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Bedding thoughts ...

4K views 57 replies 21 participants last post by  Oldblades 
#1 ·
... like many of you I have used JB-Weld for many years as a bedding medium. It is inexpensive ... and readily available at Wally World, Lowes, Home Depot and most hardware stores. If one is careful it does an excellent job.

However, it does have one major drawback ... it has a fairly low viscosity in the mixed state .... darn it ... let's be honest ... it runs everywhere. This makes it difficult to use in tight, nadgery spots in the stock ... it won't stay put until you get the action snugged in place ... and not even then !

Was thinking the other evening ... normal practice while sitting in front of the idiot box ... ! Remembered that somewhere in my junk boxes there used to be a small tub of micro-balloons - left over from kayak/canoe mould patching chores. Yep ... there was ... so finshed up by mixing a few small batches of JB with pinches of micro-balloons added to the resin before stirring in the hardener.

It worked ... the resultant uncured mix DOES NOT RUN ... stays where you put it ! One unexpected result though ... the cured JB is not dead hard and brittle like a regular mix ... it has a slight flexibility, yet resists "sharp-edged" compression.

I found that as little as 15-20%, by volume, of micro-balloons to just the resin was sufficient.

Hmmm ! Could this make it more efficient as a bedding agent ? Remember the use of elastomeric materials I proposed years ago as a dampener/tuning medium ... later adopted for the US Olympic Air Rifle team rifles.

Mick - The Fuzzy Limey
 
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#54 ·
You can use some dry powder tempra paint for coloring, but when you start with a dark epoxy it's going to take some testing to find a recipe to match a particular color.

It will thicken the epoxy, so you may want to start with a clearer, thinner mix like West or System3. If you do use those, pay really close attention to the measure and mix instructions, they are not as forgiving as hardware store formulas.

If you're trying to match a color, I don't recommend using any of the fast set formulas, they just don't give you enough time to mix, blend colors and then get it in place before it starts to kick.

Bob
 
#58 ·
Ordered the Devcon this weekend and showed up this morning. Of course I had to experiment, with all the goings on with this thread.
Man do I like the texture of this stuff. Mixed up about a half dollar size glob, and then thought about the coloring.
I had some transtint wood dye on the shelf which mixes with about anything. Added a drop of amber and 2 drops of mission brown.
Its going to take a lot of experimenting to get past the base of dark gray, but it did work.

 
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