bigcountry

I always lap the rings. Ever since I started, I have yet for rings to slip. And there is no marks whatsoever on my scopes if I take it out. Imagine the torque your putting on rings. The alignment things I don't care about. But if you get lapping on both rings, your in the money.

Be sure to cold blue the inside of the rings after lapping. They will rust if you don't.

bigbulls

This is absolutely incorrect. Lapping the rings can absolutely, with out a doubt get some rings to align properly that were once out of alignment and will not align properly on their own. If you guys don't believe this then you haven't mounted enough scopes.

Leupold rings and bases are very very very bad for needing to be lapped to get a perfectly aligned set of rings.

It is also very easy to get the bases out of alignment from each other. There is a significant amount of play between the screw holes in the bases and the screw heads.

This is why I will now only use Game Reaper mounts on any rifle I purchase in the future. They are 1 piece from top to bottom CNC machined from solid heat treated 6061 aluminum bar stock.


http://dnzproducts.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=4

SWThomas

Actually it does. That's why the lapping compound and lapping bar come in a kit called a "Scope Alignment Kit". It does smooth out the surfaces but it will also remove some material and align the rings. Hence, the use of the two pointed alignment bars. I slowly watched my rings come into alignment through several sessions of lapping.

DeerandbearhoG

I dont know what kit you have SW, but if its the wheeler brand from midway, its called "scope alignment AND LAPPING kit" which sounds like two different purposes to me. The SA "tool" (the 2 pointed bars) are what you use to line up the rings ,either by turning them, in the case of turn in mounts, or adjusting the windage screws and mounting screws. I still dont see how you could take off enough metal w/ such a fine grit lapping compound, to change the alignment of your rings, especially if it was as off as you say. Im not a gunsmith but Ive always read the reason for lapping was to smooth out the inside surface of the rings to prevent slipping w/ heavier caliber guns.

Centaur 1

I'm a tool and die maker who worked for Knight Armament Company, so I do understand a little about how this works. There is a significant amount of clearance in the screw holes in bases. You are correct that the holes that are drrilled in a guns receiver are in line with the bore, buuuut. You have to remember that with any machining there is no such thing as perfect, the hole locations are given a tolerance. When the bases are first designed, the person who designs them has to take into account the maximum possible spread in the tapped hole locations that come from the gun manufacturer. He also has to take into account that his machinists also need a little bit of leeway with the hole locations in the bases. In order to guarantee that the bases will fit every gun that was ever made, sometime across several models from the same manufacturer, the holes have to be made large enough to compensate for the variations in hole spacing. This is where a one piece weaver or picatinny rail has the advantage, the rings will always line up.

Rebel Hog

I use a Scope Ring alignment tool and serves as a lapping tool also.....If you don't check for alignment, it will Tweak the scope!

SWThomas

I have the Wheeler kit for 1" rings. I don't know what to say. I checked them initially and they were misaligned. I lapped then several times, checking for alignment in between lapping sessions, and they came into alignment. I get the 220 grit compound is a little more course than some give it credit for. Each time I re-checked alignment I could see the difference it was making in the inside of the rings. I could see where it was wearing on one edge more than the other. I pretty much had to lap them until the whole inner surface of the rings showed wear. Then the points lined up.

CAM2

i recently bought the wheeler kit as well. and i wish that i would have bought something like it years ago. i will use it from now on. after i bought the kit i installed a new scope on my A-bolt using the Talley two piece bases. after i installed the bases i checked them with the alignment bars, and the alignment was slightly off. so i followed the directions and lapped the bases and rings. afterwards the alignment bars were right on. plus, during the lapping process i noticed that i was gaining mounting surface for the scope, rings, and bases. which as you all know will help to keep the scope from shifting during recoil. another thing i wished i would have had for years is the torque wrench (screw driver). i'm very particular when it comes to torqueing nuts, bolts, and screws when i work on my motorcyle and ATVs. even if the actual torque force from my torque wrenches aren't exactly the same as a factory torque wrench, atleast the force is even among the given fasteners i'm torqueing. like the 8 ring mounting screws in a scope mounting kit.

PaJack

I've been lapping scope rings for years,thats the first thing I do when I mount a new scope/ring combo...

bigcountry

I am not a believer in the alignment bars. Even though the tips touch, doesn't mean they are aligned. Think about it this way. If you have 2piece bases, you can make the tips touch and not be aligned. One ring could be at a 45 degree angle, and another at a 135 (same angle but opposite).

How I found out was I used my alignment kit then I lapped, but found I was removing one side of the rings on one ring a lot and the opposite side on the other.