Brownells ACRAGLAS instructions

Randy Dunn

I bought some ACRAGLAS from Brownells to glass bed My Savage 10ML-II after market stock, I only used the Acraglas in the front (A) because the rear post was so well made, (B) that I felt bedding wasn't needed here. Time will tell. I copied the instructions from Brownells and put them here for your reference.

 

THANKS for selecting ACRAGLAS
Since its Introduction in 1959, “GLAS” has proven itself as the most versatile bedding compound available, and we guarantee your satisfaction 100%.
Taking the time and effort to “bed” a gun is one of the most rewarding things you can do to improve a rifle’s accuracy and consistency. These instructions will walk you through the process. The basic “QUICK INSTRUCTIONS” appear to the left of this page, but you’ll get the best job possible if you read the “DETAILED” instructions that follow below. There are a lot of “tricks” explained there that will help the job go faster and easier, and avoid potential problems especially with synthethic stocks.

KIT CONTAINS: 1 jar ACRAGLAS Resin;
1 jar ACRAGLAS Hardener;
1 jar ACRAGLAS Release Agent;
Floc;
1 pak brown ACRAGLAS Dye;
1 pak black ACRAGLAS Dye;
Mixing Cups and Mixing Sticks.

ACRAGLAS Resin NET WEIGHT: 2 OZ./57 g
ACRAGLAS Hardener NET WEIGHT: 7 /8 OZ./21 g
RELEASE AGENT NET CONTENTS: 7 /8 OZ./21 g

DETAILED BEDDING PROCEDURE
REGARDING THE FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS:
These instructions were written assuming you have never epoxy-bedded a
gun. For you pros using ACRAGLAS for the first time, we’d still suggest a read-through
because all bedding products are definitely not the same. If you have
any questions, please call our Technical Support staff at 515-623-5401. They are
available Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 p.m., Central Time.

Be absolutely certain the gun is unloaded and the magazine or clip is empty. Take the gun completely apart, following the manufacturer’s instructions. The
bolt has to come out of the action and the barreled action taken out of the stock (do not remove barrel from action). Remove the trigger group, magazine box (if present), scope and/or sights and anything else attached to the action. Barrel-mounted open sights and scope mount bases can normally stay in place.
Note: When bedding a bolt action rifle with ACRA-GLAS, we recommend that you use Inletting Guide Screws to align the action within the stock while the
ACRAGLAS cures. Inletting Guide Screws are available from Brownells to fit a number of different bolt action rifles .

INLETTING & STOCK PREPARATION
Wood Stocks:
You’ll need 1 /32 " to 1 /16 " clearance between the barreled action and the barrel channel, action recess, and behind the recoil lug. Cut away wood as needed using
chisels, scrapers or a miniature grinder. Do not cut away or lower all surfaces within the receiver area, only the areas that will be filled and supported by ACRAGLAS. Leave some uncut areas to serve as “stop points” that will help locate the barreled action at the proper depth within the stock.

Fiberglass or Synthetic Stocks:
Rough up the interior stock surfaces with 220 grit sandpaper to take off any glaze or residual mold release which might prevent ACRAGLAS from bonding
to the stock material itself. Put on rubber gloves, provide proper ventilation and use Brownells TCE Cleaner Degreaser, Birchwood Casey Gun Scrubber, acetone or a similar solvent to degrease the interior stock surfaces. Be sure to read the notes Solvent Caution and Bonding To Plastics under the section Making The Job Easier, located at the end of these instructions.

All Stocks:
Run a line of Brownells Wide Bedding Tape, Scotch, masking or electrical tape along the finished edge of the stock’s barrel channel and action cutout area where they meet the barreled action. Coat the tape with Release Agent as explained in Metal Preparation -Use Of Release Agent. Not only will this make cleanup easier, it will also make sure that any ACRAGLAS that squeezes out during the bedding process won’t stick to the stock. Test your tape to make sure its glue doesn’t react with your stock finish or pull it off. ACRAGLAS is runny. It will find any crack or opening and try to fill it. Build modeling clay dams to control this flow.

