bedding laminate stocks

Ted47

Well-Known Member
Is it worth bedding a boyds stock? What is the preferred resin to use for bedding?
 
Not sure about boyds stock assuming this stock is ok you should google ballistic studies check the website and videos on bedding actions. I did my first job on a sako finnbear very happy with result. I contacted nathan foster at ballistic studies who talked me through the process. You would need to order the kit he uses a devcon type material supplies all release agents modeling clay etc.
it took me a couple of days lot of preparation but well worth it.
G​ood luck
 
I received my boyds stock this weekend and have decided it will need bedding, there is no support for the recoil lug and whilst my barrel is clear its very close to the stock.
​I am going to just bed the forend and recoil lug area and leave the rear tang clear, I bought devcon but can't find any neutral kiwi polish.
 
I haven't fired this rifle (remington 700 .243) that much since I got it, only when working up some reloads but while doing so my groups were not as tight as I would have liked and I would get 2 groups about an inch apart like a mirror image of each other. I was having a look at the stock recently and noticed that the rear action screw was not tightened fully and when I tightened it up noticed that it was catching the bolt.

So I believe this could be the reason and hope that bedding would cure this problem.
 
​No need to pillar bed a laminate, it's solid, not susceptible to changes in temprature.

Ohhh but it sounds sooooooooooooo good when they can say it's :-

Free floated and Pillar Bedded.

Sounds so professional ;).

When did need come into the equation?
 
this is what you get with ‘cheap’ (sense the sarcasm) duplicator copies..boyds, richards microfit, you name them..all rough cuts that don't properly fit your rifle and need a ton of work, finishing, checkering, etc. trust me, I bought richards microfit, just to see what they were like, and by god, what a pile of junk! I have also handled a number of laminate ‘duplicates’..and guess what,,you pay a lot for something that is WAY off being fit for purpose until you either put weeks worth of work into it, or weeks worth of income!

what you're describing is an absolute joke, no bearing surface against the recoil lug, and clearly the depth of the stock at the rear tang and action screw is not to the tolerances that it should be, as an action screw that goes into the tang and touches your both means the stock is too thin. This also has implications on the bottom metal fit of course, you can either shorten the screw, you can also bed the top of the tang area, but this will raise the rear end and point the rifle downwards in the front, or make the tang protrude over the stock edge which will look naff. You can also bed the bottom of the inletting for the bottom metal, but that might do the same, ie. raise the metal edge over the wood edge and again, look naff.
A proper duplicated stock will be an IDENTICAL copy of what you have, to the tenths of a micron..there will be no need for further inletting or bedding...a ‘cheap’ laminate copy will cost you say £250, then if you want to finish it nicely, say £120 unless you do it yourself (and no, BLO will not do as it never properly dries, trust me, I’ve tried it back in the day!). Checkering £125 if you get a very good deal, £250 for a decent job IMHO.
Glass and Pillar bedding...£200 to £250.
At this point, for a completed, finished and bedding ‘cheap’ stock in laminate, you’ve spent £750....well, I can, and know of, and work with people that can deliver you a gorgeous stock for that price, perfectly duplicated, finished in hand rubbed oil, and checkered, with ebony/rosewood tips, recoil pads, etc..whilst I’m certainly not advertising anything I do or people work with do, I am trying to say...some of these cheap and cheerful ‘laminate’ duplicating companies are really not the value they present at first look,,at least, not if you want a properly finished and fitting product.
 
Ohhh but it sounds sooooooooooooo good when they can say it's :- Free floated and Pillar Bedded. Sounds so professional ;). When did need come into the equation?

Humm, it's a good point, wants and needs I suppose, do you need it pillar bedding (yes of course you do) or do you want it pillar bedding (no I don't want to spend unecessary money until I try it without) :)
 
this is what you get with ‘cheap’ (sense the sarcasm) duplicator copies..boyds, richards microfit, you name them..all rough cuts that don't properly fit your rifle and need a ton of work, finishing, checkering, etc. trust me, I bought richards microfit, just to see what they were like, and by god, what a pile of junk! I have also handled a number of laminate ‘duplicates’..and guess what,,you pay a lot for something that is WAY off being fit for purpose until you either put weeks worth of work into it, or weeks worth of income! what you're describing is an absolute joke, no bearing surface against the recoil lug, and clearly the depth of the stock at the rear tang and action screw is not to the tolerances that it should be, as an action screw that goes into the tang and touches your both means the stock is too thin. This also has implications on the bottom metal fit of course, you can either shorten the screw, you can also bed the top of the tang area, but this will raise the rear end and point the rifle downwards in the front, or make the tang protrude over the stock edge which will look naff. You can also bed the bottom of the inletting for the bottom metal, but that might do the same, ie. raise the metal edge over the wood edge and again, look naff. A proper duplicated stock will be an IDENTICAL copy of what you have, to the tenths of a micron..there will be no need for further inletting or bedding...a ‘cheap’ laminate copy will cost you say £250, then if you want to finish it nicely, say £120 unless you do it yourself (and no, BLO will not do as it never properly dries, trust me, I’ve tried it back in the day!). Checkering £125 if you get a very good deal, £250 for a decent job IMHO. Glass and Pillar bedding...£200 to £250. At this point, for a completed, finished and bedding ‘cheap’ stock in laminate, you’ve spent £750....well, I can, and know of, and work with people that can deliver you a gorgeous stock for that price, perfectly duplicated, finished in hand rubbed oil, and checkered, with ebony/rosewood tips, recoil pads, etc..whilst I’m certainly not advertising anything I do or people work with do, I am trying to say...some of these cheap and cheerful ‘laminate’ duplicating companies are really not the value they present at first look,,at least, not if you want a properly finished and fitting product.

