Cardboard recoil lug

welshwarrior

Well-Known Member
A friends just bought his new to him rifle up for me to have a look at (I'm more a shotgun stocker than rifles but he always asks), he's not shot it yet the prove will be there but!

It's got 6-7 small bits of cardboard under the recoil lug, I've never done this or heard of it is it common or has someone messed it about if so, can I fix it I was thinking glass bedding the recoil lug at least.
 
No barrels not free floated can get a thin bit of paper down the channel so will almost certainly be removing some wood to float the barrel.

We're discussing pillar and glass bedding he's keen I do it now I want to shoot it first.
 
only needs a tenner slid up and down for freefloat ,no need to take a lot off just a light sanding should do it,
 
that is a cheap way of trying to make it free floated/or for testing,

if you intend to free float it i go for a 3/4 mm gap,

bob.
 
Bob yes I'm of the same school about 3mm clearance on the barrel do you think he should test fire it with the card in or out???
 
i would try it without first and then see how it shoots bud, blank sheet of paper with a small ref point to aim at,

then if it does not shoot as he wishes try it with it in,

what you can do is guage the gap with it in and if it shoots well thats the clearance you can get away with, but i use the 3/4mm as my max gap on all rifles.

bob.
 
I never see the point in trying a rifle that is botched. Fix it first properly then start shooting.
The rule with the tenner should apply when the rifle is loaded on bipod or rest at worst case. Left, right and down wards. The gap that is needed is proportional to the stiffness of the forend.
edi
 
I'll whip it out but save it he's back on Tuesday when my new 243 will be here so we going out to punch paper.

Opening the channel is so easy to do if needed with the right tools, so won't float the barrel unless it shoots badly his choice. I like more than a tenner even on a bipod etc, if they flex to much I'll stiffen it up, but it's a fair size lump of walnut in the forend
 
like Edi says, do the job properly (bedding and proper floating). even if it shoots it's only a matter of time with a post-it and tape job like that. if there's any clearance through the barrel channel then chances are it's not full length bedded originally, more likely overtightening of the action screws 'sank' the front receiver end and thus the barrel closer to the channel. could also be shoddy factory CNC or router cutting making the inletting too deep, and the factory not really giving a tozz and issuing it anyway.
 
From the picture it appears the bottom of the action is not in contact with the stock. The beauty of a big flat bottomed action is the ease of getting a proper mating surface between the action and stock. The lug should not bottom out in the recess, when bedding a stock I normally put a couple of layers of tape on the bottom, sides, and front of the lug so the only contact is in the rear of the lug. This has the added benefit of making the action easier to get out of the stock after the bedded has cured. I would recommend the action be properly bedded, full-length. You may save a little glue using the spot front and rear technique but is just cutting a corner that there is no need to cut. I normally include the first three inches of the barrel on hunting rifles with the remainder floated. For rifles used a lot in wet environs I like to put in a coat of glue (acraglas) on the entire barrel channel. During the bedding process I use 2 layers of duct tape on the barrel to get it freefloated. I often use a two-step procedure, I bed first the guard, the action is installed but not bedded. This keeps everything in alignment. Once cured, I drill out the screw holes to a diameter large enough to accept pillars. Pillars are then cut to the required length. The pillars are then de-greased and coated on the outside with acraglas before being inserted into the holes. The barreled action is then dropped into the prepped stock (acraglas in action area/barrel channel) and the screws tightened very snug. Of course there is a good coat of mold release on everthing I want to take aprt again later!! I usually try to loosen and re-tighten the guard screws every hour or so for the first 8 hours. With acraglas I am usually able to do some good clean-up around the action using a razor blade after 10-12 hours with disassembly and final finishing after 24 hours.

SS
 
I'm not happy after sleeping on it the companies I chequer gunstocks for would never make a rifle with cardboard in it. So had a chat I'm going to bed the recoil lug as a minimum so I may as well glass bed the whole action I'll bed the first 2" of the barrel and float the rest.

The nasty factory finish will be removed anyway and I'll give it a hand oiled finish.
 
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