Help with glass bedding an 03/a3 please

[Buckhammer74]

I have a sporterized 03/a3 that was given to me by my grandfather when I was 14. It was my first, and still is my prtimary hunting rifle. I recently refinished the stock and when putting it back together realized that I removed to much wood around the action. The areas around the floorplate are crushed from having to overtighten it. When the gun is together I can shake it and the action moves around with a tunk sound.

I am wanting to glass bed it and was wondering if someone would have detailed instructions on how to do so. I have looked allover the internet and found that all the instructions are either too vague or dont apply to this gun. The 03/a3's lug is where the front screw fastens the barrel and bottom metal together not behind the lug. I am deathly afraid of doing it wrong and glueing the whole thing together.

I am tight on money right now having recently returned to work after a 6 month layoff and cant afford to pay a gunsmith $100 or more to fdo this, but I need to get it done as deer season will be here before we know it.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks
Buckhammer

[gunnut69]

This is a long and involved process. Please excuse me------------The instructions that come with a bedding kit of Accraglass from Brownells are pretty good. Over the years I've found a few things that aren't listed.. I much prfer wax, several coats, to the release agent included with the kit.. It's much easier to clean up and gives a more even release. I always use at least two coats to ensure a good release. Also any area where a 'mechanical' bond or interlock may occur should be filled with childs non-drying modeling clay. Examples are the vents in the receiver ring of many mausers. I also fill magazine well cut outs in the stock to keep the bedding where it's intended to go. I also prefer to bed the front ring seperately from the rear ring/tang area. In your instance it appears the action and/or the bottom metal has been inletted too deeply.. This has to be corrected. The simplest way is to drill 2 small holes in the inlet for the front ring just ebhind the recoil lug. the Spring field is basically a mauser so these pins are put on either side of center and about midway between the magazine cut and the inlet for the recoil lug. One quaerter dowel will work well enough and should be set in holes at least 1/4 inch deep and glued in place(use epoxy). If the bottom metal is also inlet too deeply it should be handled similarly but at a seperate time. One must have a few tools other than the AccraGlass kit. Mixing utensiles, I prefer paper cups(NOT WAXED) and craft sticks to mix the resin, they are disposable. Modeling clay to plug areas you don't want the bedding to go and masking tape. Remove wood behind the lug recess to allow at least a 1/2 inch plug of bedding behind the recoil lug. This plug of bedding should be connected by grooves of bedding to the area in front of the lug recess. This area in front is also recessed to provide further gripping surface for the bedding compound and provide a good bed of support for the barrel shank. All areas where wood is removed is left very rough as this improves the beddings bond. I wrap the recoil lug with 2 layers of masking tape and cut away the tape on the back only. This leaves tape on the front, sides and bottom of the lug. This relief makes seperating the barreled action much easier for cleaning etc.. and the tape will be removed after the bedding process is complete. The tape on the bottom is important as the lug contacting the bottom of it's inlet is quite detrimental to accuracy. Also if the stock is finished the entire exterior surface should be protected by tape as the bedding material will damage any finish I have ever seen. If the rear of the action is also inlet too deeply it may be positioned the same way, placing the wooden plug just behind the trigger inlet. When the barreled action can be positioned in the stock and the lugs lightly tightened with no discernable movement left it is time to bed. If cracking has occured now is the time to add a stock reenforcement bolt to the area behind the lug inlet(you would of course have already glued the crack shut with a good epoxy). Having it in place when the bedding is introduced will make it even more effective. Headless screws are used to keep the barreled action straight in the inlet and aligned with the action screw holes in the bottom metal. They must also be heavily waxed prior to bedding. I oftimes wrap the 'inleting quide screws' with tape to ease removal of the metal after the bedding material sets and to ensure no contact of the action screws with the stock. I fill voids with clay at this point, including the magazine cut in the action and the trigger hole in the underside of the action.. At this point the wax can be applied, twice, and allowed to cool between coats.. wax well up onto the barrel to ensure a tight fit. The entire rifle must be completely ready before any bedding is mixed. Mix the bedding as per instructions and and coat areas of the metal where the bedding is to be, such as the area surrounding the recoil lug. This coat provides a much smoother bedding job with few voids. When installing the bedding material into the stock inlet first a layer is spread over the entire surface where there is to be bedding but the majority of the bedding material is ladled into a row down the center of the inlet. This long pile of material is forced to the sides and front as the action is inserted and placed and all the air pockets(our deadly enemy) are forced out! The coating of the wood side produces the best bond and the coating of the metal with the material being piled in the center of the inlet usuall elimnate voids. When mixing the material don't whip it. Stir the compound so as to not introduce air bubbles into the mix. These weaken the bedding job and can join together to create voids in the bedding.

