Bedding the SKS

[maskedman504]

I figured while my trigger group was of getting tuned by Kivaari, I would try to bed the action of my SKS to the stock. I read up on the internet and saw that JB Weld was a sufficient bedding material. After studying the process a little, I figured I would give it a go; one way or the other, everything is pretty guarranteed to come out tighter!


So I cleaned the receiver will rubbing alcohol and coated its entirety with car wax.



Then I cleaned the cavity in the stock where the action sits. I applied JB Weld toe the red circled areas. I didn't grab any pics of the JB Weld in the stock because I got a litttle anxious to get it all back together at that point. Sorry for my lack of photo editing skills also. Edit: the red circles arent apprearing- I put JB Weld at the read, the middle and the front of where the action sits.



So, this epoxy cures in 24 hrs, I will probably remove the action after about 4 hours and then let the stock cure. Guess I will update you guys tomorrow, for better or worse!

 

[Speedo66]

Bedding the SKS?

Buy it a few drinks and whisper in it's ear.

Seriously, it looks like a plan. Just hope your wax works, 'cause that's pretty strong stuff.

 

[maskedman504]

Intial result are promising. The action was definitely tight in the stock. After a little coercion (very little), the two part seperated. I am now going to let the JB Weld cure over night; I will clean it up with a razor in the morning. So far, all seems well, but, we'll see, I have never done this before!

 

[PT1911]

definitely intersting.... one cant help but wonder why... but hey... why not?

 

[Shear_stress]

Sounds like a cool project. I am convinced these rifles will shoot better than they are given credit for, if given half a chance.

 

[Limeyfellow]

Why? Because there is a significant amount of wobble room between the stock and receiver at those points and that helps eliminate lots of it. Now throw on a Tech-sight, clean up the trigger and a few other bits and pieces and you can see what the SKS is capable off when assembled well.

 

[greyling22]

don't forget to feed it right. cheap com-block ammo shoot like cheap co-block ammo.

 

[maskedman504]

Why? Because there is a significant amount of wobble room between the stock and receiver at those points and that helps eliminate lots of it. Now throw on a Tech-sight, clean up the trigger and a few other bits and pieces and you can see what the SKS is capable off when assembled well.

Exaclty; As I said before, my trigger group is being worked on by a guy that has done 1,000 SKS triggers, and, after bedding the stock, my next addition will be an Advance-Tech peep sight. My father bought me this SKS and it is my first rifle, I am going to keep it forever.

Kinda funny, having to make a case for making your rifle more accurate.

 

[Storm]

Well done. I hope that the JB Weld sticks to the wood. Cosmoline soaked wood isn't the best surface for adhesion. But, if you roughed up the contact areas with a bit of sandpaper and/or cleaned them up you will have minimized any adhesion issues. JB Weld was an interesting choice over other epoxies. Another good choice might have been marine epoxy as it has a good deal of chemical resistance, but now that I think of it JB Weld does also, and probably much more so. I work with a lot of epoxies, so the choice is of interest to me and JB Weld seems perfect.

I think you are well on the road to a more accurate SKS. I checked out the stock/action fit on my Norinco and there is zero play. If my stock for my Romy arrives today I will start the fitting tonight, so I will be considering your fix, if necessary. Thanks for sharing the process. I think that it's the very best way that you could have gone with it. The auto wax was an inspired choice, probably much better than vaseline or silicone sealant.

 

[3pairs12]

I am interested in how it looks this morning after curing over night.

 

[Olympus]

Yeah I'll be interested in seeing how it cures as well. I don't know that I would have removed the action to let it cure, but that's just me I guess. I see the point of bedding as wanting the epoxy to cure in the shape of the action. There might be some settling after you remove the action. Either way though, it definitely won't hurt anything the way you did it. It can only help. Let us know if your groups noticeably tightened.

 

[3pairs12]

Yeah I was kind of thinking the same thing olympus. He did leave the action in for several hours though, and I don't think that JB weld expands probably will work just the way he had planned. My dad and I used bondo and it worked pretty well. We did leave the action in for full cure time.

 

[Storm]

If he is using standard JB Weld four hours should probably have been enough to partially cure it so that it retained it's shape without running or expanding. I'll go set some and see how it is at 2 o'clock

 

[BUGUDY]

I believe the trigger work and good ammo will help more than bedding, I bedded one also to get a better stock/reciever fit. I used a bedding gel. I fit great but accuracy was the same. Still worth doing if just to learn how to bed a rifle.

 

[maskedman504]

Truth be told, one of my motivations for bedding my SKS is to improve accuracy; however, I am quickly becoming gun-crazy and I also wanted to do it for the learning process and because I just didn't like the sloppy, wobbly fit. Accuracy will still be hindered by a non-floated barrel, and I don't know if I am going crazy enough for that.

