Bedding question

[Wyatt Smith]

I gust received my new McMillan stock for my Winchester model 70, I am going to bed the recoil lug and about 1.5 or 2 inches of barrel. My question is should I bed the tang? The stock has aluminum pillars machined into it so I won’t have any stock compression.
Thanks

 

[fourfive8]

Yes, maybe and if done judiciously won't hurt. I am not sure the exact contact mechanics or geometry of the aluminum bedding contact points in a McMillan. I have bedded many HS Precision stocks with the aluminum bedding already in place. I just clean the aluminum bedding contact rails and points of contact of the aluminum to make sure of even contact with the action then glass bed as per usual... including the tang area. You want full contact at the tang and at the pad behind the record lug and possibly the barrel just in front of the lug for a short distance. By honeycombing the non-aluminum surrounding poly material, the compound can flow into those voids and not hydraulically support the action above full contact with the aluminum. You can smoke or mark with bedding marker the contact areas, snug down the barreled action and check for even contact with the aluminum bedding structure in the stock. You don't want the action sides to contact the stock or the bottom of the mag box to make a teeter totter contact with the bottom metal. Simply file the bottom edges of the mag box to relieve that (hard) contact if necessary. And relieve the area on the sides of the stock with coarse sandpaper wrapped around a dowel or small board if there is contact with the sides of the action or mag box.

To relieve the barrel channel from contact with barrel from about 1-2" forward of the recoil lug forward to end of stock- I use fairly coarse sandpaper wrapped around various deep well sockets that best fit each area of the contour of the tapered barrel. Lock the stock in a vise and use elbow grease to free float the channel. Use marker to check for clearance and once free floated continue to use the marker to make sure the barrel does not contact the stock when rested or held and shot off hand. Usually 2 or 3 different sockets will work. I use a thin clay dam at about the 1-1.5" mark in front of lug for bedding the action and free floating the barrel once the channel has been relieved using the method with the various sockets and sandpaper. The exact location as to where the bedding stops and the free float begins is anyone's guess because of the uncertain nature of barrel harmonics.

 

[Shootist43]

Wyatt Smith, it looks to me like you should include a bottle of Kentucky's finest with your new stock & rifle and send it to fourfive8 for bedding. From his post he seems to full command of the situation.

 

[Wyatt Smith]

Thanks @fourfive8 I’ve bedded a rifle before, and have a fair handle on it. I have made room for the bedding around front pillar, and relived the “wall” the recoil lug sets against. I just wasn’t wasn’t sure if the tang needed bedded.
McMillan suggests to not bed if unless it needs it. I did not like the fit around the recoil lug so I thought I would fix it.

 

[fourfive8]

All you're looking for is stress/torque free contact of the action in the stock when both action screws pull the action down tight into the stock. For your Win 70 that is the tang and the pad just rear of the recoil lug. If there is solid and even contact in those two areas when the action screws are tightened down, then the "bedding" fit is correct for the action. If the stock is stiff enough then bedding anything forward of the recoil lug is a guessing game because of barrel harmonics. Some guns shoot better with full free float from pad forward, some shoot best with 1-2" of the barrel forward of the lug bedded and some rifle's like a small amount of upward pressure near the end of the fore end. The beauty of glass bedding is that in can be changed after the fact and modified for best result. The one constant Win 70 though seems to be even and stress free contact at both the tang and the pad when the action screws are cinched down. If the bedding is aluminum supported as with pillars or internal skeleton, and the barrel is free floated, then even the amount of action screw torque is not critical- good and tight is all that is required.

 

[Wyatt Smith]

Well boys I am learning on the fly. I used smooth guide screws and surgical tubing to hold it in the stock. Last time I used the action screws and got a bunch of devcon in my breech. This time my problem is bigger, I canted the action so the bottom metal won’t fit.
Tomorrow’s plan of action,
Dremel out the today’s bedding,
Use the guide screws to keep the devcon out of the screw holes,
Remove the guide screws, and install the bottom metal with the action screws to ensure proper alignment.
It’s no step for a stepper, but I still learn the hard way sometimes.

 

[fourfive8]

Been there done than very early on in learning how to bed. That canting is especially problematic when bedding a cylinder action like a Remington- somewhat less with a Winchester 70 or Mauser but still possible. There are just a ton of little tricks involved in a good bedding job. The action screws engaged into the bottom metal will help assure alignment and prevent that twist. The trickiest part that helps with good full fill result is judging how much and where to apply the bedding compound. That along with the complete coating with and confidence in the release agent to do its job. All the little but important tricks are hard to explain with actual experience being the best teacher. Yes, a Dremel with a few various bits, wheels/drums and the epoxy bedding really allow for easy correction of any mistakes. They then are only temporary setbacks.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I gust received my new McMillan stock for my Winchester model 70, I am going to bed the recoil lug and about 1.5 or 2 inches of barrel. My question is should I bed the tang? The stock has aluminum pillars machined into it so I won’t have any stock compression.
Thanks

@Wyatt Smith
What is the point of bedding the recoil lug and barrel If'n you don't do the tang.
My rifles are both pillar and glass bedded. If you don't bed the tang you run the risk of bending the action when tightening the screws.
Bob

 

[Wyatt Smith]

@Wyatt Smith
What is the point of bedding the recoil lug and barrel If'n you don't do the tang.
My rifles are both pillar and glass bedded. If you don't bed the tang you run the risk of bending the action when tightening the screws.
Bob

The pillars were set at the stock factory. I just took a 1/4” chisel and removed some stock material all around the pillar, but left the pillar the same height. After I bedded it the pillar is still visible.

 

[gbflyer]

It is important with a model 70 to relieve any areas other than the recoil lug that will act as a second or third recoil lug. Also relieve behind the tang. Just a few thousandths is enough. The third screw will also make you crazy. I deal with the canting issue with a small bubble level. Level stock and level receiver. Makes life much simpler.

Recently completed this Mauser in a Boyd’s stock. I machine my own pillars to get the bottom metal to fit with the appropriate clearance between the mag box and the receiver. By no means perfect but I’m learning. It shoots very well.