How do you guys lap scope rings?

Gunneegoogoo said:
I'd just spend your money on some rings that don't need lapping.

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This, they can actually return to zero too. I took off a scope from my AR-15 put it on my 22 and then back onto my AR today. All I did was retorque to 55 in.lbs and turn turrets back to zero, and it was bang on.
 
cody c said:
I believe P&D in Edmonton still sells a kit, I have a 30mm bar but no 1" or I'd offer to help.
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I have the wheeler kit that has 1" and 30mm.

To be honest, now that I think about it, I think it's now for sale given that all I'll be using from now on is NEAR/SPUHR on boomers, and ATRS on everything else.
 
Keithjohn said:
Hi, I'm in a bind , I have a beautiful old 658 tikka with the tikka rings and can't get it close to zero (12-14" low ) it is taped but has metric 3.5x5 screws that I can't find anywhere . So I'm thinking of lapping the rings with a straight rod and Emory cloth

Can anyone point me to the right screws for this thing ? I wouldn't mind better rings

How do you spell binde/bind /
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May as well have at your rings with an angle grinder. It will be a faster way to the same end results, thus getting you to a solution sooner.

You apparently have not too much of a clue about lapping, or why it gets done. It is used when required, to make the rings perfectly round, and in alignment, by removing only the minimum amount of material.
It is not going to solve your problems, and from the sounds of things, as you seem to wish to do, is more like to simply make a bad situation worse.

Cut straight to the chase. Phone Prophet River and have a chat about which rings to buy. Check your scope out too. If it is bent, or internally damaged, nothing you do to the rings is gonna help at all.
To check that the scope is not bent, set it in vee blocks or a set of scope rings clamped in a vise or otherwise rigidly mounted, and set it up so you can sight through it out at a target of some sort. Rotate the scope as you look through it. Does the view remain straight ahead or start to hula around? You can use the same setup to centre up the crosshairs. Keep flipping the scope 180 degrees, and watching where the crosshair centre rests, adjust the two knobs until the crosshair stays in the same place as the scope is rotated in the vee block or mounts.
If Prophet River cannot supply the correct screws, try the model hobby shops in Edmonton that cater to the radio control set. Lots of small metric screws in drones, radio control cars, and the like. Two names I know are Hobby Lobby, and Great Hobbies. Worth checking out their sites.

Cheers
Trev
 
Come to think of it, if you have no screws, how are you able to shoot it and determine that it is 14 inches high?

Not trying to stir the pot...
 
sir_springer said:
Without trying to sound like a commercial...

Switch to Burris Signature rings, and forget about lapping...or torquing the scope tube, or leaving ghastly ring marks on your expensive scope!

Watch this vid, it explains a lot...


I'll give you an example, having worked is a sport shop and installed my share of scopes, and solved some serious problems along the way.

Older rifles are notorious for misalignment of drilling for scope bases, particularly Enfields, and the like, but lots also right out of the factory. Had one rifle, a 1917 Enfield, lots of work done to it and looked pretty decent. Wanted his old scope and rings off his current hunter mounted to it. I could tell there was going to be issues...whomever drilled and tapped it for bases did a horrible job. Of course, when I installed Weaver bases and then the rest of the gear, the scope was very visibly pointing in a different direction from the barrel! With the scope zeroed, a bore sight tool indicated right off the chart low and a foot to the left. No amount of internal adjustment was ever going to compensate for that...and as the video above demonstrates, over adjustment will bugger up the erector and lens alignment.

Solution: Signature rings. I used +20 in the 7:30 position with -20 in the 2:30 position on the front ring. And the exact opposite on the rear, +20 in the 2:30 position, and -20 in the 7:30. Set the scope into place with caps, properly torqued, and it was now in essentially in spot on alignment with the rifle. I made up the difference of a couple inches from the left and low to zero the scope.

Problem solved! No ridiculous shimming, no patching the action and re-drilling for bases, all for the price of a set of rings and a few offset shims, and about half an hour of my time. Solidly mounted and ready for sight in at the range.

