage this is a real schmeer , only not with cream cheese. Rubber gloves and old clothes are a great idea. Coat the outside of the short middle pillar with epoxy and twist it into place. Clean out any epoxy inside the pillar with Q-tips. Wipe out excess in the trigger guard recess, then spin in the middle screw (taped for clearance with 4 layers of Teflon, like the others) finger tight, with the release coated trigger guard. Insert and firmly tighten the rear screw. This rear screw aligns the back end, while the shims in the stock channel center the front. Wipe off any epoxy excess that oozed out of the front pillar hole and top sides of the action. Small globs of ductseal will be found in the boltway pushed in from the screw hole plugs. Remove globs, visually double check lengths of screws, wipe boltway with oily Q-tip. Uncap a cool one, try to calm down, and let the epoxy set overnight.    

   If you didn't get too liberal with the epoxy, your action should pop right out after removing the three screws, and the inside of the stock should look like Photo 4. Note the small gaps at the arrows. These will be filled with the second coat of gel, which fills in any gaps between the block and stock for a final snug fit. You can also see the rough surface at the back of the recoil lug space, where the final coat of epoxy will ensure a uniform fit for the lug to bear against. No epoxy goes in the front of the lug recess. To make sure epoxy stays out of the pillars, a dab of soft putty is sitting in the top of each hole in the block, as well as in the slot for the bolt release. A small dam of putty at the back of the block keeps gel out of the trigger area when the action is screwed down. Masking tape on the outside edges of the stock is also a sterling idea.

  Now mix up about a tablespoon of Acraglass gel, with a minuscule amount of brown dye to match the stock color. Butter the stuff lightly into the round recess in the block where the action sits, deeper where the barrel sits, and a thin coat at the back of the recoil lug gap. This assumes the barrel is somewhat smaller in diameter than the action. Fill any gaps at the block sides, also. Give the action and screws another layer of release agent for good luck, and peace of mind. Drop that baby right in, spin each screw in with your fingers but only tighten up the front and rear screws moderately with a screwdriver. Leave the excess epoxy in place for later, and have another cool one. The reason for only moderately tightening the two screws is to allow any warped shape of the outside of the action to assume a relaxed state in the bedding. Shims should NOT be in the stock barrel channel for this final coat. After about 1-2 hours, cut the partially hardened excess off the edges of the stock with an Exacto knife, and work the screws in and out to make sure they are not glued in. Tighten the front screw only, again. A single shot feed ramp ( Brownells ) can be glued on the bedding block with this final coat, to fill the magazine cutout for a nice finishing touch, by the way. Just be sure that the bolt slides freely with the ramp in place. Test this with the screws tight before gluing it in. Grown men crying should be reserved for funerals, or forgetting to count your sight clicks back UP in a President's 100 Match 300 yd. rapidfire event (no sighters allowed--Bummer, dude).

  After 8-12 hours of bolted in curing, it's time for the final cliffhanger-getting the action OUT. Even minor factory scratches will tend to lock in the action, but loosening the screws about two turns, and whacking them on the head three or four times with a plastic mallet while pulling on the tip of the forend usually does it. Extreme cases require a wooden wedge tapped into the gap under the barrel at the forend tip, and more whacking on the sides of the action with a short wood block and a 16 ounce hammer (the hammer hits the block, not the action). When the action comes out, the inside should look like Photo 5. See, it's looking better, so stop worrying, already.

  This photo also shows an encircled area of excess epoxy that should be removed, because it is outside of the nice stable bedding block. The wood under this area could swell in humid weather, and change the pressure on the barrel. The arrow points to the critical rear contact area of the recoil lug, where a nice straight corner shows that enough epoxy was used here. No epoxy is needed on the bottom of the lug recess, or the front, so if these areas are filled, just scrape some out with a narrow chisel for clearance. I like to put two neatly trimmed layers of vinyl electrical tape on the front, sides and bottom of the lug itself before doing the bedding. Peel off the tape when done, and you automatically have your .010 ² of clearance. The bare area on the bedding block visible to the left is where my single shot feed ramp goes. I chose not to epoxy it in, in case my wide shouldered wildcat cases needed a different shape ramp for slick feeding (they did).

  Now you can clean out any dabs of Ductseal and stray bits of epoxy, put the bolt back in the action, tighten all screws, and check for proper operation of those little items like the trigger, safety, and bolt release. Go to the range and give it the old Smoke Test, as we Electrical Engineers say. Just be sure the epoxy cures for 72 hours first. How my .243   Lanny's Short Improved cartridge does ballistically will be reported on later, God (A.K.A. Dave) willing. Preliminary 100 yard fireforming /breaking in loads show 3/8 ² groups, but long range testing is postponed for nicer weather, with Mr. D. Tubb's 115 gr moly coated bullets. Oh, no, yet ANOTHER 6mm wildcat??

  This is the final product-a hybrid Rem/vage . In color, the walnut stain makes the laminated BVSS stock look just like Real Wood. Hey-if my name were Buck Rogers, I'd build an ugly Space Gun. And, my momma didn't raise any plumbers, either. The added bells and whistles for prone target shooting are not addressed in this dissertation.

  Here are the basic items, laid out like an exploded parts diagram. Plumbers' Teflon tape, four layers per screw, ensures screw centering, and no epoxy glue-ins. Vinyl tape and Ductseal around the trigger do similar duty. The action gets 2 coats of release agent.

Here's the partially assembled block and pillar ready to be buttered up with Brownells Acraglass to glue the block into the stock. Rear pillar is already glued in for centering.

The bottom and sides of the block are roughened up with a coarse file for a good bond.

After the initial epoxy coat, the block is firmly bonded into the stock recess. Arrows point out voids to be filled in with the second coat. Note the Ductseal in the hole for the front action screw. This keeps epoxy out of the hole for the next coat that fills gaps on top of the block. The next coat also hides ugly rough edges, so don't worry, be happy.

The circled area beyond the aluminum needs shaving down, but the arrow points to a well filled out, and straight, recoil lug rear bearing area. This is the final coat of epoxy.

The former magazine well area to the left gets a single shot feed ramp on the bare spot.