Glass Bedding A Winchester Model 70

Today we're putting the Winchester model 70 Featherweight in 7x57 to bed, and glass bedding it that is.

[@edwardabrams4972]

Always good to see Dr. rivers doing gun surgery on one of his guns! The good news is the surgery was successful!

[@TomRiverSimpleLiving]

LOL!

[@leeadams5941]

Very good video, precise and to the point. Well explained and understandable. Now, let's see it shoot. Very glad Ms. River is doing well, have a great week and God Bless

[@TomRiverSimpleLiving]

Thanks Lee!

[@wizardofahhhs759]

The Winchester Model 70 is the greatest deer rifle ever made.

[@tomsimpson5295]

Just ran across this video and thought I would mention this for the record: Around 1990 or so, I glassed a then-new pushfeed M70 varmint in .223 into its factory walnut for a customer using methodology similar to what is demonstrated here, including the tape on the front of the recoil lug, two thicknesses IIRC. Problem was, this particular receiver had a nasty backwards bevel on the rear face of the recoil lug so that even with the tape on the front, it still developed a mechanical lock. I was using Marine-Tex, which has no appreciable give to it once fully cured. Destroyed the stock getting the action back out and had to buy the guy a brand-new stock. So, be advised that on some M70 receivers, you may have to make a pass on the back face of the recoil lug with an end mill or such to square it up lest you suffer my fate...

[@TomRiverSimpleLiving]

Thanks for sharing that Tom! It is interesting the stuff we can run into. On this one the barrel was still touching the on the forend after I removed the tape and put it back together. I think what happened was the stock had a bow in it and the pressure on the reciever was great enough that it flexed the forend and took the bow out but then when I removed the tape the wood just flexed back into place touching the barrel? Thankfully I didn't have to explain that to a customer or replace his stock!

[@edwardabrams4972]

I had the same thing happen on my Winchester 30 years ago after letting my brother in law borrow my 270 and he took it hunting on the coast and it rained for days! I took it to a gunsmith who was a master wood worker and he fixed the stick but it took him months to repair then bed the stock again and it shot as good as the day I bought it new! Great video as always my friend! I have 2 mausers in shop right now getting new Boyd’s stocks and looking for to shooting them as you are on your rifle!

[@TomRiverSimpleLiving]

I hope they turn out great!

[@russellkeeling4387]

I very much enjoy your down to earth direction and explanations.

[@TomRiverSimpleLiving]

Thanks Russell

[@jstrunck]

Looks great! I can’t wait to see the range results!

[@bentaylor216]

It's lovely to see a 7x57 in good hands. I love shooting mine (especially as it was left to me by my father in law). Thanks for another informative video. Love the channel.

[@TomRiverSimpleLiving]

Glad you enjoyed Ben. I don't think there's a better cartridge out there for just normal deer hunting than the 7x57?

[@russellkeeling4387]

I also am a fan of the 7x57. I now own two custom rifles in that caliber though I had one stamped .275 Rigby. The two largest elk I've harvested in my lifetime where taken with my 7x57.

[@ejsocci2630]

Awesome and I enjoy watching your videos.

[@mickeymouse9654]

Nice job! I can't wait to see the groups! 😃👍

[@robertbessette8592]

Tom this a very good video on bedding. If I could just say one thing it would be to just slide the follower spring out of the floor plate so it is not in your way.the bedding was just exactly like the factory stock you must have been very pleased. So happy to hear your wife is mending well and will be keeping her in my prayers. Be safe and live free. Have a joyous new year tom

[@TomRiverSimpleLiving]

Thanks Robert, and I was thinking the same thing on the follower spring but this one had a really big indent mark in it and it didn't want to come loose for anything. So I finally just left it on there.

[@HikeHuntHaul]

Awesome video! Thank you for sharing.

[@TherealBartcephus]

Another great video, and again very informative and using terminology that us regular folks can understand, thank you sir!

[@TomRiverSimpleLiving]

I'm really glad you liked it Bartcephus!

