Pillar to action mating surfaces

it's a bitter nite. spitting a nasty stinging, sleety snow. i just stepped out to pee and something in the woods was letting me and everything else know it was peeved.....


skREEEEE!! Skreee k k k . . . SKREEEE!!!!!


I figgered it was a miserable Saw Whet, or mebbeso a Hide-Behind.....






now I'm thinking wood skrink.... prolly was a wood skrink
 
geo.ulrich said:
This works great other than I use epoxy resin with glass powder to make it into a putty....^^^^^^^^^ and a grommet on bottom for screws to pull against
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I was wondering if normal epoxy mixed with microspheres would work for bedding. I like the grommet idea.
 
Ricco1949 said:
I run a light cut 32 TPI on the pillars....005-.010 deep. It raises the surface just enough to provide a snug fit and nice cavities for the epoxy. If they are a little tight they will sometimes turn into the stock cutting the threads as they go in. Never had one come loose.

I let the pillars sit high in the stock and machine to the desired height after the epoxy has cured.
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I’ve got a bunch of 3/4 bolts. I might machine some up for pillars. Thanks for the idea
 
parshal said:
I'm having a tough time picturing this so please bear with my questions.

The radius you're cutting with your fly cutter, is that a radius on the top of the pillars?

The second post sounds like you're covering the entire bottom of the action with the tape so that pillars are "proud" of the stock by the thickness of the tape after bedding. Or, are you taping the sides of the action down to the bottom but leaving a 5/8" strip of "tapeless" action from pillar to pillar thereby having that bedding support the action along with the pillars?
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Yes the radius in on top of the pillar. I cover the entire action except for a 5/8" wide stripe from the recoil lug to the rear of the action passing through the pillars. Sometimes less works out better if you think through it. What's better than holding something in V-blocks.
 
Dave Tooley said:
......I cover the entire action except for a 5/8" wide stripe from the recoil lug to the rear of the action passing through the pillars.......
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So the entire action is teetering on a 5/8" wide strip of bedding?

And the sides are free?

Sounds the exact opposite of a vee block to me. What Am I misunderstanding?
 
Dave Tooley said:
Yes the radius in on top of the pillar. I cover the entire action except for a 5/8" wide stripe from the recoil lug to the rear of the action passing through the pillars. Sometimes less works out better if you think through it. What's better than holding something in V-blocks.
Click to expand...

Clears it up for me too. Thanks. Might have to try that.
 
Here in Australia, we pretty well standardised bedding for the Omark target action (round action like the Remmy), by running a strip of masking tape a tad wider than the action screw holes along the centre of the action & similar strips somewhat down from the waterline prior to bedding. This resulted in a bed via two strips that reasonably emulated a V block.

Benefits were:

  • Consistent bedding
  • Elimination of the round action propensity to flog at the alignment of the screws & loosen up at the sides of the bedding when used with target weight barrels.
 
John Kielly said:
Here in Australia, we pretty well standardised bedding for the Omark target action (round action like the Remmy), by running a strip of masking tape a tad wider than the action screw holes along the centre of the action & similar strips somewhat down from the waterline prior to bedding. This resulted in a bed via two strips that reasonably emulated a V block.

Benefits were:

  • Consistent bedding
  • Elimination of the round action propensity to flog at the alignment of the screws & loosen up at the sides of the bedding when used with target weight barrels.
Click to expand...

This thread is the first I’ve heard of this method and really like it. I’m definitely trying it
 
parshal said:
So, Australia’s method is the opposite of the other. That’s if I’m reading them right.
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That's what I'm reading too.....

And I myself NEVER want the screws to suck the action down to stop on something hard, IMO steel is like rubber, the screw tension pulls or "puckers out" the metal around the hole. I run the tape right down the center.
 
Now I am confused.

So what is the actual purpose of pillar bedding?

I always presumed that they could compensate for a change in stock dimensions (humidity etc) and as long as one torqued the action screws the same each time then things would be sweet.

They must have a use, so could somebody please explain just how they work.

* doggie *
 
Bedding

All of these comments are interesting and I am sure that we all have tried different methods over the years to settle on what works for our own needs but I think we are missing the most important part of the bedding process, how to check our work. This has not come up yet in this thread and to all if you do not check your work when finished with the job to make sure it is correct it is for nothing.
Take your best bedding job (we are talking about screwed in actions) and mount an indicator between the barrel and stock then crack the front action screw....if it jumps more than a couple thou at the most it needs to be redone.
The object of bedding an action is to remove any stresses and have a mating surface that repeats that after it is removed from the stock and reinstalled. It is to isolate the action from influences in humidity changes (wood stocks) , this is where the pillars come into play. Composite stocks, the configuration and what fill they use is another animal, pillars are necessary in my opinion for most. (also no contact of action screws with pillars)

My heavy varmint 30BR was built in 2005, 5 piece walnut laminate (I like wood, it is a feel thing), pillar bedded with Devcon aluminum, complete poured pillars and isolated from any wood contact, still to this day the bedding is good. My Panda LV 6 PPC/ 30BR in a carbon fiber/ redwood stock never moves when braking the front action screw, combo of turned aluminum pillars and Devcon. There is a list of others, most hunting/ varmint rifles over the years.........
( I’m not a fan of glue in actions) I am not saying anything bad about glue in's it is just they are not my thing, just stating .


Rick
 
alinwa said:
Get 'em close, leave a gap and fill the gap with bedding material. Gap too thin, bedding material will break, flake out, NOT do it's job of mating surfaces to equalize pressure. Too thick??? Well, here's a whole nuther kettle a' wurms.....
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A thickness of bedding material above the pillars is effective and durable. With the bedding material I use, .035 is the minimum. As far as too thick.....I've used it right to the top of the action screw escutcheon on sporter style stocks that want to have an original look. On a BR or accuracy rig, it's easier to eliminate an escutcheon and counter bore the pillar for a button head screw.

Good shootin'. -Al
 
Speaking of escutcheons, what do you guys use to countersink for the head? 82deg drill or put her in the lathe and use a cutting tool?
 
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