A simple bucket of water of known weight (generally about six pounds) is used to regulate the amount of upward pressure on the barrel.
It's Time For The Bucket
I then take my water bucket in which I have a measured and weighed amount of water. I generally will start off with a total weight of six pounds including the bucket. The bucket is hung from the barrel just ahead of the end of the stock forend. This six-pound weight will be pulling the barrel down, away from the stock. Keep in mind that the total amount of upward pressure will be the weight of the bucket plus the weight of the barrel. The guard screws are then fully tightened. At the same time the pad of glass bedding is setting up forming a solid pillar between the barrel and the stock.
If you don't want to use water, you could use lead shot, sand, or anything else that you find easy to work with.
After the bedding sets up after about 24 hours, I remove the bucket and pull the barreled action from the stock. I normally have to do a bit of cleanup work around my pad of bedding just to make it look nice and uniform. Then it's back to the range for another testing session. More often than not, the results will be a marked improvement over my last shooting session.
Some guns will respond better to more pressure, some work best with less. By using this "water bucket" technique, I can easily vary and control the amount of weight I hang off the barrel. The amount of weight I use to pull down on the barrel when the rifle is upside down will result in an upward pressure on the barrel of approximately the same weight when the bedding is cured and the rifle is right side up. Again, some rifles respond to more upward pressure, some respond best to less pressure. Like developing handloads for your favorite rifle, the process of finding that "best" or optimal amount of upward forearm tip pressure will by necessity require experimentation.
If I find that I must change the amount of upward pressure, it's not at all difficult. If I want to increase the amount of upward pressure, I just roughen up the top surface of the pad, clean it with solvent to remove any trace of release agent, and add a bit more bedding material. I then reposition the rifle upside down with the increased weight on the barrel. If I want to decrease the amount of upward pressure, I will need to cut out the existing pad with my Dremel tool and then apply a bit of bedding. I then reposition the rifle upside down with the lesser amount of weight on the barrel.
Forearm tip pressure is not always the cure to inaccuracy. However, this simple procedure will enable you to accurately adjust the amount of pressure you bring to bear against your barrel with nothing more than a common water bucket!
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