Epoxy putty as a betting compound?

E

Elkins45

New member
I went to open my shrink wrapped sealed container of Acraglas gel only to discover it had dried out over the years. I have my M70 ready to bed and am not really a fan of waiting for a container to show up in the mail and I don't think anybody sells it locally.

I wonder if there would be a real downside to using some of that epoxy putty they sell at the hardware store to bed the recoil lug? It seems like it would be just as strong as normal epoxy and it would be a lot less sloppy than liquid epoxy or maybe even the gel.

Anybody ever tried this?
 
If you are determined to use hardware store options for bedding material, try JB Weld, it is epoxy with steel in it. If you can find it locally, Devcon is also great, or find a boat repair shop and pick up some West Systems epoxy.
 
JB Weld is a strong epoxy for bedding compound .

I have used it several times in bedding rifles that were of the .308 caliber and had good success.
For heavy rifles .375 and bigger I like the Devcon.
I live 1/2 mile to a West Marine store and there epoxies is what I use for general bedding and fixes. I had a friend who used Liquid Nails for a "just see project"
he fixed the stock bedded it and did some node build up. It shoot good. Lots of things will work.
at worst, grind it out and start over if you don't like the results.
 
I went to open my shrink wrapped sealed container of Acraglas gel only to discover it had dried out over the years.
Click to expand...

Brownell's technician suggests putting containers in hot water and warming contents to return to buttery texture. It does.
 
I've "reconstituted" epoxy and hardener before. You can place the container in a pan of warm water and the epoxy or hardener will soften, and the cracks will disappear.

I've even used the microwave in brief bursts of 15 seconds at a time until the epoxy softens. Make sure the wife is at the store when you do it though.
 
Do not put mixed epoxy in the microwave.It gets super excited and fires,etc happen.

For myself,I put a lot of care into building a rifle.This includes prepping for the bed job,and doing what I can to get the perfect,no-bubble,professional looking outcome.

A repeatable,consistent bedding compound helps.

It is also true the term "epoxy" covers a material tweaked with a whole range of characteristics.Like "smokeless powder".It is application sensitive.Brownells buys some epoxy formula that you may be able to buy under another brand,like Systems West,MarineTec,Safety-Poxy..but Brownell's took the step to consult with the engineers to choose and modify to come up with a product suitable for gunsmithing.

I am not saying the other products are substandard.Some may be better than Accra-glas.I know Accra-Glas is not a wrong choice.

It is your project,do it your way.

I am amazed at how quickly a Brownell's or Midway order can appear on my doorstep.

"Never time to do it right,but always time to do it over"

IMO,patience is a crucial tool in gunsmithing.
 
I sort of answered my own question with a Google search. Brownell's actually sells an epoxy putty as a bedding compound.

I used one of those knead together sticks (Quik Steel or something like that) as an experiment. It won't be too much work if I have to do it over.

Thanks for the tip about warming my AcraGlas. I'll have to try that if I didn't already throw it away.
 
Potlife

I do quite a bit of epoxy work, as I build and repair lots of R/C sailplanes.

I was doing a repair on one of my slope planes, and had mixed up, as it turns our, a *bit* too much Jeffco epoxy. I poured the epoxy into the repair area and sat back down to watch TV.

Hey, what's that boiling sound?

It was the too-large pot of resin I had mixed up- and it was boiling like mad. I grabbbed the plastic container (you can see where this is going, right?) and ran for the door. by the time I had got to the hallway of my apartment the bottom of the plastic container had sagged and let go. A huge, thin stream of resin/cabosil hit the floor. Luckily it wasn't carpeted.

It's still there- 10+ years later. I tried chipping it off and it was like a rock.
 
Epoxy generates a lot of heat as it cures.

Usually we have spread it out during application and never notice the heat, but if you let a container 'turn over' with resin left if can melt plastic and even crack glass jars.

It gets that hot.

We used to bake it in an oven to speed up the cure.
 
West System Epoxy

I have been using West System,(Gougeon Brothers) epoxy for about 30 years. Mostly for boat repairs, but it will fix about anything.

Go by a West Marine, (no relation, but they sell all the West Systems products), store and pick up the free pamphlet on hardeners, fillers and techniques. They have fast, slow, clear and extra slow hardeners all used with their 105 resin. Then you choose the filler for the job to be done. Use the 404 to repair your concrete floor, 406 to fillet shelves, 410 for final fairing.

You mix the resin and hardener of choice, then add the filler to the consistency you desire, mayonnaise to peanut butter. Experiment on some scraps of the same type of wood as your stock.

If you are close to Pensacola, give me a call 572 1225 and come over to see howidoodit.:rolleyes:

Hope this helps.

Tom
 
West System is great...restored a couple of boats with who knows how many gallon jugs of resin and every type of filler they make...

But it's not cost effective for a one (or even two) time receiver bedding project.
JB Weld works fine, but it's a bit thin in consistency so you have to work fast when using it on vertical surfaces. That's why I like AcraGlas Gel...
An epoxy with a thicker viscosity, or add aluminum filler to JB Weld, would be preferable to me.
 
I went to open my shrink wrapped sealed container of Acraglas gel only to discover it had dried out over the years.
Click to expand...
Brownell's technician suggests putting containers in hot water and warming contents to return to buttery texture. It does.
Click to expand...

I have done the same with Devcon epoxies.

I may be totally wrong on this, but I believe the epoxy loses energy over time and crystallizes. Adding heat, through warm water restores the epoxy to a liquid state.

Go to a Marine Boating store and buy Marine Tex putty. Boaters are always having to repair their fiberglass boats and Marine stores have some of the best epoxies and rust resistance coatings you can find.

I have used Marine Tex as a bedding material and it works very well. Mixes up thicker than margarine and is easy to apply.

http://www.marinetex.com/marinetexepoxyputty.html
 
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