Pre-64 Model 70 .308

gremcat

Twelve Pointer
Bought this for a donor to build a custom on. Then got caught up with how clean and how handy the Lyman Peep and shortened stock worked together even for a tall person like me. PO had done the same and also felt bad taking it apart.

I’ve since decided there are no tools that don’t pay rent and have a Manners EH Carbon Fiber shelled stock for it. This stock was previously bedded then cerakoted camo by a well known gunsmith. I just can’t think of who it was now.

I had planned for it to get bedded professionally but somehow wound up with only one bolt gun and rifle season opens in 1.5 weeks so I ordered the stuff for a DIY.

The bottom metal inlet needs to be adjusted slightly and the bedding screw on the front is rubbing one side of the pillar so I’ll have to use some layout fluid to find the high spots. I’m going for pillar to action without epoxy between. That’s a debate without end but I don’t want the bedding flaking on me causing a problem. I found where a BR Shooter used Silicone Carbide powder or something like that between the action and pillars with success. Probably splitting hairs though.
 

gremcat

Twelve Pointer
Here’s the action with the barrel taped to center in the channel. The stock had a different contour at the shank so I’m thinking I’ll add a few layers of tape there and fill in the gap. I could also just bed the first few inches of the barrel. 98901D2D-C737-41DE-BAA5-C5E10DCC0984.jpeg7F9EA8BB-E789-4FBF-9E77-A71BAFEA11DC.jpegDEB02CD7-0175-4454-8D92-D628D3D0D44D.jpegAAA12EAB-CD90-4FE9-AF12-5E72141A233E.jpeg
 

gremcat

Twelve Pointer
Being a ‘53, first year .308 it should be a 10 twist. If it turns out to be a 12 twist it’ll get a new stainless barrel. This one shot 1.5” groups at 300 with cheap federal blue box so it seems like a good one and the bore looks shiny new. I’ve heard they are sometimes destroyed removing but I’m hoping It’ll come off without needing relief cuts if I go that way.

I’m adding a stud to the bottom for a short rail so I can use my Grizzly Bipod. The original Grizzly that Atlas “borrowed” the design from and the original designer didn’t patent. Last I heard he lost the lawsuit.
 

gremcat

Twelve Pointer
I’ll be using grey marinetex and Paste wax for release agent. I’ll inlet and bed the bottom metal separately.

I have access to a Bridgeport at the local Site. I’m trying to avoid getting pulled into anything so for short term functionality I’ll probably clean up the Mag well with a router and cleanup bit.

There’s also a pinch where the Mag well rubs so after I have the screws centered in the pillars I’ll have to relief that area.

All in all not a great one to DIY. Expensive stock, a lot of adjustments, etc. We’ll see how it turns out. Probably glue it all together🙄
 

gremcat

Twelve Pointer
The painters tape didn’t stick well at all. I had lab tape from my Wife’s company closing. No idea how I wound up with a roll in my garage but it stuck. We’ll see how well the cerakote (guessing durakote since it’s on the stock) holds up.


The company that did the original stock was MG Arms I think. I had thought of changing the bottom metal but liked the idea of 3 Action Screws. I talked to a well known Gunsmith who said 1 piece BM or 2 piece doesn’t change accuracy potential. I’ve heard that a good bed job you should be able to take the front screw out and nothing moves. I know in the Target Shooting world the 3rd screw let’s you play with torque values for harmonics.

I’ve got some Talley 1 piece (don’t recall aluminum or steel) and then found a set of Leupold Turn-Ins that had been in the lower garage so minor rust. Not sure which I’ll use.

For a scope it had a VX3 3.5-10x40 CDS. I’ve got a 1.8-5.5x38 Zeiss Conquest or a VX3 2.5-8x36 with M1 and German #4 heavy reticle from the custom shop. I’m thinking I’d really like a Zeiss V4 or possibly the German built DL 2-8 series. NF ATACR F1 would be the cat’s meow but we have a few really costly things coming up like new drainage, concrete retaining wall, paving lower drive, etc. Guessing it’ll be another $50k bill there. 1 income and 4 kids all starting hobbies so the $2-3k scopes are out for now.
 

gremcat

Twelve Pointer
Today was the day. It took way to long to get the action flush to the pillars. There’s was about 1/8” of epoxy on them so a lot of work if you include the barrel contour being different. I spent an hour just trying to find what was causing a pillar to be off center and a “flat” action to rock.

