V blocks and bedding ?

Josh Cox · Post by **Josh Cox** » Mon Apr 07, 2014 5:36 pm

What is the general consensus with using V blocks and bedding, is there any benefit to bedding an aluminium stock which has an intergral V block ?.

RAVEN · Post by **RAVEN** » Mon Apr 07, 2014 6:30 pm

Depend if you are mounting the V block on wood or aluminium
Whether it’s a bedding block or Devcon a stress free attachment to the stock and barrelled action is what is called for.

bruce moulds · Post by **bruce moulds** » Mon Apr 07, 2014 7:01 pm

a bed on top of a vblock is always superior.
if done correctly, this will guarantee a stress free bed.
a side benefit to this is that torque wrenches become unnecessary.
keep safe,
bruce.

Josh Cox · Post by **Josh Cox** » Mon Apr 07, 2014 7:36 pm

The stock is a cnc stock, one of Aubreys.

Am having anodised next week then tuning loads etc etc, before doing so I was wondering if it is worth bedding.

The v block is an integral part of the stock.

If I do bed with devcon, do I torque up the bolts whilst the devcon is drying ?.

bruce moulds · Post by **bruce moulds** » Mon Apr 07, 2014 8:14 pm

josh,
if you torque it down while drying, the job will achieve nothing.
the bedding should reflect the profile of the action in a totally relaxed unstressed state.
if you achieve this with the bedding set, when you do up the screws the action will stay as it was in the air.
the bedding block and receiver need to be warm prior to application, and kept warm while curing.
supporting the barrel in 2 places with car bog is a good way to present the action in an unstressed form to the bedding product.
this will let gravity alone hold things together.
don't forget that the action screws must have clearance, in order not to induce any stress.
oh, and don't forget the floor wax!
keep safe,
bruce.

KHGS · Post by **KHGS** » Mon Apr 07, 2014 8:28 pm

Josh Cox wrote:The stock is a cnc stock, one of Aubreys.

Am having anodised next week then tuning loads etc etc, before doing so I was wondering if it is worth bedding.

The v block is an integral part of the stock.

If I do bed with devcon, do I torque up the bolts whilst the devcon is drying ?.

Go ahead with bedding if you really like wasting your time & wish to stuff up a proven system!!! If the V-Block is correctly machined it is impossible to improve it. By the way Devcon is not the best choice for a bedding material.
Keith H.

Josh Cox · Post by **Josh Cox** » Mon Apr 07, 2014 9:07 pm

Thanks gents, message received loud and clear.

RAVEN · Post by **RAVEN** » Mon Apr 07, 2014 9:56 pm

By the way Devcon is not the best choice for a bedding material

and the best is Keith??

Malcolm Hill · Post by **Malcolm Hill** » Mon Apr 07, 2014 10:02 pm

The most consistent rifle I have done uses a V block pillar bedded onto aluminium inserts inletted into the bottom of the stock. With hardened steel washers press fitted into the inserts the action screws always torque up to the same rotational point with no sign of any change of compression in the system. It's a bit of mucking around to do it this way but well worth the effort in my opinion.
Regards Malcolm.

KHGS · Post by **KHGS** » Mon Apr 07, 2014 11:10 pm

RAVEN wrote:
By the way Devcon is not the best choice for a bedding material

and the best is Keith??

My opinion only of course....Armagrout. The problem with Devcon is that it has a short shelf life & is often very short dated when it is purchased. When out of date it will not harden properly & is "cheesy" under a surface skin, this means that it will compress.
Keith H.

RAVEN · Post by **RAVEN** » Mon Apr 07, 2014 11:36 pm

Thanx Keith
I have used both with good results
Cheers
RB

Josh Cox · Post by **Josh Cox** » Tue Apr 08, 2014 4:31 pm

My question is more a question of: My Vblock is great, it does a great job, the action touches the Vblock exactly as expected, on the two straight lines the full length of the action/Vblock.

If one was to bed, then torque up the action whilst the bedding material dried, would the action now be contacting the action and stock the entire length of the underside of the action ?, as opposed to two thin contact points ?.

Thanks again.

Brad Y · Post by **Brad Y** » Tue Apr 08, 2014 5:14 pm

Josh- congratulations, some fine shooting.

Yes you should have a 100% contact with your action if you skim bed on top of the v block. Will it make it better?- Probably not. You could probably get more benefit from buying an A grade shooter a carton of beer and getting them to help coach you on the mound for a few sessions and working with you tuning your loads.

I used a whidden V block kit on my rem 700 f class rifle and it shoots very very well. Considering the rem actions arent very tight tolerance wise they might benefit more from a v block and skim bedding, but the rifle works and theres no need to change it. Any fault on target is that of the shooter.

KHGS · Post by **KHGS** » Tue Apr 08, 2014 5:17 pm

[quote="Josh Cox"]My question is more a question of: My Vblock is great, it does a great job, the action touches the Vblock exactly as expected, on the two straight lines the full length of the action/Vblock.

This is exactly what is supposed to happen! So why would you "fix" something what ain't broken?????? In addition to that it will never "break".
Keith H.
P.S Make sure you torque the take down screws to 65 in lbs.

Josh Cox · Post by **Josh Cox** » Tue Apr 08, 2014 5:41 pm

Thanks again Keith.

Brad, I have had more success from having photos of an A grade shooter having sex with a goat, he was much more helpful