[Buckhammer74]

Gunnut,

Could you explain further about the headless screws and how if I pack the lug recess with epoxy that I can screw the bottom metal to the gun, that epoxy doesnt get into the screw holes and lock the screws in? I know you said to put tape on them, but how can it bescrewed together without epoxy getting in there?

Thanks
Buckhammer

[Rangr44]

I pack the threaded action screw holes with release paste wax, until it's flush with the mouth of the hole, when I wax the action bottom prior to mixing the bedding compound.
I also wax the extra-long headless screws, including packing their threads with paste wax.

(Because I've sadly left epoxy fingerprints on the outside of a finished stock, I also wax the entire stock outer surface w/o buffing)

I pack the action nooks/crannies/etc with kid's model clay (as above) to keep out the bedding compound & exclude locking the action mechanically to the stock or the bottom metal/etc.

When the waxed threaded screw is inserted through the uncured bedding compound, it will usually push aside the epoxy and enter the packed hole, where the screw's pressure will force out any stray epoxy along with a lot of the packing wax.

It does sometimes result in a small wax pocket between the dried bedding and the action, which should be later filled in with a little more epoxy after cleaning the paste wax out of the void.
The more time the method is used, more experience shows how much wax/etc to use, and where, to minimize pitfalls.

When a magazine well is packed with putty, sometimes a thin layer of bedding will cover the mag well, which is easily sliced through and pruned away after curing.

.

[Buckhammer74]

Ranger

Thanks for clearing that up for me.  One thing I still dont understand is, the extra long headless screws. Am I to understand that these are just for alignment and not to tighten the bottom metal to the barreled action? If this is so do you just use clamps or surgical tubing to hold it together?  If these ARE used to screw the bottom metal and barreled action together, how do they tighten without heads? Also, what brand of wax do you use?

Im sorry if some of these are stupid questions guys.
I just dont want to ruin a gun that means so much to me.

Thanks fellas
Buckhammer

[Buckhammer74]

Also, would blue painters masking tape be ok for this or is it better to use something heavier likeelectric tape?

[Rangr44]

I personally never bothered with the longer/headless action screws for a bedding job, that some use.

Others use stockmaker's screws (below)



I simply use the issue action acrews, first ensuring that everything/everywhere  is COVERED with unbuffed paste wax - of any kind (Johnson's Floor Wax, Simonize Auto Wax, whatever).

Just don't overtighten the action down into the stock/bedding, as you would if installing the action into a fully-cured stock for shooting.

I haven't had good luck with the blue tape, due to it's low adhesion qualities - muxh preferring the better adhesion of plain old yellow masking tape from a "Dollar Store" or somesuch discount outlet.

.

[gunnut69]

