I was considering trying to pillar bed one of my rifles myself. If anyone has any recommendations in regards to that, I'd appreciate them.

I also wonder if it is necessary to glass bed your action into the stock in order get best/good results from the pillar bedding.

Thanks--Don

Use the pillars if you wish but in my world.....glass bedding is part of pillar bedding.

I'd far rather have a glass bedded rifle than one with pillars and no glass!

Vapo, that's what I needed to know. Do you recommend any particular type of pillar system?

I think the bedding material I would go with is something I've seen called 'steel bed'.

on the other hand, CZ rifles have a metal sleeve lining the action screw holes in the stock, and no bedding.

Pillars are not intended to be a bedding system but rather a way to help maintain bedding by preventing the stock from crushing when the screws are tightened. Bedding blocks do the same thing but for best results there should still be a layer of bedding between the block and the action.

Tin Can, CZ rifles do have bedding. It's just not very good.

Ray

very true- I recall the two dabs in the recoil lug well on my 527.

Cheechako, do yoy use/recommend a particular bedding compound?

Have you heard of the 'steel bed'?

Thanks guys--Don

Pillars become the part of the stock that takes the compression of the two action screws, so the wood of the stock is not crushed when the screws are tightened. Those are the big screw at the rear of the trigger guard, and the other at the front.

If there was no epoxy bonding the pillars to the stock, the the action, barrel, magazine, trigger guard and pillars could have movement independent of the stock.

Military Mauser often have a pillar pressed into the stock on the rear action screw. Military stocks are often cracked around this pillar. The Expoxy makes a lower stress connection that is also stiffer. If the stock had high moisture content and was pillar bedded with expoxy, it might still crack when the wood dried out and shrank. But epoxy is still better than pounding in a pillar when the wood is wet.

The pillars are attached to the stock with epoxy resin mixed with catalyst, which is put into the pillar-stock gap in liquid or paste form, and then them mixture turns hard [sets up] in 5 minutes to 24 hours.

Metal filled epoxys have about the same strength, but may have dissimilar metal, temperature, or wear characteristics that vary.
http://www.devcon.com/devconcatsolution.cfm?catid=34

I use Devcon Steel Putty that I get from Brownells, it is thick and slow so I don't fight time or gravity when I am working with it.

I make pillars for the rear of Mausers with .375" outside diameter steel tubing with inside diameter .3" available at industrial suppliers like MSC:
link to MSC page on metal tubing

Wagner makes some Mauser pillars with water pipe:
http://www272.pair.com/stevewag/turk/turkbed1.html
http://www272.pair.com/stevewag/turk/turkbed2.html
http://www272.pair.com/stevewag/turk/turkbed3.html

Russ explains how to pillar bed a Rem700:
http://www.shooters-supply.com/rifle_bedding.html

tnekkcc, thanks a lot. That is good info. I'll be following up on it.

Regards--Don

Don, If you want to try and use a Steel-Bed epoxy check with a local industrial supply and see if they have Devcon Plastic-Steel or it's equivelant. I've used Devcon and a clone with equal results and both are usually much cheaper through an industrial supply than the same stuff through a gunsmith supply.
I've come to prefer Acra-glas for most of my bedding because it can be dyed. Acraglas needs a little longer to fully cure than some but works extremely well once you've gotten used to it.
A helpful hint in getting smooth bedding is to put expoxy on the metal and the wood instead of just putting it on the wood. If you just put the epoxy on the wood and stick the metal onto it you often get air bubbles. Putting it on both helps prevent this.
Good luck with your project................DJ

DJ, thanks. I've got an industrial supply house nearby that stocks a fair bit of stuff, I'll check with them--I also have an account with Brownells, so Accraglass is easy......

I'll make sure to apply some material to both the action and the stock.

Thanks again--Don

mauser Pillars
I have a M98 argentine that I put a pillar in the back and glass bedded also rebarreled and put a trigger in as well as a fajen stock but what do you guys do about the front besides glass bed? The bottom metal comes up so high and the top sticks down a lot. What do you do there besids glass bed . There is very limited room for a pillar . I guess some bottom metal could be removed ? What do you guys do ?
Wayles

I have tried to put a pillar in the front of a Mauser and it is an abomination. It makes more trouble than it cures.

I don't do it anymore. I just get enough epoxy on top and on the bottom so that the force is spread over a wider area.

If there is glass behind the recoil lug on top, there is not going to be enough pounds per square inch on the top to make trouble. On the bottom, the real problem is keeping the bottom metal from warping when tightened. I glass under the bottom metal around the screws, but it oozes out. I put tape on the rim of the bottom metal so the bottom metal can come out. I wipe off the excess while it is still liquid. I have to clean up some more when it is hard.