What is the best epoxy material for stock repair? What can be used for cosmetic touch up after a crack is mechanically repaired. Also, what bedding material do you all consider the best?

Thanks
Brett

I've used Acraglass for stock repair, and both Acraglass and Acraglass gel for bedding. As far as cosmetic touchup, acraglass comes with dies that do a pretty good job of matching wood color. A little die goes a long way though.

I'd recomend Brownell's Gunsmith Kinks Vol 1, lots of good info on stock repair.

I use Brownell's Acraglas for all my stock repairs. If it's a crack, spread the crack as much as you dare and hold it open somehow(feeler gauges work well), mix up a bit of Acraglas, thin it 50% with acetone and inject the solution into the crack with a syringe. Wrap the repair with surgical tubing stretched tight and let the epoxy dry for at least 24 hours. To prevent squeezed out epoxy from sticking to the stock outside the crack, I put a bit of paste wax on the stock around the crack before repairs start.

For cosmetic touchup where wood is missing, I use Acraglas mixed with wood powder that has been sanded off another piece of walnut(or the repaired stock if it's been refinished). Fill the ding so the mix is proud of the surface and sand flush after the mix has hardened.

When mixing acraglass or acragel, try using acrylic paint for color. You can get this at your local craft store and it does the trick perfectly. You'll need Titanium White, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, Raw Umber, and Mars Black to start. With those combinations you can create anything that would look right on a wood stock. Make sure to get the proper color that you're after plus a little darker before you ad the hardener. The color will lighten up after the hardener is added to the mix. The great part about using acrylic paint is that it will not effect the strength or integrity of your mixture. Harry Lawson taught me that one a long time ago and he was a master at it. You'd be surprised how many exibition grade stocks were fixed with this solution. When you really get good, you can even swirl the wood grain in there to match. If you do it right, you'd be hard pressed to see it yourself, let alone someone else.