Enigma":2lidyp6p said:
Before you try to epoxy the synthetic stock, wash the barrel channel out good with 409 or Simple Green, then rinse with water and let dry. That should wash out any mold release or whatever the factory leaves in them, and allow the epoxy to stick. Roughing up the surface will also give the epoxy something to grab onto.
Yep, need to clean it free of residue. Taking a dremel and a burr tip bit and making some small holes / indnetations into the synthetic (don't go all the way through) will also give it places to mechanically lock into the stock when it cures.
A cheap synthetic stock can be worked over into a fairly good one for not much money but a lot of labor. You need to do it in phases, might take several weekends.
Fiberglass cloth and flocking can be added to your mix to stiffen the fore end / barrel channel. You can do the barrel channel and recoil lug in one pore, just need to be dillegent to dam off where you don't want it to go and use plenty of release agent on the barrel. Ideally, you want good contact with the recoil lug and first 2 " of barrel and float the rest of the barrel.
I really like to do the recoil lug first. I dam off the front with modeling clay and bed the recoil lug and the first two inches of barrel, this gives me a reference point of the rest of the bedding job. I use painters tape on the front (muzzle side) of the recoil lug, two thickness or you can use electrical tape, one thickness. Action side of the recoil lug needs to contact bedding material. Personally I use Brownells standard Acraglas. I drill out with a dremel several holes to mechanically bond the material to the stock as well as rough up all areas before bedding. A small wire wheel on a dremel works fast or just use the burr bit you drill the holes with.
After that job is done if the fore end needs it I prep it same way and add fiberglass flocking to the mix to make it a little stiffer and do the whole barrel channel. I relieve the sides of the stock and fore end tip to make sure my bedding material has enough room for full contact. Here I use painters tape lenghtwise along the barrel to make sure it has room to float. It reduces sanding / inletting after it has cured. Use plenty of release agent and be sure to clamp slightly muzzle down to keep it from running back into where you have already bedded the recoil lug.
Next, I like to pillar bed the action. I use aluminum adjustable pillars from Brownells. This is tricky because it is a good way to screw up a stock; however, patience and reading all the instructions you can before starting you will be able to get it right.
All of these steps if hired out would cost more than a replacement stock; however, if you are handy and take your time you can make a cheap factory stock as stable as a much higher priced aftermarket sythetic. With the aluminum pillars you can also have a repeatable higher torque without crushing the cheaper factory syththetic stocks.