[@BigT27295]

Great job Mr. River. Hard to beat a 7x57.

[@TomRiverSimpleLiving]

Thanks Big T!

[@kencurtis508]

Great video, thanks for sharing.

[@brokespoke5424]

I love this channel.

[@kilekinney253]

glad you said there are many ways to bed a stock I like pillar bedding

[@rossthompson2471]

Nice step by step vid!

[@MrGuitars8]

I would love to do that to mine also . I am blessed that my barrel is already Freefloated also .

[@freddyvice8822]

Your videos are great

[@glockky1]

Thanks for another great video. My model 70 stainless featherweight in 270 should be here next week. Love them Winchester rifles. Keep up the great work.

[@TomRiverSimpleLiving]

Thanks!

[@dantyack1059]

First off.. I love your videos and the range days and the guests and guns that you work with on your channel.. I am a mechanic by trade but i have been a “hobby gunsmith “ for the past 30 years or so.. the first rifle I built for myself was a 03/A3 that i put in a tang safety ruger 77 stock and it looked and shot awesome! Then a mauser 98 that i re-barreled to a .270 winchester and bedded it into a short action remington synthetic stock which became my go-to hunting rifle for over 10 years.. anyway.. I have bedded a lot of rifles in the past 30 or so years and several steps I do a lot like you.. but.. If I were to bed that winchester model 70 I would use a long stud as the front action screw without tightening it in the stock at all then i would use a stud to plug that rear blind hole and have a makeshift way to tighten it down in the stock (a remington ADL trigger guard works good for this)with some kind of nut-spacer setup…. then with the rear action screw (stud) tightened to have the action correctly seated in the stock use your black tape to tape the barrel in place exactly where you wrapped the tape around the barrel to center it in the stock.. then let it dry.. this way the front of the action will “ float” and when the bedding compound dries it will come out perfect…you have to do it a bit different for pillars but this type of simple bedding usually has great results.. …you don’t want to do anything that puts the barrel or action in a bind so no tape or clamps on the action at all and no tension from the front action screw (just a long stud to keep the hole clear and straight) at all when setting up..

[@apriliaguy4life198]

Great video. Thanks

[@Darryl792]

Good video. I've always wondered how glass bedding was done. Very interesting. 🙂

[@TomRiverSimpleLiving]

I'm glad you enjoyed it DK.

[@tomlarue654]

Anxious to see the upcoming range video. Best wishes to you and your wife.

[@TomRiverSimpleLiving]

Thanks Tom, and I'm anxious as well!

[@cbsbass4142]

I think I'm gonna go to an upper extreme and load some 175 gr Grand Slams (mainly because I found a supply nobody else wanted) for mine to see how they'll group. Not going back to the range though until I got a warm day. Best I've done lately is waiting on a .222 barrel from Shaw for a build, and got some propane to start annealing my brass with a torch. Brass is so hard to find in some calibers, I have little choice. Everyone here has been under the weather with flu. Will look forward to your range trip.

[@CB-ck6ze]

I just bedded a Remington 700 last month. It was my first try and turned out pretty good! I went back and forth on what release agent I was going to use. Multiple people suggested Hornady One Shot case lube. I already had it on the bench, and it worked great! It laid a nice smooth coat. I used grey Marine Tex with modeling clay to plug all my holes.

[@TomRiverSimpleLiving]

I've heard One Shot works great also. And I've also heard that the Marine Tex is about as good as it gets for bedding epoxy?

[@CB-ck6ze]

I have nothing to compare the Marine Tex to, but it was very easy to work with. I got the little 2oz kit, so the epoxy/hardener ratio wasn’t something I had to worry about getting right(you just use it all). Very good consistency. I bedded the front, sides and tang area of the action and it stayed right where I wanted it. Easily cleaned up what oozed out with some alcohol and Q-tips. I’m thinking about using JB weld on a cheaper rifle to see how that does in comparison.

[@alanmeyers3957]

@@CB-ck6zejb works but it has a tendency to flow out, keep that in mind if you try it.

