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Epoxy bedding?

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Should I bed it on out until it runs out to 0?
Personal experience,,?
For accuracy?
Your already there, bedding the tang and first few inches helps a lot to stabilize any slack movement that could be possible from inletting.
With these guns,, after the fore-stock grip point, the barrel is used to support the wood.
Free play of the forward under lug pins is better than allowing the wood to guide/pressure/or hold the barrel in place.
Float the front,,(period)
 
I try for 100% contact at the breech and the stock. But I will add a little thin marine epoxy to the area on .50 and .54 cal rifles, just for insurance. Also a. little
around the tang. I don't use much. And I do it AFTER staining the stock.
 
None of my builds saw the use of epoxy.....but have used super glue a couple of times to glue in a piece of maple. Both surfaces of what would be the "glue line" are first stained and then the super glue is applied and dissolves the stain and the repair is nearly invisible.

The "what ifs" as to the use of epoxy on original MLers by the original builders is pure conjecture and possibly today, the epoxy if considered a normal "back up", causes it's own use due to shoddy workmanship?

My first build's stock made from a blank could have been "saved" w/ epoxy but instead was used as kindling.....gotta draw the line somewhere.......Fred
 
The only time i use bedding material is to reinforce a weak area, spot or broken area.

I bedded the forearms and breech area on my Navy Arms Charleville because the stock was in poor shape, very brittle birch stock and it disconnected at the forearm (two piece stock).
I see a reason for your bedding to strengthen a weak area but with barrels as massive as they are on M.L. rifles bedding otherwise isn't needed. I have shot many M.L. rifles and none were bedded. They all shot great and were accurate with the exception of one and it had a mechanical problem.
 
Thanks guys. As explained in my previous post, the stock was inletted very deep. I didn't do the inlet work, I ordered it from Pecatonica inletted. This is my first build and it would've probably been worse because of my "shoddy workmanship", so I paid them to do it.

The bedding is finished and I'm moving on with the build, this isn't being built for any period correctness and will use TC adjustable rear sights with a front blade. It will also be used with cap and flint locks.

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That looks like an old Benchmaster mill!

I honestly don't know who made it, there isn't a number or name on it anywhere. It has a small three spindle flat belt drive with a back gear very similar to my Southbend 9" lathe.
 
I bedded my .40 Sharon barrel in my preshaped maple fullstock about 1990 with Acraglas. Years later I took the barrel out, forgot why, and the bottom half of the barrel was heavily rusted. Some kind of reaction? It was never in the rain or anything. I scraped the rust off, greased the heck out of it, and put it back. Been using that way for 20 some years, afraid to look again. Guess doesn't hurt anything, just wondering why it rusted so badly.
 
I would bet very heavy odds that had the original longrifle builders had such things as epoxies and the knowledge surrounding the use, they darn well would have taken advantage of them.
I have built muzzleloading rifles fulltime for a living since 1996. I have never felt the urge to glass bed a barrel.
 
I have built muzzleloading rifles fulltime for a living since 1996. I have never felt the urge to glass bed a barrel.
This stock was purchased (mostly) inletted, had I not epoxy bedded the barrel the drum and touch liner (it's set up for either a cap or flintlock) would've too low to work with either lock.
 
I have built muzzleloading rifles fulltime for a living since 1996. I have never felt the urge to glass bed a barrel.
I would bet very heavy odds that what's kept you from using epoxies is because the original builders didn't have them. This is a circular argument.

And, 1996 wasn't really that long ago in comparison......
 
I would bet very heavy odds that what's kept you from using epoxies is because the original builders didn't have them. This is a circular argument.

And, 1996 wasn't really that long ago in comparison......
Build guns full time for 26 years then tell me how long that is. Nearly four hundred guns in that time, nearly all carved and engraved. You don't need epoxy in the barrel channel unless you have poor craftsmanship. All the contemporary glass bedded guns I have taken apart have terrible rust and pitting on the underside of the barrels. The water has nowhere to go but to sit there.
 
Build guns full time for 26 years then tell me how long that is. Nearly four hundred guns in that time, nearly all carved and engraved. You don't need epoxy in the barrel channel unless you have poor craftsmanship. All the contemporary glass bedded guns I have taken apart have terrible rust and pitting on the underside of the barrels. The water has nowhere to go but to sit there.
26 years vs 272 years back to mid 18th century, not a very long time, in comparison.

You're right though, moisture can't easily get out unless it can wick into a raw wood barrel channel, which moves the wood, which causes its own set of problems.

Epoxy is just one way to seal the wood, as are many others. I don't NEED to bed a barrel channel, so don't assume I do because I don't scream like a little school girl not to. Personally I like a waxed barrel channel.

The context of what I posted that you chose to be snarky about was, they didn't use it for anything gun build related, because they didn't have it to use. Yet today, builders such as yourself use EVERYthing that they had available at the time. I'm sorry if you can't see that point made.

And, rusted barrels are a maintenence fail, not the fault of how the gun is built. There are millions upon millions of modern rifles out there made with the same steels and bedded into their wood and fiberglass stocks, that don't rust. So...........
 
Build guns full time for 26 years then tell me how long that is. Nearly four hundred guns in that time, nearly all carved and engraved. You don't need epoxy in the barrel channel unless you have poor craftsmanship. All the contemporary glass bedded guns I have taken apart have terrible rust and pitting on the underside of the barrels. The water has nowhere to go but to sit there.
I can attest to that. I glassed a Pedersoli 1841 (for competition purposes) and was shocked with the underside rusting. It baffled me because it was a zero clearance fit. Evidently not.
 
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