Is there a better bedding compound than the traditional acra glass and acra glass gel? I am not very happy with how hard they getI would have thought that it would be better if they got rock hard. How about JB weld? I think Release agent would work to keep it from being a perminant bond.

Markus,
Try some Pro-Bed 2000 from Score High Gunsmithing. This is the best I have found. Very little schrinkage, easy to use and is very hard when cured. Contact is Charlie Robertson and he has a 800 # 1-800-336-5632 He also has a web site which is www.scorehi.com

SGR

I tried the acraglas gel and also thought it cured on the soft side. I purchased the pro-bed 2000 as well. I found it easier to work with, and definetly cures hard.

thanks guys. I'll look into that. Might as well try it.

No one can ever have too much gun stuff

Marine-Tex from Brownells is one of my favorites...

If your accraglas is not hard enough then I suspect your not mixing it properly or giving it time to cure....It is very hard stuff.

After reading a test on the shrinking rates of various epoxies, I went and ordered some Devcon aluminum putty. It's a 9 to 1 epoxy, very "putty like" and easy to work with, and so far, hell for stout. The best part, for me, is that it cures reasonably quickly (under 24 hours), even at 50 degrees. I work on my guns in my basement, and it took Accraglas forever to cure because of the 60 degree temp.

I paid just under $30 for a pound -- which is very expensive, since now I have to buy at least 15 more rifles so I can use this stuff up.....

Bought some PVA (poly vinyl acetate?) at the local pipe company as a release agent.

It seems Devcon also makes a steel and a titanium version. For if you want the "very best", I suppose. HTH, Dutch.

Dutch,

I use Devcon Steel all the time and have done so for years. However, the main reason they have steel, aluminium and we also get out here brass as well, is for colour.

I use Devcon Titanium to bed scope mounts. In that case, once it cures overnight, I then heat cure it in boiling water for about 30 minutes. Devcon Titanium is much more expensive and sets much harder than the other Devcons, but it is not as good for rifle bedding as it does not flow very well and also shrinks more on curing. After heat curing it is probably about as hard as the aluminium in a saucepan ir frying pan.

In Australia we also have Devcon release agent which is a proper mold release.

The reason I use Devcon Steel is for colour but mainly because it isa bigger seller in Australia than the Aluminium Devcon and so supplies are fresher.

Mike

Mike, I had to check the catalog, but you are right, they offer the brass in the U.S., too. The aluminum works fine for everything I want to do.

I don't suppose you ever take those scope mounts back off, do you?

Appreciate the tip on the mold release. Gotta get me some of that. The PVA works good, but it's kinda messy. FWIW, Dutch.

I'm with Ray on this one. All I use is Marine-Tex, I've seen no reason to change.

It's thick enough to "hold" where you want it without running out, sets up hard as a rock, etc.

Dutch,

The Devcon release agent I use is called XD55. I think the name will be the same in America.

It is a spray on. Then you wipe it off with tissue. As a side note, none of the mold releases are as good as they use to be and this is supposed to be related to the solvent that was used and the ozone layer. It also effected the lubricnt that barrel makers used for button rifling. From what I have been told by our version of your Pac-Nor, the lubricant used for the button was the same as the mold release and they can no longer use the solvent that dissolves this type of "wax"

I mainly bed scopes to rings with Devcon Titanium when there is an alignment problem with non adjustable mounts like Dual Dovetails and so on. If for example the rifle was shooting way over to one side with a centered scope, then you grind out the rings on one side so the scope can be moved across.

Mike

If your acraglas isn't rock hard, then it's either old (it does have a shelf life) or you didn't mix it properly. When you first mix the resin and hardner, you have to continue to mix it for 5 full minutes or it will not cure properly (as indicated in the directions).

I would suggest you try another batch. Get it directly from Brownell's, not off your dealers shelf where theres no telling how long it's been sitting. They also have a few other brands of bedding compounds that work equally as well.

I use Marine Tex also. As mentioned above it sets up hard as a rock and has good working properties before it cures. For a release agent I use whatever car wax I happen to have on hand at the time, I haven't had one stick yet.

interesting question, and I'll think about the other materials, as $30 a pound is DIRT CHEAP compared to acra-whichever

Use the brownell's steel bed for the action and barrel chamber, and then use the gel for freefloating/barrel bedding. I think you might have gotten a bad batch, as it locks up pretty hard, but mixing it right seems like a chore.

cheers
jeffe

I doubt that there is a nickles worth of difference in any of this stuff...I have used them all and one is about as good as the other..I like a 50-50 mix as its easier and faster to mix up....

The US Army AMU at one time used Devcon Epoxy Steel for bedding National Match M1's. I don't know what they use these days. The expoxy steel worked well, but it is pretty heavy. Of course, this was not too much of a consideration for match weapons, but might be for sporting arms.

In bedding these guns I would keep in mind that aluminum, Stainless and brass does not rust, but steel does and brass tends to muck up a bit.

Managed to dig out two good sites on bedding (including the one with the shrink ranking I alluded to).

http://yarchive.net/gun/rifle/bedding.html

http://www.charm.net/~kmarsh/glasbed.html

HTH, Dutch.

Another vote for Marine-Tex. It now comes in a mixing syringe which makes application in tight areas much easier. Cobalt

I use a product called Bisonite for the recoil lug and action areas. For the barrel channel, I use the original Acra glass with floc and a thickening agent to make it workable.
The Acraglass gel just is not hard enough IMO.
It is certainly not as hard as the original acra glass, and it is not even close to Bisonite, Marine tex or Devcon.

Bisonite was developed for the US Army shooting teams to bed the M-14, M-21 rifles. As far as I know, they still use it.

Bisonite is available at Colorado Gunsmith supply.
Leonard Bull is the owner.

Celt