That is clearly your experience and yes I've seen a couple requiring a bit of work but it clearly states "some work may be required" on the Boyds website. I've recently bedded two laminate stocks and both rifles clover leaf, is this down to bedding, who knows but you can safely say the bedding is fine...and without pillars.

Now yes a nice figured walnut stock looks lovely but as a working rifle in winter, no thanks I'll stick to £150 worth of laminate, it works, doesn't warp in the weather, fit for purpose.
 
I haven't fired this rifle (remington 700 .243) that much since I got it, only when working up some reloads but while doing so my groups were not as tight as I would have liked and I would get 2 groups about an inch apart like a mirror image of each other. I was having a look at the stock recently and noticed that the rear action screw was not tightened fully and when I tightened it up noticed that it was catching the bolt.

So I believe this could be the reason and hope that bedding would cure this problem.
Both the action screws on a Remington 700 .243 with a laminated stock are only 30 - 35 in/lbs. If you over tightend them this could have caused your ploblem. Would it not be easier to cut the action bolt down slighty and torgue the bolts using a torque wrench. I use a Remington 700 .243 with laminated stock shoots 1/2 group.
 
Both the action screws on a Remington 700 .243 with a laminated stock are only 30 - 35 in/lbs. If you over tightend them this could have caused your ploblem. Would it not be easier to cut the action bolt down slighty and torgue the bolts using a torque wrench. I use a Remington 700 .243 with laminated stock shoots 1/2 group.

a good reason for pillars right there! wood compression issues avoided! also avoided by using correct torque of course ;)
 
a good reason for pillars right there! wood compression issues avoided! also avoided by using correct torque of course ;)

If one intends to remove the action continuously then I'd say pillars are a must. If you don't need to keep removing the action then torque it and leave it...if it ain't broke don't fix it.
 
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this is what you get with ‘cheap’ (sense the sarcasm) duplicator copies..boyds, richards microfit, you name them..all rough cuts that don't properly fit your rifle and need a ton of work, finishing, checkering, etc. trust me, I bought richards microfit, just to see what they were like, and by god, what a pile of junk! I have also handled a number of laminate ‘duplicates’..and guess what,,you pay a lot for something that is WAY off being fit for purpose until you either put weeks worth of work into it, or weeks worth of income!

what you're describing is an absolute joke, no bearing surface against the recoil lug, and clearly the depth of the stock at the rear tang and action screw is not to the tolerances that it should be, as an action screw that goes into the tang and touches your both means the stock is too thin. This also has implications on the bottom metal fit of course, you can either shorten the screw, you can also bed the top of the tang area, but this will raise the rear end and point the rifle downwards in the front, or make the tang protrude over the stock edge which will look naff. You can also bed the bottom of the inletting for the bottom metal, but that might do the same, ie. raise the metal edge over the wood edge and again, look naff.
A proper duplicated stock will be an IDENTICAL copy of what you have, to the tenths of a micron..there will be no need for further inletting or bedding...a ‘cheap’ laminate copy will cost you say £250, then if you want to finish it nicely, say £120 unless you do it yourself (and no, BLO will not do as it never properly dries, trust me, I’ve tried it back in the day!). Checkering £125 if you get a very good deal, £250 for a decent job IMHO.
Glass and Pillar bedding...£200 to £250.
At this point, for a completed, finished and bedding ‘cheap’ stock in laminate, you’ve spent £750....well, I can, and know of, and work with people that can deliver you a gorgeous stock for that price, perfectly duplicated, finished in hand rubbed oil, and checkered, with ebony/rosewood tips, recoil pads, etc..whilst I’m certainly not advertising anything I do or people work with do, I am trying to say...some of these cheap and cheerful ‘laminate’ duplicating companies are really not the value they present at first look,,at least, not if you want a properly finished and fitting product.
Hmmm I suspect you are not entirely correct .... oh bugger it ! I'll say it ..you are wrong! we are talking about a £120 stock which needs about £30 worth of glass bedding!(should you decide to bother, and lots of owners don't bother) its a laminate stock and that means if you overtighten the action screws you can compress the laminate and cause a problem, other than that, they work very well.
 
I can safely say that I never over tighten screws, I can't say the same for whoever fitted the stock or maybe the bolts needed shortened and never did. As I said the rifle seemed to me as if it had moved in the stock. I was thinking it would be better bedded anyway instead of shortening the bolts and still have the problem .
Cheers for the replies, where from and what makes of resins should I look for?
 
I can safely say that I never over tighten screws, I can't say the same for whoever fitted the stock or maybe the bolts needed shortened and never did. As I said the rifle seemed to me as if it had moved in the stock. I was thinking it would be better bedded anyway instead of shortening the bolts and still have the problem .
Cheers for the replies, where from and what makes of resins should I look for?

Any 2 part epoxy will work, Marine Tex, Devcon I'm sure any Chandlers would sort you out, you don't need much!
 
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