[@russellparrish5745]

Glad Mrs. River's surgery went well. God bless

[@TomRiverSimpleLiving]

Thanks Russell!

[@chipsterb4946]

Fun fact: roll pins are intended to be one-time use items. I did not know this for a long time but it makes sense once you think about it. This may not be as important for that trigger housing roll pin as it is for the gas block or ejector roll pins in an AR but it’s worth considering IMHO.

[@TomRiverSimpleLiving]

I recently heard that same thing about roll pins. I'm sure it won't matter for this but I agree it could for some application.

[@michaelwilson9986]

Ah Yes the ol 7x57..my favorite although so is the 1 been using more often than not n its being is largely due to the 7x57. The ol 06. Looking fwd to see how yours dose at the range

[@brianlee6849]

Very nice 👍. I'm patiently waiting for the range session. I like the 7x57 or 275 Rigby. I think I like the 275 Rigby name better. It's still a very relevant cartridge at 131 years old and the grandfather to many cartridges that we still shoot today. Thank you 👍

[@TomRiverSimpleLiving]

And if this one shoots half as good as it did when it was new I'll be ecstatic with it. This rifle was a real tack drive until the old stock started warping. And I have to say I think 275 Rigby sounds better also!

[@brianlee6849]

@@TomRiverSimpleLiving Nice 👍. Good luck with it.

[@tomcumby9045]

good show very good explainng

[@dalanwanbdiska6542]

I have my norinco jw 105 im thinking of bedding. Its already freefloated . I think it could use a bedding job. So it stays in the middle of the stock. No sides touc hing

[@freddyvice8822]

Robert please do a video on pillow and glass bedding a Sako 75 and 85 thanks

[@308guy8]

Can't wait to see how it shoots

[@TomRiverSimpleLiving]

I can't either!

[@cervus-venator]

Thanks Tom, this is really going to help me with my upcoming 2023 project. I'm kind of in a quandary however. I'm changing a synthetic stock rifle over to a nice wood stock. The current synthetic stock has been bedded and free floated. I shot the rifle for the first time last week and it is very accurate so now I have some trepidation of "Change" due to the old saying of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". What I'm thinking is that I can always go back to the original synthetic stock if I need to and that I should be able to fit the new stock just as well as the original so long as it isn't warped. I don't think it is as it looks really good. As always, thanks for the information!! Glad to hear the wife is doing well also. 🙏🏼for her speedy recovery.

[@TomRiverSimpleLiving]

Your thinking sounds good to me Cervus, you can always go back to the synthetic.

[@k9six185]

Just picked up a 1974 model 70 in 30.06….and I plan on bedding it

[@dantyack1059]

thanks for producing a basic video on a fairly simple process that does a lot to improve the accuracy of a rifle! with that being said i have a couple questions and possibly a couple suggestions on your process…. do you have an e-mail address to communicate on? i didn’t know if you wanted me to make suggestions in the comments..

[@leonharris1329]

Tom are you ok missed you

[@tannerrogers5043]

What’s the drill bit size for the rear action screw hole ?

[@djl0fne]

What torque value did u use for the action screws ?

[@louiskiser9989]

Prayers for Mrs Rivers

[@endutubecensorship]

Awesome video, could you use wood clamps on the front and rear instead of the bottom metal/action screws?

[@TomRiverSimpleLiving]

I'm sure you could with a 2 point bedding like this. My guess is the tape or tubing was used for bedding the entire action? And everyone just kept using it. I just hate to change from how things were always done until I understand exactly why they were done that way and I don't know exactly why yet on this. But that is my guess.

[@endutubecensorship]

@@TomRiverSimpleLivingThanks for your reply Tom! I agree, no reason to change unless you understand why. The concern is epoxy getting into threads/lug recesses and if someone can avoid using action screws it might prevent complications.

[@dukeman7595]

Is the barrel free floating back to the action? Enjoyed this video, so much I subscribed. Looking forward to watching many more.

[@TomRiverSimpleLiving]

It's really close to the action with about 1/8 of an inch touching the barrel.

