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What Is Glass Bedding?

Glass bedding is an expoxy or resin applied to rifle stocks in order to either act as a sealant for exposed wood or to give the rifle's action full contact with the stock so it will not move or slide around in the stock, which can negatively affect the accuracy of the rifle.

The History of Glass Bedding
- Glass bedding was not an option for correcting the accuracy of rifles until epoxy resins became available in the 1960s. Prior to that, it was common to use a metal bedding block behind the recoil lug to stabilize the rifle's action.
The Bedding Compound
- Glass bedding is usually a two-part epoxy that can be mixed together in a plastic cup or other small container using a craft stick or other stirring tool. The bedding compound comes in black, brown or clear, and its consistency is usually described as a gel, syrup or putty. There are several glass bedding products, such as Acraglas, Glasbed, Steelbed, DevCon Plastic Steel and Travaco Marine-Tex, available online and from firearm retailers.
Applying Glass Bedding
- Steve Felgenhauer, a contributor to the OutdoorSite Library, notes that "Glass bedding does not, nor should it be, a replacement or fix for shoddy inletting.... Glass should be a thin coating of epoxy, not an epoxy stock." He also warns to avoid letting the bedding compound seep into any nooks or crannies of the action because once it seals it is extremely difficult to remove without damaging the stock or receiver.

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