Scope Ring Lapping

[KaramojoBell]

Does anyone 'Lap' their rings before mounting a scope? I've heard the merits of doing this, such as greater contact with surface area and preventing damage to tube finish etc but in the real world how much practical use is it? In precision shooting does it make a real difference to accuracy?
Could a two-piece setup of around £50 be expected to be of sufficient factory quality for 'Lapping' to be of marginal advantage at best?
Also is it worth buying a kit to do this or can you manufacture it yourself or just take to a gunsmith offering this service?

 

[levigsp]

I always lap my rings have done so for a very long time.
9" length of bright steel bar the right diameter, with a handle attached at one end so it resembles the bold of a gun. Lapping paste and a few minutes work and its worth it no matter the cost of rings or scope.

 

[cjm1066]

BSA Hunter with steel mounts, they weren't perfectly aligned, used a knacked airgun scope as my lapping tool and some valve grinding paste.

Leopold scope has no ring marks after 20 years.

 

[Tim.243]

Does anyone 'Lap' their rings before mounting a scope? I've heard the merits of doing this, such as greater contact with surface area and preventing damage to tube finish etc but in the real world how much practical use is it? In precision shooting does it make a real difference to accuracy?
Could a two-piece setup of around £50 be expected to be of sufficient factory quality for 'Lapping' to be of marginal advantage at best?
Also is it worth buying a kit to do this or can you manufacture it yourself or just take to a gunsmith offering this service?

what do you want to achieve from this as if you are not versed in lapping fine fitting then you will get in a mess.

A piece of stock en8 in 30m for 30mm rings with a bar welded on the end will do.

 

[Tim.243]

I always lap my rings have done so for a very long time.
9" length of bright steel bar the right diameter, with a handle attached at one end so it resembles the bold of a gun. Lapping paste and a few minutes work and its worth it no matter the cost of rings or scope.

You should put some pictures up as people will benefit from it.

 

[KaramojoBell]

what do you want to achieve from this as if you are not versed in lapping fine fitting then you will get in a mess.

A piece of stock en8 in 30m for 30mm rings with a bar welded on the end will do.

Up until a couple of weeks ago I had never even heard the term, so I couldn't begin to describe myself as 'well versed' in the subject. Although if it's as simple a case as just placing a length of metal bar with another welded 90 degrees to it and rotating it a couple of times is it really going to make a significant difference?
My intention is just to mount a new scope to my rifle and I want to do it as methodically as possible, lapping is just another process to add 'if' it was to make difference.
Since the majority of my shooting is at 100-200 yds a 1 inch group is ideal, if I can achieve this or something close and if lapping would assist this.

 

[Haggis Hunter]

Have never lapped a set of scope rings but have marked scopes back in the day when overly enthusiastically fitting some scopes - the joys of youth. Now tend to use Optilok or Burris Signature Zee rings as they have plastic inserts inside the rings which I find protects the scope.
hh

 

[Tim.243]

Up until a couple of weeks ago I had never even heard the term, so I couldn't begin to describe myself as 'well versed' in the subject. Although if it's as simple a case as just placing a length of metal bar with another welded 90 degrees to it and rotating it a couple of times is it really going to make a significant difference?
My intention is just to mount a new scope to my rifle and I want to do it as methodically as possible, lapping is just another process to add 'if' it was to make difference.
Since the majority of my shooting is at 100-200 yds a 1 inch group is ideal, if I can achieve this or something close and if lapping would assist this.

Once you take material out you can't put it back, being a toolmaker since 77 this sort of stuff is every day part and parcel of setting up jobs, getting out of trouble,
What I had was a 30mm length of bar which I locked the rings to so they were finger tight then put them on the rail and did the whole process over so at least the whole lot was tightened to one axis.
That bit of bar has been used on jobs and is long gone but for me to get a new piece is a 5min drive to a work shop I sub to turning parts.
When I quoted "getting out of trouble" Sometimes you need to think out of the box.
No lapping bars were harmed lol


People over think stuff, just set the gun up and shoot it...

 

[User00040]

Up until a couple of weeks ago I had never even heard the term, so I couldn't begin to describe myself as 'well versed' in the subject. Although if it's as simple a case as just placing a length of metal bar with another welded 90 degrees to it and rotating it a couple of times is it really going to make a significant difference?
My intention is just to mount a new scope to my rifle and I want to do it as methodically as possible, lapping is just another process to add 'if' it was to make difference.
Since the majority of my shooting is at 100-200 yds a 1 inch group is ideal, if I can achieve this or something close and if lapping would assist this.

Good way to ruin a good set of mounts.

If you spend money on Spuhr or Recknagel mounts and bases, you'll never need to worry about this, might be worth considering if you bought a set of Chinesium £8.99 rings off eBay but even then the supplies to perform this operation will cost more than the cheapie mounts...

 

[DavyG]

Good way to ruin a good set of mounts.

