Bedding or Lapping Scope Rings

M

max.burgess

Guest
I'm new to this hi tech stuff. I was looking through Tony's book and saw how he beds scope rings. Id like to know everyone else does it? Do you Lapp or bed? Do you Lapp the bottom & tops or just the bottom . Thanks Max
 
Good question Max.
I am anxious to see what others are doing and why.
I am not doing any of it yet.
I am thinking of going the frozen scope route with adjustable rings.
 
I don't bother...

On my hunting rifle I use the Burris Signature rings with the plastic inserts that eliminate scope marking and provide an even tension around the scope tube. They are inexpensive and easy to adjust for long range shooting if that's your thing.

On my benchrest rifle I use the Kelbley rings which require no bedding or lapping.

Virg
 
Kelbly or custom rings on top of a custom action, should not need to lap. I put a set of 20moa rings on top of my Panda light 1k gun and I did lap them since distance between rings has to be a certain distance. Lapping guaranteed perfect alignment.
 
Scope finishes can be very delicate. For that reason I take the time to lap all the rings that I use and spend some time breaking the inside corners and edges at the parting line with a coarse diamond hone or a fine file. As to the perfection of any ring, I have found that even if rings start out as perfect, that some distortion can take place when they are tightened on their bases. for this reason, I lap everything.

Years ago, I did my first ring bedding job, because it looked like it was going to take forever to lap a pair of Ruger (steel) rings. I used a small, hardware store plastic steel epoxy kit, and because I was too timid to risk my one and only decent scope, I waxed up the piece of 1" cold rolled that I was using for a lapping bar, and bedded that. Luckily, it worked just fine.

Speedy once told me that he laps to about 50% contact, and then beds. He uses some
exotic stuff to bed rings. I think that the last color picture that I saw showed a light purple color inside a pair of rings that he had done. Does anyone remember the name of the material?

A little tip...In the past, I have used various things (alcohol, liquid cleaners etc.) to remove lapping residue from rings. Recently, I have used light gun oil. It seems to work better.
 
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And if you follow Boyd's tip, follow it with a patch or paper towel with rubbing alcohol...
 
One word, Kokopelli

Kokopelli

Kokopelli kokopelli

kokopellikokopellikokopelli

It's all you need to know, fellah got it RIGHT.

ALL other brands are a fraud, refusing to pay the man for his patent. Other tools have pointy things and sliding sleevy things and slots and wheezes of all sorts BUT THEY DON'T WORK..... They all suck, especially the one which advises "these tools can also be used backwards"

Just GET'chersome and you'll understand your question. AND have the answer.

And you'll find that "straight" bases and rings is a friggin' JOKE!

They gener'ly need fixin'

fix em'

al
 
BTW, Boyd's much more patient than I'm....... I hose the gunk off with Brake-Kleen

vicious

al
 
i leave the rings sharp i dont care about marks but i dont want movement,the sharp edges must grab better??surely.I dont lap either measure your tube chances are there not round .thats why they bed them.just my take one it.watch the flags
 
I want to thank everyone for posting how they do it . If any one else has the time Id like to know how you do it.
Thanks Max
 
Keep in mind, if a ring was machined to the correct diameter to begin with, and you lap it, it is no longer the correct diameter. The reason it all works is because it all sort of flexes into the right alignment.

Most Benchrest Scope tubes are quite flimsy. They are also not that straight. If you do bed them, you should use the scope, not a bedding mandrel. That would be the same as bedding an action with a mandrel and expecting the action to fit it perfect........jackie
 
Many scopes have one of the tubes threaded into the turret housing and they are not always perfectly true. Some one
piece tubes are also not true. Have also seen scopes where the forward and rear tubes were not the same Dia. Makes
sense bedding them, as few things grip better than a perfect fit.
 
Guys:)
I am thinking of giving this a try and having read Tony's book on the subject ,which is very well explained,i think i didn't get the part where one comes to the actual beding of the scope ,you have to coat the scope with some kind of release agent then do the beding ,when done and harden one take's off the scope cleans up everything then you put back on,am i correct about this?
 
I have been bedding scopes for a number of years, and quite pleased with the results. I think I have done about 50 jobs like that. Nothing holds a scope better than being bedded, and you don't need to crank down on the screws to keep them from moving.

YES..! coat the scope with release agent.

A few years back I did a piece about this in either SCN or PS, I can't remember. Anyhow, don't forget to tape off all the areas around the ring.

Let the bedding dry overnight, pop the scope off, and use an x-acto or file to clean up the edges, and replace the scope.

I like to bed the scope in as close to the exact position it will be in when i shoot the rifle. Also, shoot the rifle first and make sure you don't have any issues with ring / base alignment.

For bedding agent - I use Pro Bed 2000. I think it's better than Devcon and just about anything else. With the Pro Bed kit, use the fumed silica to mix with the epoxy to a consistency of peanut butter. This way is tends to flow very slowly and lets you make the numerous and quick adjustments for scope position.

photo3.jpg


s.
 
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Steve B. :)thanks for your reply,i would like very much if you could post that article on this forum.
 
Remy,

I lost it when my old computer crashed. I never made a backup of those old articles. If I can find a hard copy, I will make a photo copy and mail it to you if you like.

s.
 
Tenring, Kelbly rings are as good as it gets. Given an action with dovetail machined as a unit great. When you put them on
anything without a machine in rail, it can get different. I don't think a Remy has been made yet where the rear bridge agrees
with their blueprints.
The best rings around won't get you there when things are out of line and lapping
thin rings is not good
 
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G'day

Lapping rings has always been a mystery to me.I understand the reason for doing it, but to remove material from a perfectly round hole so that the scope can lie straight doesn't make sense to me because the rings are no longer round, and so must not be making full contact with the scope???
About 4 years ago I bought a .222 rifle for my son second hand.It came with a Leupold scope .When we tried to get it shooting straight we had all sorts of problems, and I realised why the reason the previous owner had got rid of it.
In desperation I removed the scope and rings and replaced them with another Leupold scope and Burris signature rings(the ones with the plastic inserts) off one of my rifles.
I can't say that it became a 1/2 inch rifle, but with some load development we got it shooting under an inch at 100 yrds.
So the scope must be the problem I reasoned.
We replaced his old scope with another one but used his old mounts.We were back to where we started.
After alot of time I realised that the Weaver type bases on the rifle were not straight.Off they came and although I can't prove it (my equipment for measuring such things is not accurate enough) I came to the conclusion that the screw holes were not in line.
I remounted the old bases and using my Burris signature rings with his original scope went to the range.
Success at last.
Those burris rings with their plastic inserts must have allowed the scope to lay straight and taken out any of the twist the bases were creating.
Since that day all off my hunting rifles and my sons wear Burris rings.
All of these rifles are sporting guns,and not target rifles, but I learnt that the scope to ring relationship is very important and is someting that is often overlooked

Thankyou for your time

harro
 
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