METAL PREPARATION - USE OF RELEASE AGENT
In addition to being a specially formulated, powerful bedding epoxy, ACRA-GLAS is also a superb glue for attaching metal to wood or fiberglass. Using ACRAGLAS Release Agent selectively lets ACRAGLAS bond to the stock but not to the barreled action. IMPORTANT: You MUST do some things to prevent mechanical locks” that can connect barreled action and stock permanently. Fill all milled-out sections, openings, pits, recesses and deep machine marks in the barreled action, recoil lug and triggerguard/floorplate with modeling clay. Smooth with scraper to keep all surfaces flush. Make certain the recoil lug, or any other projection, is not wider at the bottom than at the top. A reverse taper like that can mechanically lock the barreled action into the stock once surrounded by ACRAGLAS. Another mechanical lock is possible if the barreled action rests so deeply in the stock that the edges of the stock are higher than the largest diameter of the barrel or action body. Cover the front, sides and bottom of the recoil lug with a single layer of Brownells Wide Bedding Tape or smooth, electrician’s tape. The slight clearance created by the tape will make it easier to remove the barreled action from the stock for cleaning and repair. The rear lug surface transfers recoil energy to the stock so it must remain uncovered; just fill any pits with modeling clay. Stir the Release Agent or shake it vigorously before using. Use a Q-Tip or small paint brush to apply Release Agent to the barreled action. Make sure you get it into all recesses and corners. Apply two or more THIN coats of Release Agent on all exposed metal surfaces of the barreled action, triggerguard/floorplate, modeling clay and bedding tape that might contact ACRAGLAS. Be sure to cover ALL surfaces and recesses. Let dry thoroughly between coats so carrier evaporates completely. Thick coats will “skin over”, trapping unevaporated carrier which may damage bluing/metal. Wait for about 5 minutes, or until the Release Agent is dry to the touch. Hold the barreled action up toward a light and look across all surfaces. You should see a nearly transparent, continuous, vinyl film covering them. If you see any bright reflections or a break in the coating, put more Release Agent on those areas. Give the guard screws and any stock pins a THIN coat of gun grease or paste wax after the Release Agent dries on them. Be certain the coat of Release Agent is THOROUGHLY DRY before bedding. When the bedding job is done, you can remove Release Agent from both gun and bedding with warm water. If you need to thin the Release Agent, alcohol works well. Gun and Release Agent must be room temperature (68°F.) or higher before beginning the bedding operation.

CAUTION: BEFORE PROCEEDING FARTHER, MAKE SURE YOUR STOCK IS CLEAN & OIL-FREE

MIXING YOUR ACRAGLAS
ACRAGLAS doesn’t have to be mixed all at one time. The mixing ratio is 4 parts Resin to 1 part Hardener by volume. Do Not weigh the resin and hardener for mixing, you’ll get the wrong ratio. The mixing cups supplied in the kit work well for bedding and touchup or repair applications. For bedding, pour one ounce of ACRAGLAS Resin into the mixing cup. Add one quarter ounce of ACRAGLAS Hardener to the Resin in the mixing cup. There isn’t a mark at 1 1 /4 ounces but there is a 10 DR (dram) mark which splits the difference between 1 ounce and 1 1 /2 ounce lines. Add Hardener until the liquid is level with the 10 DR line. Thoroughly mix (do not whip) the Resin and Hardener with the mixing stick for two (2) minutes. At this point you are ready to color the ACRAGLAS to match your stock. Use a needle or straight pin to poke a small hole in one corner of the foil dye packet. Squeeze one or two small drops of the concentrated, brown or black dye into the Resin/Hardener mixture. Begin stirring the dye in and check the color. We’ve found it works best to have the mixed, dyed ACRAGLAS just a bit lighter than the stock. If the color is too light, add another drop of dye, stir briefly and check the color. The dye is extremely potent and a little goes a long way. Once you have the color right, mix thoroughly for another two (2) minutes, for a total of four (4) minutes. Always mix a total of FOUR MINUTES whether you add dye or not. Your
ACRAGLAS is now ready to use. Time/Temperature Note: At 72°-75° F., you have approximately 15 minutes working time before your ACRAGLAS begins to set up. At higher room temperatures the stiffening occurs more rapidly, with proportionate decrease in working time. Working time can be lengthened by setting the mixing cup in a shallow pan of ice water and stirring the water occasionally. In cold weather, make sure your ACRAGLAS is at least 68° F. before mixing and preading. This same minimum temperature must be maintained during hardening as well. In hot conditions, chill ACRAGLAS to approximately 76° F. before mixing to prevent accelerated setup. To speed up the setting process, you can heat the barreled action and stock to about 100° - 120° F., before putting the ACRAGLAS into the stock. For even more rapid setting, place a heat lamp 12" - 18" away from the area where the ACRA-GLAS has been applied. DO NOT try to speed the setting process by adding extra hardener - doing so will actually PREVENT complete hardening.

