Why not lap the tops too?
Lapping Scope Rings
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Why not lap the tops too?
Zak Smith
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Several reasons in combination: they are somewhat self-aligning; the ones I use are not fully rigid; and it's a lot harder to do, and harder to keep them straight while lapping.
I've mounted scopes both ways. Careful lapping has improved contact surface. I lap to remove undue and uneven pressure on the scope tube.
But I've not lapped and seemed like everything worked pretty well both ways. I think the key is to just pay attention to detail and become familiar with the things you are working with.
But I've not lapped and seemed like everything worked pretty well both ways. I think the key is to just pay attention to detail and become familiar with the things you are working with.
zak, because whether you push down or a little left or a little right as you are moving the bar back and forth can't be consistently done. it's likely you will remove more material from one side or the other regardless of alignment.
think of it this way: would 1 stroke be sufficient? no? would the scope fit perfectly after 10,000 strokes? how do you know if you need 30 strokes or 50? does it matter? with every pass you're still removing material from the rings. it's not like it magically stops removing material when they become perfectly round and smooth and aligned. you can easily keep removing material past that point where they become no longer perfectly round and aligned.
it's an art. with a hand tool.
think of it this way: would 1 stroke be sufficient? no? would the scope fit perfectly after 10,000 strokes? how do you know if you need 30 strokes or 50? does it matter? with every pass you're still removing material from the rings. it's not like it magically stops removing material when they become perfectly round and smooth and aligned. you can easily keep removing material past that point where they become no longer perfectly round and aligned.
it's an art. with a hand tool.
bgr2014
Member
Boy did I get everyone thinking with this question!! Got my Warne bases today got them mounted but didn't use my Warne rings, but checked them they didn't need to be lapped. Used the Burris Signature Zee rings that were already on the scope, which have the pivoting inner inserts and they self align. Now back to the range to get it sighted in. Some of you may not be familar with the Zee rings, you can get the inserts to lower the front and raise the rear or vise-versa of the scope, for long range shooting or position it any where you want, wish I had known about them before I spent the money for the 20 moa base I've been using. They come with + and - 5, 10 and 15 inserts, don't know if the numbers relate to m.o.a. or not.
You lap until the alignment bars that come with the kit line up when everything is torqued to spec. If you are lapping without alignment bars then you are doing it blindly. Lap a little, check alignment, repeat as necessary till alignment is achieved. It's irrelevant as to how many strokes it takes you. And yes, you will be removing more material from one side then the other. That's the point because the whole reason you are doing this is to correct rings that are not true. Once again you need alignment bars to do this, so if you aren't using them you can't really know whether your scope is true or not. I really think most people who are saying their rings are true haven't checked them with quality alignment bars. Whether or not it matters for everyone's shooting purposes is obviously debatable.
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I'm very surprised at some of the responses in this thread. I check every set of rings with alignment bars before mounting a scope and lap as necessary. I install one-piece mounts or two-piece rings and torque the mounting screws to the required specification. I then use alignment bars to see if the rings are out of alignment. If the rings are off either horizontally or vertically, the bearing surface between the scope tube and the rings is at an absolute minimum. That means you'll have a lot of force over a small area which can result in a damaged scope tube and an increased chance of scope movement under recoil. I want the absolute maximum ring to tube contact to support the scope, decrease the psi on the tube and increase the friction between the tube and rings. Here's an example of a set of rings that was out of alignment before lapping but nicely aligned after lapping. The rings are Leupold Mark 4 30mm steel rings mounted to Leupold Mark 4 steel Picatinny bases on a Remington receiver.
Like Zak, I lap the lower rings first so that they're very close to being aligned, but I then fit the upper rings and lap those as well to complete the process.
Side view - before (top), after (bottom):
Top view - before (top), after (bottom):
Like Zak, I lap the lower rings first so that they're very close to being aligned, but I then fit the upper rings and lap those as well to complete the process.
Side view - before (top), after (bottom):
Top view - before (top), after (bottom):
Zak Smith
Member
Nah, there's no play in my lapping bar setup. I can go as much as I want provided the rings halves don't meet before the scope is tight.
Zak Smith said:
And even if they do meet, it'd be no big deal to run the ring flats over a file/paper to open the gap up a little. I've done that on a set of Talley rings that were installed on a defective Savage receiver. The rings needed so much lapping that the rear ring halves closed up before the rings were aligned. It was an easy fix though.
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