Layout Dykem fluid is a pain to get off as well. EF67F864-5329-4CC1-BC7D-30E81B5354A4.jpeg0D874693-0059-4880-BF16-F216E55401BB.jpegCA32BCF4-E1CC-42BD-A725-142976DC142E.jpeg52CF9570-40D8-42AE-B6E7-86E77E8CBD3F.jpeg
 

gremcat

Twelve Pointer
Then remove the trigger, bolt release, and extractor. This helps get the excess Dykem off. Did I mention it’s a pain to remove? A little goes a long way. Then the paste wax with 2 coats and plumbers putty.
 

gremcat

Twelve Pointer
Prepping7358C68A-8C93-411B-BE1F-D25E9FE2598A.jpeg8BBF3A39-5AA0-417F-8A6D-035611164527.jpeg
 

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gremcat

Twelve Pointer
A little more prep and the marinetex gooped on. I read 2 oz is more than enough. Probably if I didn’t Hog out so much it might. I end up a little short and originally thought of using a lab style heat/magnet stirrer but way to thick for that. 5D15852E-3CDF-4888-B01D-C02314EFB74E.jpegB204FD82-0064-4BA6-AB55-D1D453982EF4.jpegB1B65815-1234-4158-BFDB-93E72EDA0A98.jpegE1BCE999-9099-4EA0-B409-5F06156CE995.jpeg
 

gremcat

Twelve Pointer
Then a bunch of cleanup and there are a few gaps I don’t like. I also have concerns the screws are centered on the pillars. I had to shave one down on one side to get them level. I’m not sure what the deal was but It was a prior bedded stock so I don’t assume anything from Manners was off.

At the end to be sitting on the pillar the tang was really recessed. I didn’t touch that pillar so that’s from Manners. Maybe they assume epoxy will be built up on the pillar. 3B4BA456-C06A-43E0-A4AE-BE33EE484B16.jpeg
 

gremcat

Twelve Pointer
The bolt notch is slightly off even though I relieved a lot to slide the tang back where it belonged to center it in the pillar.


All in all it would have been a ton easier with a stock that had the right barrel contour and that hadn’t been needed prior. With the centering studs, marinetex, and most importantly 5-6 hours of my limited time it would have been better to send to the Smith I planned to. Rifle opener is a week away so it was the only way to have it ready. I’ll still need to adjust for the bottom metal as well. It was too snug to fit the 2 piece so I’m guessing either the tang being to far forward or the previous owner had 1 piece metal.

Did I mention this would have been a lot easier with a fresh stock??
 

gremcat

Twelve Pointer
I loosened the “Power Bedding” screws as well. They are now finger loose. That was interesting with Lock nuts, release agent, and epoxy gloves🙄 If I did it again I’d cut slots in the end for a flat head.

One other thing I did. The model 70 has flat edges and the recoil lug on this one was ground at a slight back angle. This may have been done to all of them or just my sample. The wood stock was relieved with this backwards draft angle as well. After all the hours with a Dremel my last step was to minimally sand angles that didn’t have back cuts/reverse draft angles. I’m hoping this will help me remove the action.

The last time I tried this was 2006-7 ish and it ended poorly. It was a model 70 in a hogue and I had no tools at all. I thought this would be easier now that I had a garage of tools and space. Plus a lot of years of experience with epoxies just not in molding scenarios. It was still a pain but hopefully this time it comes out better. The last one the action was stuck and afterward the bedding came out with the action. It also was done on an 3rd floor apt patio since we had no garage. It rained sideways and the gun got soaked. I swore off bedding after that.


On the low tang I’m thinking I’ll shave it down and recoat the stock. That is if it turns out ok. Worst case, I will send it off to be rebarreled and have the stock re-bedded to match.
 

gremcat

Twelve Pointer
Plan is to get the bottom metal inletted then I’ll see how clean the barrel channel looks and probably run a few wraps of electric tape on the barrel and bed that with the bottom metal to get a cleaner look/fit. That won’t happen before rifle season so it’ll get rings and a scope for now.

It would have been easier to pickup a stainless model 70 classic magnum and then send this off. Odd to only have 1 bolt centerfire at the moment.
 

gremcat

Twelve Pointer
I threw a washer under the problematic front pillar to figure out where I was rubbing. In hindsight, it wouldn’t have hurt to roughen and bed a washer on each pillar to get the rear tang higher and to not have to hog out so much stock.
 

gremcat

Twelve Pointer
And this may prove to be not worthwhile. Just had a text reminder from our Pastor the Youth have a volunteer day next Sat. That’s the opener. The week after I’m supposed to be off but the likelihood is probably close to zero. Youth event is to help offset the Ocean City trip my Wife and I sponsor so can’t miss it.

