Pilliar bedding!

[rexxer]

I'm taking my Savage apart for the first time and trying to understand all this bedding stuff. Is the Savage a true pilliar bedded rifle? My pilliars look to be under the wood line,maybe .010 of an inch. If this is true the action is resting on the wood instead of the pilliars. Thanks Rex

[youp50]

I think you have discovered that any factory rifle with pillars in the factory stock is not 'pillar bedded'

[rexxer]

It seems to me that if 1/8-3/16 of an inch was taken off the wood,glass bedded while on the pilliars that the third pilliar really wouldn't be needed. Am I thinking wrong here? Thanks Rex

[Chris Champion]

Rex,

The 3rd pillar is really only used so the action doesn't have to be loosened up to remove the bolt. With the 3rd pillar, when you loosen the screw that also retains the bolt you still have two screws holding the action in place.

[Deleted]

Rex, my current stock has the extra pillar but I have bedded several without and they all shoot very well, like chris said the extra pillars purpose is not having to retorque the back screw every time the bolt comes out....Bill

[mike3132]

The third pillar was added to keep the rifle from changing POI. Some people reported their rifles POI changed when they took out the bolt which loosen up the action. With the third pillar the action stayed tight when removing the bolt.

I personally never had any trouble with POI shifting but my guns are all bedded. Mike

[rexxer]

I can see why an unbedded action could use the third pilliar,but to my way of thinking the third pilliar is not needed if the action is properly bedded. I'm no way an expert here,just thinking out loud! If the third pilliar is added,how far forward of the action screw? thanks Rexxer

[smokeeter]

Jan 18, 2009 19:28:20 GMT -5 rexxer said:

I can see why an unbedded action could use the third pilliar,but to my way of thinking the third pilliar is not needed if the action is properly bedded. I'm no way an expert here,just thinking out loud! If the third pilliar is added,how far forward of the action screw? thanks Rexxer

7/8"-1" ahead of the rear screw.

[jims]

I have two Savages with the third pillar and three stocks for the same, mine are all bedded one inch ahead. It was just "easier" than using 7/8 inch as some had suggested. Either should put you in the ball park though.
Actually the one was a laminate stock I bought used with the third pillar already added and by coincidence it was just at one inch and interchanged perfectly with my first action. Just lucky I guess.

[petev]

rexxer there are excellent posts in the tips and hints section on this. With a good bedding, but no third screw on my rifle the POI remains the same at the 75 yds. I sight it in at. I suspect that the bedding material is basically non-compressible when retorqueing the action, so it ends up the same as it was. Just my opinion

[youp50]

IMO pillar bedding should perform two functions. The first is to provide a non- compressible point to connect the stock to the action. The other is to remove all strain from misalignment of the stock to the action.

What is passed as pillar bedding in a stock rifle (not rifle stock) should perform the first function easily. It would appear yours does not. Cnc machining can greatly decrease tolerances. That does not mean they are zero. Most rifles coming down the assembly line will be just fine, provided you very carefully torque the action screws.

IMO. A proper pillar bed job consists of pillars that are fit to the action and the screw countersink angle. These pillars are then set into the stock using the same bedding compound that you used to bed the action. When done this way there is no strain on the barrelled action from the stock. Wood stocks need to be sealed to try and prevent them 'coming and going with the weather'. Laminate stocks are known to be less affected by the weather. Synthetic stocks are affected even less.