I used to ise the issue screws but found they ended up very tight (hard to remove) and didn't do anything I really needed. The guide screws are available from Brownells and other places and surgical tubing provides the retension needed. Don't over do the tension and don't apply prssure anywhere but on the action and bottom metal. The barrel will flex and the leverage it can produce will distort the bedding around the action. The guide screws replace the action screws and the epoxy will flow around them creating a near perfect reverse image. The tape wrapped around the guide screws provides a bit of clearance around the action screws when the rifle is assembled. This clearance is necessary for best accuracy. Everything metal gets waxed and wax is to be avoided on the wood as it surely will allow the bedding to release from that also.. Tape can work but I've had poor results with adhesion and don't trust wax to save the finish on a stock you are bedding. The bedding compound is death to finishes, don't know wgy but masking tape is the way to go. I buy a roll of the 2 inch and use it ruthlessly. Any bedding on finished wood will leave a mark. Also wax the surgical tubing a bit to allow it easier realease and long life. I usually break the action loose but don't remove the stock after the bedding has set. This greatly eases stock removal after the 24 hour curing period. As soon as the bedding is stiff a plastic chisel (old toothbrush handle sharpened) can be used to cut away any overflow bedding compound. At this stage it will cut readily and flex fairly easily but is no longer tacky. After it's broken loose just a bit retighten the clamps(tubing) and allow curing to complete. These instructions are of course relavent for bolt guns only. Other wapons can also benefit from a bit of bedding, sometimes for strength, sometimes to save a poor bedding job. AcraGlass can even be used, when died with carbon black, to replace chipped areas on black plastic buttplates and other plastic components but thats another story.. Also you should know theres no such thing as a stupid question. If you are unsure of any point please ask.. Bedding compounds are powerful glues and removal of a beautiful piece of wood from it's metal components can be a tramatic thing. Don't ask how I know.

[Rangr44]

Do yourself a favor, and buy a bag of wooden popsicle sticks from WallyWorld or a grocery store - the kind used for making freeze pops from Kool-Aid.

Cut off the rounded end of a half-dozen (or so) of them at a 45-degree angle - and use them as disposable scrapers to removed oozed bedding compound from the edges of the stock/metal juncture.

Just don't try ooze removal too soon, or you'll only succeed in spreading the bedding further.

Let the compound set up for several hours (the time should be in the directions for the compound you're using) - to the point that it's firm enough for the sharpened wood stick to cut it, and neither too hard/solid, nor too soft/runny.

.

[Buckhammer74]

Thanks again fellas.

I just got the pro-bed 2000 I ordered from Midwayusa. I got the brown 8oz kit. It came with a brush,half a dozen popsicle sticks, modeling clay, and wax paste release agent.

Got the project on hold though as I have deciced to order a Boyds JRS in nutmeg laminate. I planned on eventually going this route and after taking the dremel to the inside of my old stock I decided it would be better. The wood in the action of the old stock has about had it with oils and such. Well its original to the gun and 67 years old.

Should I finish the stock before bedding or just bed it and finish after?

[gunnut69]

Bed first if you can, it saves having to protect the stock finish from the bedding material. Next step after the finish is to checker that piece..for a better grip!.  Good luck on the project!

[Rangr44]

Good decision, and good luck !

Lamo stocks are heavier, style-for-style, than a Walnut stock - and can benefit from some judicial drilling/hollowing-out, in the barrel channel and under the buttplate/pad after bedding & finishing.

I hope you'll post some progress pics of your project.

.

[Buckhammer74]

Well I got the Boyds stock the other day. It fit pretty well, but had a deep scratch on the left side. I know Its unfinished but removing that scratch would have involved removing quite a bit of wood. I called boyds and they said to send it back and that they would pay for shipping.

Should get the new stock sometime next week. In my original stock there was a pillar in the tang area. I want to put this in the new stock too. Should a pillar be added before, after, or during the action bedding?

[gunnut69]

If you're refering to the tube spacer between the action tang ansd the bottom metal rear tang, it's actually a spacer. It sets the distance between the action and bottom metal. It also keeps the wood from collapsing under the continuing stress of the action action screws. It should be in place as the metal is let into the stock to ensure against going too far. I prefer to not glue these in place if they are going to be used. They can be replaced with a cast in place pillar or one of the adjustable pillars available to the gunsmith trade..

[Buckhammer74]

Gunnut,

Iam finally ready to bed this sucker! One thing before I start. I plan on getting this rifle reparked or dura coated in the not to distant future. Would I be better off to have it refinished before bedding or wont it make much of a difference. Also, could you recommend a good and reasonable shop for refinishing it.

Thanks