Sigh.... someday it’ll be simpler.
 

gremcat

Twelve Pointer
Popped it out this A.M. and definitely not enough Epoxy. So with only a few days to get it ready and inlet/bed the bottom metal then scope and zero I couldn’t wait for a long delivery time of more Marine Tex.
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gremcat

Twelve Pointer
And after all that the front action bedding screw that was sometimes centered shifted back to one side in the pillar. I relieved every high spot so either the pillar is crooked slightly, the screw is bent (swapped it for another same/same), or the action was drilled crooked in ‘53. Regardless, it’s crooked when sitting flush so I’ll have to open it slightly if it rubs with the factory skinnier action screws.

Short lead time meant stopping this afternoon after Youth Group and grabbing JB Weld. Then recoating paste wax on the action and roughing up the last epoxy. I didn’t use Baking Powder as I saw Chad Dixon did to thicken it. I am ok with the slightly lower viscosity and slightly higher shrink factor since the gap is now much less from the Marine Tex.

Every part of my brain is saying “dissimilar epoxies/outgassing, etc.” Might be an epic train wreck in the A.M.
I used denatured alcohol on the last round of cleanup. I’ve read it’ll shrink back but with the recessed tang I’ll have to shave the stock down and re-gel or let Manners do it. I’d rather not have to mill down high spots. Just looking for functional at this point. A84F85BA-EC8D-4F0D-8B0F-3A4DD5C77756.jpeg8E359949-AE88-4435-B871-4AF4BFAD43D3.jpeg48DA4F29-0875-4F6D-8340-B8472EA4239F.jpeg68943368-B351-40C4-AD51-8C14BABA8785.jpeg
 

gremcat

Twelve Pointer
You can see in pic 1 the high side of the stock on the right side of the tang. You’d think that would indicate a cause to the recoil lug screw being crooked but it’s actually opposite. Like the whole action or stock is twisted. If I raise the action up and flush with the stock the front screw would be further into the pillar.

I’ll have to compensate with the bottom metal. My hope is it’s not rotation in the action translating into a slightly crooked scope or windage adjustment for elevation. I’m not sure the machine tolerances in ‘53 would align the top centerline of the bore that close to the action anyway so may be nothing to worry about with factory barrel, etc. I also imagine any material would have a stress factor post molding that would exert a twist or other linear stress post molding. It’s painful to start with things you know aren’t perfect then add in “Bubba” in my garage.

I prefer perfect raw materials and once I “fix” them they are only slightly below average😁
 

gremcat

Twelve Pointer
Just did a quick tape removal, cleaned a lot of the plumbers putty out, etc. I’m trying to get some outside work done while the suns shining but hit a stopping point.
After cleaning up I put the action back in and “gorilla” tightened it. I’ve got a torque wrench floating around but Wife was yelling to me to get cleanup for Parent/Teacher night. It was cured but only just since garage was cold. I brought it in and will let it warm up and finish curing then I’ll cleanup the magazine cut out some and trigger area.

You can see the proud rear screw and recessed tang issue. The front screw seemed a tad short. I’m resting on pillars so?? Undecided on how to resolve but might get some of the gunsmith “float” washers that come in a kit of varying thickness and get the tang up some. I’ll have to skim the front lug again but it has some tiny voids in non impactful areas so I’d like to anyway.

If I had a dial indicator and magnet base I’d try the “Bang Test” to see if there’s a shift. I’ve read even chassis’s show a shift if they take a hard bang to the barrel. The author was a well known Competitor and the discussion was on the new Foundation stock not needing skim bedding. He must get some respect because it’s a pretty strong willed Forum and telling them they are wrong about a stock that costs more than 2x other customs usually ignites tempers.

If anything, my style of hunting is going to be worse than a PRS/Barricade match and impacts are so often I stopped looking at the digs and gouges. When your options are land on your gun or fall off an icey ledge a few thousand feet the gun takes the beating. I’ve hunted rough but this is a new meaning.

I’m a fan of NP3 so if I rebarrel I’ll probably have the action done internally including trigger and firing pin. It’s a pretty awesome sacrificial coating I’ve used in industrial applications with great results.98D72D50-3462-4B8F-B7E4-EE285CF93327.jpeg3BE4F4E1-201A-4E34-8B10-AEC15F147522.jpegA77237FC-9D24-4FD3-8EB9-BEE8A7ECCBEB.jpeg50B918ED-44E8-414B-A507-18DCDCFC6547.jpeg
 

gremcat

Twelve Pointer
Apologies this thread was probably a quarter informative(what not to do), half stream of consciousness, and a quarter other...

My plan once I resolve the tang issue is to coat the epoxy line to match the stock. For the ease of install I’ll throw the Talley rings on for now. Probably the 2.5-8x36 VX3 with M1 though being a long action maybe will stick the VX3 3.5-10x40 on it. When I decide on a permanent scope It’ll help me narrow down the Leupold’s or other rings/Base.