BEDDING

Wood Stocks:
Pour a small line of ACRAGLAS into the stock’s front action ring recess, recoil lug recess and rear tang area, and use the mixing stick to spread it evenly over all those surfaces. Make sure there is good coverage where the rear tang and front receiver ring of the action rest in the stock. Fill the recoil lug recess approximately half full. Avoid getting any ACRAGLAS in the action screw recess. We suggest bedding the barrel channel of a wood stock as a second step, after the tang and lug bedding are fully cured. To bed a barrel channel, tape and dam everything as before, then pour a line of ACRAGLAS down the barrel channel. Don’t put on a thick coat or leave any excess in this area. Excess ACRAGLAS can create a mechanical lock and trap the barreled action in the stock. Install the Inletting Guide Screws into the action. Press the stripped barreled action into the stock until it bottoms out against the “stop points”(see Inletting Section). Install the triggerguard and/or floorplate
unit. Wrap the action area with surgical tubing or large rubber bands to squeeze and seat the action into the stock. Tightening the tubing or rubber bands is a “just enough” but not “too much” process. Too tightly will squeeze the ACRAGLAS out and distort the stock, too loosely may keep the action and triggerguard/floorplate
from seating fully within the stock. Synthetic Stocks: Some of these stocks have a hollow barrel channel, some don’t. Either is fine since there’s usually no need to have full-length barrel channel-to-barrel contact in a synthetic stock. But, if you want this contact, follow the directions below covering bedding of the action area and then build modeling clay dams and pour a line of ACRAGLAS into the channel, or along the edges of a hollow channel. Don’t try to fill a hollow unless you want the extra weight. To bed the action area of a synthetic stock: pour a small amount of ACRAGLAS into the stock’s front action ring recess, recoil lug recess and rear tang area. Fill the recoil lug recess approximately half full. Use the mixing stick to distribute ACRAGLAS evenly. At this point, follow the directions shown above for inserting he barreled action into the stock and securing the barreled action while the ACRAGLAS cures. Synthetic stocks may or may not require the use of Inletting Guide crews. If you choose not to use Inletting Guide Screws, be very careful and avoid getting any ACRAGLAS in the action screw or guard screw holes. Make sure the threaded portions of the Inletting Guide Screws or the guard screws are well-coated with Release Agent.

CLEANUP
We have two favorite methods to clean up the excess ACRAGLAS that often squeezes out onto the stock. First, and easiest, just wipe or scrape the excess away, immediately, with a clean, cotton-tipped applicator or a small scraper made of wood or plastic. Second, wait until the ACRAGLAS is firmly set, about 9 hours after
application. Then, trim the excess ACRAGLAS off with a knife. Be careful, don’t scratch the bluing or stock finish. ACRAGLAS on your cutting instruments and hands can be removed while still tacky by rubbing with a vinegar-saturated cloth (don’t get vinegar on blued steel). You can remove the gun from the stock after 10 hours.
Separating The Stock And Barreled Action:
After the ACRAGLAS has cured, take out the action screws, remove the triggerguard/floorplate and secure the stock, right side up, in a padded vise. Put a wooden dowel into the bolt opening and slowly, firmly, lift both the dowel and the barrel to remove the barreled action from the stock. Don’t expect the metal to jump out of the stock, especially a wooden stock which is now fitted more tightly than possible with any other method. If they won’t come apart, tap along the length of the barreled action with a soft, rubber mallet and try again. Proceed with the firm, slow lifting. If you can’t get the barreled action out, don’t force it! Give our Tech Support Staff a call and we’ll help.

REASSEMBLY
Clean Release Agent residue off the barreled action and stock. Remove all bedding tape and modeling clay. Lightly oil all the metal parts, then follow the gun manufacturer’s instructions and reassemble the trigger group, magazine box (if applicable) and other parts onto the barreled action. Check the bedding in the magazine and trigger area and remove any excess ACRAGLAS with files and sandpaper to get proper clearances. Re-install the barreled action into the stock. Congratulations! You have just given your gun the finest of accurizing jobs. It can be fired in three days, but giving the ACRAGLAS a full week to cure will be much, much better.