Bedding a springer action

[Artfull-Bodger]

Have any of you guys given any thought to bedding your action into the stock on a springer?

I stripped a 20+ year old Vulcan down today which has hardly a shot fired from new, all the bluing is intact inside the cylinder and it has the old PTFE piston seal, yuk, the spring is still straight and the screws are untouched, its pretty much as new condition, so it's my next project rifle.

On inspecting the stock I could clearly see where the end cap had been pressed onto the stock by the screws, its basically a one inch section right at the bottom, at the front a similar story, just a small section where the metal clamps into the stock, now considering the amount of movement in a springer on firing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaW_Hs0B79c I'm considering bedding this action for a perfect fit to see what difference it will make, any gaps will allow vibration between stock and action so I feel an experiment coming on!

[Shed tuner]

Be interested to see the results, but not expecting much affect I'm afraid...

[dayglowfroggy]

Some use silcon instead of stock screws on the competition rifles but i have never tried it .would imagine you let the silicon go off a bit so you just leave an imression and dont glue the stock on .

[Rickenbacker]

I doubt you'd use silicon instead of screws on a springer...

Glass bedding is something I've though about.

Often seen as a DIY job on fullbore target rifles, so on a pellet gun - what could go wrong?

[Geezer]

I have sometimes found myself wondering why bedding is a big thing for CF rifles, but not for airguns.

I kind of assume there is some big difference between the two types of gun - otherwise surely the 10M and FT guys would be as obsessed with pressure bedding vs free-float and glass vs pillar (etc) as some of their CF brethren are?

Interested to hear how you get on.

[TonyL]

It's something I've often wondered about A-B, so will be very interested in your findings.

I would imagine that, with the best majority of mass-produced guns / stocks, even contact for the entire surface will be a rare thing. And, especially with a springer / gas ram, I feel that proper fit would certainly help.

On a past thread, where bedding the actiion was most probably mentioned, Nick (18Wheeler) told us that he has specific torque values on the stock screws, which must also help?

[Shed tuner]

I have sometimes found myself wondering why bedding is a big thing for CF rifles, but not for airguns.

I kind of assume there is some big difference between the two types of gun

..what, like a few thousand foot pounds and the whole lot of recoil / mechanical flexing of metal that goes with it ?

[TonyL]

..what, like a few thousand foot pounds and the whole lot of recoil / mechanical flexing of metal that goes with it ?

Sounds like Dave, Trumpetier, at Quigley Hollow, Jon!

[Geezer]

..what, like a few thousand foot pounds and the whole lot of recoil / mechanical flexing of metal that goes with it ?

Well, yeah, exactly kind of those sorts of things. And harmonics. Probably.

[Rickenbacker]

I'm going to bed all my actions and not tell anybody.

[Shed tuner]

I'm going to bed all my actions and not tell anybody.

It'll come out anyways... sooner or later they'll sell their stories to the papers...

[vestlenning]

Nothing wrong with a little bedding to make things sturdy. No need to get fancy, epoxy and sawdust works fine.

[TonyL]

I'm going to bed all my actions and not tell anybody.

I bet your PCPs put up the least resistance, Phil!

[Artfull-Bodger]

No doubt we all have suffered stock screws coming loose, think of the shaking a springer gives a scope, then have a look at the video I posted above but pay attention to the action in the stock, there's a lot of movement going on with a springer.

Whilst centerfire rifles will have a vastly greater harmonic vibration that any springer, unlike a precharge the shaking a springer produces must have a detrimental effect if allowed to float about in the stock like they do.

The inletting on most factory stocks is extremely poor with minimal contact points between the action and stock, so my train of thought is simply if the action can be bedded properly so the clamping force is spread over the area of the tube this must limit any movement of the action, end result may improve the shot cycle, or may be an afternoon making a mess for little return, obviously it will have to be done properly with a glass epoxy compound, but once I have completed the mechanical modifications I'm interested in experimenting with this route just to see if there is any practical benefit.

After all I considered the fact I spend many hours making close tolerance parts and fine tuning a rifle and then just bung it back in the stock and do the screws up, the stock is an important part of the rifle, maybe it's time to take a closer look at the rifle as a whole , not just the mechanical side.

[Phil Russell]

I have heard of actions being bedded on an epoxy type base, applying the material then covering with cling film, securing the stock and letting the material harden. Remove action when material has set and tidy up any loose edges etc.
But I have never seen it used nor tried it.
Cheers, Phil