I've seen brand new scopes, not just marked up, but literally crushed by a very popular make of rings. Would never happen with Signature rings.

I've seen new scopes so bound up by being bent when forced into misaligned rings, that the erector tube jammed enough it wouldn't move. Again, ain't gonna happen with Signature rings! The inserts automatically aligns the scope with the rings. Whether the rings/bases themselves are aligned with the rifle is another matter...see above!

I've taken scopes off of my rifles that have been in place for years, without even a hint of a ring mark to show for it!

Another instance: Dovetail rings with windage adjustment on the rear base - trouble just looking for a place to happen. Head to the range, the gun is shooting 10" to the right. Use the rear windage adjustment to move the scope. There is no way in hell the front ring that was twisted and locked into place with a tool and considerable effort is going to pivot when the rear is moved like that! You've just torqued the hell out of the scope tube, if not permanently bent it...and put pressure on the internal erector tube, and thrown the internal lenses out of alignment. However, with Signature dovetail rings, the first thing to do before adjusting windage is slightly loosen the screws on the front ring caps, which then allows the scope to pivot freely and maintain alignment with the rear rings. Adjust and then retighten the front caps. Piece of cake, and it works!

I swear, nothing but Burris rings go on my rifles and expensive scopes! All the rest are effectively the Model Ts of the scope mounting biz. Lapping is yesterday's solution to an ages old problem...and a poor one at that, IMHO. I've taken apart lapped rings that were well spotted with rust up against the aluminum scope tube...not good!

And the next scope that moves from recoil on my rifles will be the first!
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Well put. But then again, I've never damaged a scope, nor had it shift position using good old polish blue Weaver rings. The matte finish ones can mark a scope whilst aligning if one ain't careful.
 
Gunneegoogoo said:
I'd just spend your money on some rings that don't need lapping.

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Precisely made rings are easy to find. Getting those precise rings to land square on a rail that may or may not be perfect that you can flex in your fingers, that is screwed on in a bend to fit fashion to a reciever that is probably isn't straight either is the problem. We live in a plus or minus world, and you can't fix that with a set of perfect rings. You might be able to align it with some crooked the right way rings. :)
 
Dogleg said:
Precisely made rings are easy to find. Getting those precise rings to land square on a rail that may or may not be perfect that you can flex in your fingers, that is screwed on in a bend to fit fashion to a reciever that is probably isn't straight either is the problem. We live in a plus or minus world, and you can't fix that with a set of perfect rings. You might be able to align it with some crooked the right way rings. :)
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Exactly!

When installing a dovetail ring set, the front ring has to be turned into place so that it is precisely 90 degrees to the base, which ultimately is done by eyeballing it; there's no tool I know of to do this properly. Next, you set the rear windage adjustable ring in place and set by tightening the adjustment screws. There's no getting around the fact that this is basically a random positioning at best! You can visually center it to the base as much as you are able, but realistically alignment with the front ring is haphazard guesswork. Then the solution to this is to grind out the inside of the two rings in an attempt to eliminate the imperfection in alignment just created...in the process, eliminating the coating on the ring that in the first place is there to protect the aluminum scope tube from contact with a steel ring specifically because aluminum and steel don't get along with each other at the molecular level!

On the other hand, with Signature rings, install the front ring into place as close as possible to 90 degrees with the base, set the rear ring as close as possible to center of the base, drop in the inserts, set the scope in place, set the top inserts in place, and install the caps. Zero metal to metal contact, instantly aligned with each other, and zero stress on the scope tube. Proceed to the range for sight in, and follow procedure mentioned above to bring the scope into alignment with the rifle, and thus the target! Almost impossible to go wrong!

Same basic principle applies to Weaver bases or a rail. Regardless of imperfections manufactured in, the pivoting inserts automatically correct for about as perfect alignment as is conceivable! And without damaging a very expensive scope in any way!

Pure genius, IMHO! All rings should be made this way!

I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that at least half of warranties given by scope manufacturers stem from misalignment of rings, either manufactured in ( if not from poor design ) or inflicted by improper installation.
 
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