[@jimguthrie1583]

What type of dye did you use with your epoxy? Wondering if I can use a drop of brown leather dye with my acra glass.

[@TomRiverSimpleLiving]

Jim, I just bought some black dye from Amazon but a lot of the kits now are coming with brown and black including the acraglass now. But as to how leather die would work I have no idea?

[@billemshoff9335]

I need some black dye like that, Where did you get it or what is the name? Can I get it at the craft store or hardware store? Great video.

[@TomRiverSimpleLiving]

Bill, you should be able to get some from a craft store no problem, but I ordered mine from Amazon.

[@jeffmurphy9987]

Question why put tape on the recoil lug I thought that was a big reason for bedding is to have the lug tight as possible.

[@robertboyd3863]

All I have watched , done as he did.

[@wilmamcdermott3065]

Mine was glass bedded from the factory

[@wilmamcdermott3065]

Have a 7mm mauser in a brno butter knife

[@scottscheuerman6170]

Hey Tom where did you get your stud’s for your model 70

[@TomRiverSimpleLiving]

Scott I'm pretty sure I got them from Midway USA and if it wasn't from them then it was Brownells. I use both and I get mixed up on what I bought where!

[@sandybarnett7502]

Tom, I use JBweld and vaseline

[@keithbelz2952]

I use mink oil for leather as a release agent, and yup jb weld two part epoxy

[@TomRiverSimpleLiving]

The JB definitely works great. And I've also heard the Hornady One Shot Lube works great to as a release agent.

[@ArkansasBadBoy]

This is actually the most cost-effective combo. Little trick I do is to use a syringe for applying the JB Weld. I also spray some Remoil on everything coated with Vaseline just before dropping the action into the stock and it works remarkably well in making sure nothing sticks.

[@jaybailleaux630]

I bed much like you do. One thing I do is use old action screws with the heads cut off and cut a slot in them wit a hack saw so I can use a flat tip screw driver . I screw them into the action to use as guide pins when placing the barreled action into the stock. I rarely have to drill out action screw holes in the stock. I put one layer of tape on the screws and coat with shoe wax. I also coat the screw holes in the stock with wax.. After epoxy is cured I normally am abel to unscrew them if not I turn the rifle upside down and hammer with a punch. It releases the barreled action from the stock. I get a well fitted centered bedding job that is as stress free as humanly possible.

[@TomRiverSimpleLiving]

That's a good idea with the old action screws.

[@highdesertutah]

Doesn’t putting tape on the recoil lug leave a gap and defeat the purpose of bedding in that area? Can you go without tape on the lug and just make sure you have it well lubed?

[@user-me3er7lm1o]

Actually Tom did it correctly. Picture the action recoil lug sitting in the recoil keyway of the stock. The rifle fires, the action/barrel move rearward. The stock wants to remain stationary. The recoil lug rear surface needs to be tight up against the rear of the stock’s recoil keyway so it doesn’t hammer the stock’s keyway and damage it. The space created by the tape on the front surface of the recoil lug, once its removed, provides clearance so the recoil lug won’t chip or shave the bedding epoxy upon assembly and disassembly. Another way to look at this is from the scope mounting perspective. Every scope manufacturer instructs the owner to push the scope forward until the front of the recoil cross pin contacts the front of the picatinny rail slot. Again, the rifle fires. The action/barrel moves rearward. The scope wants to remain stationary. The front of the recoil cross pin will contact the front of the Picatinny rail slot. If the clearance was at the front it would allow the cross pin to hammer the front of the Pic rail slot.

[@freddyvice8822]

Sorry Tom I got your name wrong

[@dextercampbell942]

What year? Totally useless.

[@TomRiverSimpleLiving]

2013, and why useless?

[@robertboyd3863]

Are you some kind of an idiot ?

[@roddecker1900]

Here's hoping I see good groups . Allways get thru your program with somthing gained.enjoy 70 too 🦬🦬🦬🐎

[@tonysambar]

Electrical tape works best on the recoil lug and normally doesn't come off.👍