There has been a lot of posts recently about member's wanting to shoot farther distances. Trigger work and glass bedding of the action are modifications that are done to maximize the performance of your rifle. I had a glass bed job to do today and used it to for this post. The "glass" bedding term refers to fiberglass, and I use a two-piece epoxy resin.
Below is a stock Remington PSS stock.
The first step is to determine where in the stock you want to stop your glass. Using painters tape put a strip on the stock then lay the barreled action in the stock. Line the tape up on the barrel to match the tape on the stock. Then wrap tape around the barrel this will create a dam that the glass won't pass. It also centers up the barrel in the stock.
Once the dam is made use more painters tape to cover the stock in the action area. This is to prevent epoxy from getting onto the stock.
I use a 3 ounce jiggers cup, intended for bartending, to mix my epoxy. Each job is different so different amounts will be needed. After doing 10 or so stocks you get an eye for home much product to use. I also add dye into the epoxy to match the color of the stock.
One note use a release agent on the action or you will just glue your action to the stock, which is BAD.
The whole purpose of glass bedding the action is to rid the action of any pressure points that may be in the stock. You are basically making a mold of the barreled action. I use surgical tubing to bind the action into the stock. When you push the action into the stock you should get the excess epoxy to squeeze up out of the stock.
Once the barreled action is set in the stock and secured with the surgical tubing I mark the stock with the time. After an hour check back on the epoxy to see how hard it is. Once you can press your fingernail into the epoxy and it leaves a small crease it's hard enough to remove the action and trim the excess epoxy. If you wait to long the epoxy becomes very hard and is difficult to trim.
Trim the excess using a razor knife and carefully using the stock as a guide trim it flush with the stock. Once the excess is trimmed put the action back in secure with the tubing and wait another 24 hours for the epoxy to fully cure. After 24 hours you can do some fine tuning on the glass to get a good uniform fit. Also install the bottom metal and bolt together and check to see if you missed any excess epoxy.
When choosing a rifle some inexpensive rifles use plastic stocks. These stocks are unable to glass bed. So when choosing your next rifle maybe select the wood or laminate stock so you can glass bed the action in the future. Why choose an inexpensive rifle that when your skills improve you have to purchase a new stock? It is not uncommon for some stocks to cost $300 or more.
I didn't really mention stocks with aluminum bedding blocks or pillar bedding. This PSS stock has the aluminum bedding block.
The aluminum adds strength to the stock. It covers the whole area of the action. Pillar bedding is when you bore the action holes larger to fit a 1/2 column of aluminum. The pillar gives the action screw more support.