If the eye relief some are worried about proves a non-issue the Schmidt+Bender fixed 6x Doug at Cameraland ordered as an exclusive might be the one. I missed a Klassik with upgraded reticle and turret knob that would have been perfect. 1.5-6x42 FFP. Just like the Kahles I sold with its matching CSX Ill. Twin. Tried buying back the FFP one and the owner has it forever mounted to a safari gun. Will have to wait for the estate sale on that one.
 

gremcat

Twelve Pointer
Couldn’t take it as it was. Today’s Rifle Opener for me anyway. I was up late working on the stock. I’ll be using my Inline today. C69AFA9E-C0D3-46E2-808B-FBB5D4610370.jpegE0FEBF26-18B7-4A3B-9C2F-06FDB7627360.jpeg83A51676-42C4-449F-8B03-2CA7F1E7AEC0.jpeg4171BFBC-EF4A-458E-99FE-87B2E98E8E1C.jpeg
 

gremcat

Twelve Pointer
Shaved down the offending tang, center marked the short rails second hole and drilled it out, cleaned up old putty and rough spots0ECA576D-DCAE-4CE1-88B5-1F60BAABA7FF.jpegBE97BFDC-06CD-4500-9224-249606BB4850.jpeg392F0993-7443-4FA9-BDB4-3B2EFC424503.jpegA1F75195-B611-4388-9C04-388797C87A5E.jpeg
 

gremcat

Twelve Pointer
Realized my planned hardware to bed wasn’t quite right so I ran out in last nights ice storm to get an insert. 10-32 but only had fine thread in brass. Very long threaded stud, Embedded in epoxy ,and with some of the lateral sling tension on the second screw I think it’ll hold. I want to use this rifle to practice positional shooting at some point but need a rail for my LRS (Guy sued a Atlas for borrowing his design)

Timed the sling stud, and the insert had a knurled outside with hour glass shape so I put the large size down and put a small amount of putty on the inner side so the stud could be removed later.


I also wanted to tighten the chamber and barrel area so I found some wide wire marking tape and after wrapping the barrel with thin lab tape to build it up to float I used a few lengths of the single wide tape to provide a smooth barrel channel. The tape was not as pliable as I had hoped so one tiny wrinkle I shaved out and one I flattened.

I also shaved the stock at the ejection port and the bolt handle since neither were a perfect match and at this point why not.

This next part is turning into an experiment of sorts. I found another 1:1 epoxy where most hardware stores sell their adhesives. It’s offered in grey (stronger) or white just like Marinetex. I don’t have the name handy but it was mentioned somewhere as being acceptable. With the barrel channel I wanted something pretty thick or so I thought.

Then cleaned everything with alcohol and two coats of wax again on the gun.
Into the epoxy it went. With the thicker epoxy I had to use the “Power bedding” parts of the bedding screws to pull the barrel down. I’d had a snug fit before on the recoil lug. After a lot of squeeze out I loosened the nut on each screw.

With this epoxy setting time was an hour. I was able to clean up a lot of it and smooth nice edges with Denatured Alcohol. I’m guessing when it finally flashes I might get a little shrink but the Tang should be straight forward to touch up after and even though I cleaned minor squeeze out on the barrel I’m guessing a tiny bit more happened last night so I should be ok.

It’s on my bench in the garage now. It’s cold enough I won’t pop it out this A.M. but will wait until tonight when I’m back from hunting.

I should have verified my scale was working too. I have a few precision lab scales. One that I had a power supply for measures like 10k of a gram do not good. The other is more appropriate but I used it at work and thinkI grabbed the wrong plug when I packed up. I also have the hot plate with magnet stirrers I’ve eyeballed.

Instead I tried a small plastic cup to match volume if not weight. The epoxy was thick like Marinetex but so was the resin gardener. I eventually just used my gloved hands to knead it universal in color. I lost a lot but the jars are large. 7B092494-38C9-4A2C-B49C-50731A84ECB6.jpegCB8A3B15-F6F5-44EC-AE3E-48736F4689E5.jpegB11C08F3-5374-4B50-A3C3-1F1F40ABFC64.jpeg6CD4AC83-3D5A-4BB1-8AFD-D46236B657A8.jpeg
 

gremcat

Twelve Pointer
I also saw a few new machining tools at the local site yesterday. A newer lathe and a horizontal mill I think it’s called. Metal part travels left to right on a stage and cutting wheel is perpendicular to the operator. Between that and the Bridgeport I may clean up the barrel and mag well later. I only saw 1 flat edged cutter but no one was around so I’ll ask the Facility Mang later. If they have a radiused cutting wheel that might work nicely.
 
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