Stock bedding befuddled and confused
Printed From: Enfield-Rifles.com
Category: Enfields
Forum Name: Enfield Gunsmithing
Forum Description: Submit any how-to's or other gunsmithing suggestions here.
URL: http://www.enfield-rifles.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=11562
Printed Date: March 26 2026 at 7:59pm
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Topic: Stock bedding befuddled and confused
Posted By: AbitNutz
Subject: Stock bedding befuddled and confused
Date Posted: July 21 2021 at 5:10pm
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Is there a website that discusses stock bedding of the No 4? This rifle, that I deeply love mind you, is so alien to every other rifle I'm familiar with in most every way. I'm having a new barrel put on it and I suspect that the bedding is going to need attention. I'm very familiar with the wonders of Acraglass but where best to apply it to a No 4 has me a bit concerned. I'm really familiar with one piece stocks, pillar bedding and Acraglass. Two piece stock, not so much. I'm definitely open for expert guidance here.
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Replies:
Posted By: britrifles
Date Posted: July 21 2021 at 5:43pm
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I posted an article on how I recovered a very beat up forend using Acraglas. Not sure exactly where it is on this forum! Its an early Long Branch Mk 1/2 rifle that I removed the barrel and refinished the metal. About two years ago I think. I bedded the chamber reinforce, bottom of forward receiver contact surface at the main screw, the draws (angled surfaces that contact the aft surface of the sear lugs), aft horizontal surfaces of the receiver contact and the barrel channel at the muzzle. I set this up to give about 4 to 5 lbs up pressure on the barrel at the muzzle from the forend when the main screw is tight. I cleared the forend barrel channel to allow clearance around the barrel between muzzle and chamber reinforce. The forend was warped significantly to the left, so it took some shimming to hold the barreled action to give best alignment while the epoxy cured. The rifle shoots about 1.5 to 2 MOA for 10 rounds, with original sights. Quite acceptable. I can’t use it in competition as the forend has bedding compound in it, but I’ll use it for practice to save wear and tear on my regular match rifle. |
Posted By: Goosic
Date Posted: July 21 2021 at 7:03pm
Before you go and do something that you cannot reverse, shoot the rifle after you have the new barrel installed without any modifications to the wood furniture. Make sure that the screws in the trigger guard are tight as well as the barrel bands. Also make sure that the upper handguard is tight against the lower handguard and there is a gap between it and the front sight protector. This will give you a baseline to work off of, "IF" the rifle is not shooting accurately. Bedding the rifle with compounds like accraglass can actually have negative effects with accuracy unless you know exactly what you are doing. There is a tried and true method of bedding the No4 that is readily available through a Mr. Reynolds and one Peter Laidler. This commentary is not to persuade you to not rework the original configuration of the furniture but to inform you to start with what you already have to see if you need to spend the extra time involved without knowing what it is capable of firstly...
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AbitNutz wrote: