What is the going rate for a glass bed job with a free floating barrel in your neck of the woods? Talking about regular factory rifles not a BR gun. Not talking about a pillar bed.
One local Smith I know charges $250 and he does a beautiful job. I do my own but wouldn't do one for less than what he charges. If you do it right, there is a lot of time involved.
I do my own too, and done anywhere near correctly and figuring a wage that would be needed to keep a shop open, buy materials, and the time required a figure of $250 doesn't surprise me.
On the other hand anyone who's reasonably handy, and knows what he's doing can do a workmanlike job for the price of materials and his time which is considerably less than $250 or even $170.
I just finished going through the hassle of getting a bedding job exactly like you mentioned. I'm in CA and I sent my Mod 70 Classic to a gunsmith in WI who charged me $75 bucks . He did a 1st class job. I learned of his business through this forum. Lee (715)-684-2587 He only answers his phone during Mon-Fri business hours. Also I sent my rifle Monday night after work,he received it Wednesday of that week and finished it(After calling me and explaining some details of his evaluation) Friday.I secured payment Saturday of same week. He sent rifle Monday morning of following week and I received it Wednesday of that week.I highly recommend him..........
A quality bedding job, in my area, runs about $175.00. If you do your homework, read plenty of posts about bedding and are mechanically inclined you can learn to do it yourself. There are plenty of good threads on this site as well as others to get you started. Once you get the basics down you can do all your rifles and save a good deal of money.
I just finished pillar bedding my .204 Rem. 700. I used a kit from Score High that was about $50 for everything, including some re-usable tools. You can get a free CD with step by step pictures/instructions on how to do it. It's not a video, but it helps. Here's the website for Score High:
Score High Gunsmithing, Muzzle brakes, Bedding Epoxy and Pillar ...Score High Muzzle Brakes: Epoxy and ... our: Benchrest Followers Bedding blocks and Stock drilling jigs . Midway USA distributes our: Benchrest Followers, Adjustable Pillar Bedding Kits ...
p.s. the instructions said to fill the pillar holes in the stock with epoxy, a better way to put that would be to "spread epoxy inside the stock holes for the pillars". If you fill the holes with epoxy and then set the barreled action, with the pillars attached, into the stock, you'll have epoxy running out into places it shouldn't go!
Well, I had my smith do the job. It made a HUGE difference. When I got on the range the groups were under a dime. Not all but with some loads of course. I'll keep working until I find just what I want. Thank you to all of you that posted.