The action and stock are now tight together, giving the rifle a much more solid feel all together. I really hated the wobble it had before. If this is the only benefit, then I consider my hour of work well spent. Once I get the trigger group back, I will try some groups with some Remington factory ammo I have and throw up a comparison.

My last grouping at 100 yards. This was my first time at 100 yards, off a rest, iron sights. I know alot of this grouping is my inexperience as a shooter. My next attempt will be off sandbags with factory ammo.



Here are three upclose photos of the epoxy. After removing the action there was no running or settling of the epoxy. In the past, I have found that JB Weld is dry to the touch in 4 hours and completely cured in 24. I am going to clean up some are with sand paper and a razor blade, but, all in all, I am pretty please with the result.







EDIT: I just finished cleaning and re-oiling the receiver and there is zero play when it is in the stock now. I guess as long as the trigger and magazine go back in everything will be schweet!

 

[Smokey Joe]

Bedding an SKS...

Maskedman 504--Don't let the naysayers grind you down! Bedding an SKS as a learning project is well worth the trouble just for the experience alone! My first bedding job was also an SKS, and it taught me a lot.

Went on to bed a Yugo M-48 in a Boyd's stock, and felt much more comfortable doing that because I'd done the SKS first.

BTW, I agree that the trigger job is a good move, according to everybody that has had one done. PLEASE give us a further report when you have all the parts back!

ETA--I agree with Greyling 22 about the quality of ammo you use affecting accuracy. As the computer guys say, "Garbage in, garbage out."

Thanks for posting!

 

[gvnwst]

Gret project, i can't wait to see what it does to the groups.

 

[WNTFW]

Maskedman504,
Are you in the 504 area code? I think sometimes even if the only benefit is the rifleman believes the rifle is better then you have gained something. That is not to say you wasted your time, the bedding is probably going to help. I used the term rifleman (not shooter) because I feel that is someone who is willing to understand and work at what makes a rifle work well, including the human factor.

I did a Rem 700 for my first try and I admire anyone willing to try bedding a rifle. Between the expense and work that would be involved in glueing you gun together permanently it is a bit scary to take the plunge.

Later,
WNTFW

 

[benzy2]

I personally think bedding should be done thick and full length unless you are skim bedding a stock with a full length metal block. Even then it may be wise to take a little material off.

This is a good first effort and it looks to be what you were aiming for. Still I like to bed them full length. Part of the benefit of bedding is that a thick layer of bedding resists any warping a wood stock may go through. This keeps point of impact more consistent over time. A thick layer of bedding also helps shot to shot. A skim coat may tighten things up but a thick full length bedding really solidifies a stock, especially when pillar bedded as well making for a more consistent shot to shot. The spot bedding certainly tightens the fit up, especially of a loose stock, but I would personally next look to trim some wood out and full length bed it with at least 1/8" thick of bedding compound.

Still nice first effort. It takes a lot of guts to put glue in between your action and stock while not wanting them to be glued together. That alone is a big step and one that took me a while to do.

 

[maskedman504]

Are you in the 504 area code?

Not, this is just an internet moniker I have been using for umpteen years.

Still nice first effort. It takes a lot of guts to put glue in between your action and stock while not wanting them to be glued together. That alone is a big step and one that took me a while to do.

Yeah, now that I have jumped off the bridge, the water isn't so bad. Next trip, we'll head for the deep end!

 

[NC-Mike]

Is it just me or does that bedding not look right?

I looks as if there was no contact between the bedding and the epoxy.

They look like photos of the epoxy Before the action was put in the stock...

Anyways, why not just use a bedding compound instead of JB Weld?

 

[maskedman504]

Is it just me or does that bedding not look right?

I looks as if there was no contact between the bedding and the epoxy.

I thought the epoxy was the bedding? There was definite contact between the action and the epoxy. I just didn't want to post huge pictures, but I will dig up one.

Anyways, why not just use a bedding compound instead of JB Weld?

http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/edu75.htm

I read that article and said, "Hey, I have car wax and I have JB Weld, I think I can do this." I might have been less apt to do it if I had to go shopping for bedding compound. The article is also why I picked three spots, it seemed to me that the author didn't do the entire length of the action. That and I think the boxoftruth.com author has a pretty good reputation.

 

[maskedman504]

Here is a big picture. The action didn't contact at ALL of the epoxy, but id did contact part of every spot. I feel the critics coming; I am not a gunsmith I am a hobbyist/tinkerer!!


The grey/white flat areas are contact points. The not-so-shiny grey areas are uncontacted epoxy.

 

[3pairs12]

Hey you already did what you set out to do...learn something and get rid of wobble. It may not be the prettyest of jobs but when the rifle is put together who will know. Good work and full range report will be due upon trigger install and better ammo.

 

[Reid73]

Kinda funny, having to make a case for making your rifle more accurate.

Presumably, the point PT1911 was making is that the SKS is a rather crudely-manufactured rifle, the main virtue of which is rugged dependability.

You are free to try to improve its accuracy, and perhaps you will have the last laugh.