If you spend money on Spuhr or Recknagel mounts and bases, you'll never need to worry about this, might be worth considering if you bought a set of Chinesium £8.99 rings off eBay but even then the supplies to perform this operation will cost more than the cheapie mounts...

In addition to the above…I have seen many so called “lapped” rings which would have been better either left alone or removed and put in the bin, after “lapping” with a wooden dowel or electrical conduit.
DG

 

[HandB]

I have one of these Wheeler scope mounting kits Wheeler Scope Mounting Kit for 1 inch & 30mm Scopes

It includes lapping bars which I have used on cheap Hawke Picatinny steel scope rings so they don't mar the scope finish. But what I find more useful is the scope ring alignment bars (the pointy bars). I use these every time I mount a scope as these show you whether the two scope rings are in register with each other. If they are not I reverse the rings to try and get a better alignment.

 

[levigsp]

Good way to ruin a good set of mounts.

If you spend money on Spuhr or Recknagel mounts and bases, you'll never need to worry about this, might be worth considering if you bought a set of Chinesium £8.99 rings off eBay but even then the supplies to perform this operation will cost more than the cheapie mounts...

how wrong you are. Buy the best rings on the market, the cheapest or most expensive. Put them on any gun you like, any mounting system.
Remove the top half of rings get a straight bar the right size, eg 25/30mm etc, put engineer blue inside the rings, drop the bar in carefully and slide it back and forth and remove. You will be left in no doubt as to how far out of true they are. I have checked hundreds of rings over the years, never found a mounted set that were true to each other and that includes mono based sets.
Does it effect how the scope works, not in 99.9% of cases, but it does mark scopes and occasionally allow them to move.

 

[User00040]

how wrong you are. Buy the best rings on the market, the cheapest or most expensive. Put them on any gun you like, any mounting system.
Remove the top half of rings get a straight bar the right size, eg 25/30mm etc, put engineer blue inside the rings, drop the bar in carefully and slide it back and forth and remove. You will be left in no doubt as to how far out of true they are. I have checked hundreds of rings over the years, never found a mounted set that were true to each other and that includes mono based sets.
Does it effect how the scope works, not in 99.9% of cases, but it does mark scopes and occasionally allow them to move.

I'm sure you measuring method and tools are accurate beyond the spec that CNC/5 Axis machines can produce...

How straight is that bar? A question usually asked when in Brighton

You could be right in the fact that bases (whether integral to the receiver or bolted on) are not always in spec, but I'd rather keep things standard and return to the supplier if they cause problems instead of employing a botch-job fix which will invalidate any warranty.

 

[243ack]

I'm sure you measuring method and tools are accurate beyond the spec that CNC/5 Axis machines can produce...

How straight is that bar? A question usually asked when in Brighton

You could be right in the fact that bases (whether integral to the receiver or bolted on) are not always in spec, but I'd rather keep things standard and return to the supplier if they cause problems instead of employing a botch-job fix which will invalidate any warranty.

I believe the correct term is 'fitting'.

 

[Tim.243]

I'm sure you measuring method and tools are accurate beyond the spec that CNC/5 Axis machines can produce...

How straight is that bar? A question usually asked when in Brighton

You could be right in the fact that bases (whether integral to the receiver or bolted on) are not always in spec, but I'd rather keep things standard and return to the supplier if they cause problems instead of employing a botch-job fix which will invalidate any warranty.

Put a picture of your work shop.....or s##t u# lol

 

[kripton]

Have never lapped a set of scope rings but have marked scopes back in the day when overly enthusiastically fitting some scopes - the joys of youth. Now tend to use Optilok or Burris Signature Zee rings as they have plastic inserts inside the rings which I find protects the scope.
hh

Totally agree even if more hassle with Optilock separate bases and rings.

 

[Chris J]

I've never lapped rings but I do have a pair of precision ground steel bars in 1" and 30 mm which I used to set up all of my scopes. Putting the rings on the bar first will at least give you the first hint that something isn't right when you offer them up to the rifle. I saw a guy once trying to fit a scope to a .375 where he had bases of different heights. It didn't go well.

 

[Muir]

Never willlingly lapped a set of new rings.~Muir

 

[levigsp]

I'm sure you measuring method and tools are accurate beyond the spec that CNC/5 Axis machines can produce...

How straight is that bar? A question usually asked when in Brighton

You could be right in the fact that bases (whether integral to the receiver or bolted on) are not always in spec, but I'd rather keep things standard and return to the supplier if they cause problems instead of employing a botch-job fix which will invalidate any warranty.

Its not a botch job, perhaps you should use a micrometer on some rings as I have just measured three sets of rings, Leopold, ATG and contessa one piece, none were the same, just saying. each to their own.

 

[VSS]

Isn't this just another excuse for people who don't shoot very much to get their rifles out of an evening and have a fiddle about? A bit like cleaning, really