SDL Custom Firearm Emporium: April 13th

April 13^th- Did the bedding process work?

Ok…the time has come. This beast has been sitting under pressure for the last 24 hours, and just casually looking at it I can see that the flash of bedding compound around the barrel is as hard as a rock.

Moment of truth time….

After removing the bedding screws I’m going to gently….repeat gently…try to remove the barreled action from the stock. What I am most concerned about is having missed a section of metal when I was putting on release agent. If I did, then that portion of metal is going to be permanently welded to the stock. When I go to remove it I could very easily end up breaking my stock in half and having to start all over again.

Less of a problem, but still one that I’m concerned about is that the bedding compound did not flow over everything evenly and I’ll have pits and holes where everything should be perfectly smooth. If this screwed up it’s not the end of the world….I can just fill in the imperfections with new compound and wait another 24 hours.

Finally, did the bedding compound set the pillars properly? If this failed we have more of a problem. If they did not set properly they will have to be chiseled out. (Good luck) and re-set. That will be a daunting process.

So with all that fear and trepidation in mind Let’s see what we’ve done….

Success! Holy Crap it worked!

So…after the celebratory martini, it’s time to clean this whole thing up…and this is going to take some time, some care, and some really aggressive tools.

First I want to smooth out the flashing along the barrel channel. That is done with a dremel to remove the bulk, a file to bring it almost flush, and then some 220 grit sand paper wrapped around a steel block to finish. The steel block is kind of important. Right now the edges of the barrel channel have a 90 degree edge….I want to keep it that way!

Next we move on to a dental pick. This is truly one of the greatest inventions of all time. The pick allows me to rasp out excess bedding compound in the tight crevasses where it doesn't belong.

Now it’s on to the barreled action. This is going to take some time. A through coating of acetone, some steel wool, a rag and the wonderful dental pick cleans it up, and brings it back to it’s original look.

Now we reattach the trigger mechanism and the magazine and slip the whole thing back into the stock.