Will,
There is no one right answer all the time. Here are things that must be considered:
1. Type of wood
2. Condition of wood. IOW, if the wood is oil/grease soaked, rotten, punky, etc., you need to cut that wood out.
3. Where on the stock are you planning on bedding?
4. What kind of pressure is put on the bedding material? Bedding around a breech takes more beating than further up the barrel.
5. On muzzle loading guns, most of us try to hide the fact when we have to use glass bedding. So one doesn't want to cut the wood close to the surface of the stock that will show.
Perhaps it would be better for you to explain what you are thinking of doing and then we can give the best answers.
Gus
