Scope ring lapping.

BossmanPJ · Feb 16, 2015

I am putting together a remington 700 sps .223 and am now mounting and bedding my scope base. I have a set of burris Xtreme tactical rings and need to have them lapped properly. I do not have the kit to do it and was looking to see if anyone in the Cecil county area would mind helping me out with getting it done. Pm me if so. I'll provide beer also.

BigDaddy · Feb 16, 2015

I am not local to you but it looks like these may be 1" or 30mm. What do you have?

Pinecone · Feb 17, 2015

Why do you think they need lapping?

It seems most of the long range guys do NOT lap, especially with quality rings.

This ASSUMES that you bed the mount, to ensure that it is straight and not bent or torqued.

amoebicmagician · Feb 17, 2015

why are you lapping them?

if they are of good quality and not made specifically to be lapped to final fit, there is not really a reason to do so

rico903 · Feb 17, 2015

Never heard of bedding a mount. What does that entail?

smokey · Feb 17, 2015

Lapping is always a good idea to prevent damage to the scope and to increase the contact area between the rings and the scope. Even expensive and precise rings have high and low spots that benefit from lapping.

E.Shell · Feb 17, 2015

smokey0118 said:
Lapping is always a good idea to prevent damage to the scope and to increase the contact area between the rings and the scope. Even expensive and precise rings have high and low spots that benefit from lapping.

This.

Bedding the base is the best method to ensure alignment, but cannot cure internal burrs and irregularities.

I've seen some of the most highly regarded rings damage scope finishes. Iron Brigade Armory installed a NightForce in Badger rings on one of my tac rifles and the scope tube couldn't even bottom out due to the sharp edges at the sides biting into the anodize. Clowns just torqued it down anyway.

BossmanPJ · Feb 17, 2015

I am bedding to ensure it is perfectly flat which it is not when bolted down. The rings are Xtreme tactical burris and I have heard several cases of them needing final lapping. I am finally going to invest in expensive glass and do not want to take a chance on messing up the tube or scratching it.

BossmanPJ · Feb 17, 2015

BigDaddy said:
I am not local to you but it looks like these may be 1" or 30mm. What do you have?

My rings are 1"

Pinecone · Feb 17, 2015

To bed the mount, install it with just one screw. And check the other end to see if it is above the receiver. Check for BOTH ENDS. As one end may show no gap, because it is pressed into the receiver.

To bed, decide which end needs to be fixed (preferably the back, if both are above the receiver). Fill the holes at that end with clay. Wax the receiver with mold release, paste wax, or neutral shoe polish.

The apply a layer of JB Weld to the mount on the proper end, attach with the screws at the other end, and let cure. Wiping off any excess is a good idea.

Let it cure for a day, then remove it. File off any excess JB Weld, remove the clay and release agent. Install the mount.

Videos on You Tube

Pinecone · Feb 17, 2015

Oh, and if you lap aluminum rings, you will remove the thin anodizing and expose the softer aluminum.

BossmanPJ · Feb 17, 2015

That's the same video I saw. Seems pretty straight forward. And with the lapping of the rings... I have heard of alit of people that have done them with good results. I will of course look at them first and see if they need it.

Fiskamon · Mar 18, 2015

Here are a couple of video's on how to bed your scope mount.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoW5bHQqgis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6RopWI0-GE

traveller · Mar 18, 2015

I would like to see the same expert marksman shoot the same rifle once with the rings un-lapped and once lapped while he is blind to whether it has been done or not.

A set of CNC machined and anodized rings should not have any burrs or imperfections that require lapping.

E.Shell · Mar 19, 2015

traveller said:
I would like to see the same expert marksman shoot the same rifle once with the rings un-lapped and once lapped while he is blind to whether it has been done or not.

The scope tube will know. Is a scope tube with a distorted tube and/or ring marks not damaged?

A set of CNC machined and anodized rings should not have any burrs or imperfections that require lapping.

"Should not"...LOL...but agreed...

"CNC"...This term means nothing when used to define quality. It is merely a high speed production technique, not a fool proof way to make things more precisely than any other method. They are ALL CNC produced, from the cheapest. sloppiest crap you can find, up to the most elite and expensive. No one on this side of the Khyber Pass makes rings or bases one off on manually controlled equipment.

Back to the practical application side, have you installed many? I'd suggest that if you installed 2-3-4 sets of upscale rings a week for five years, and another 50 or so sets before that, you would abandon the idealistic illusion of off the shelf perfection and change your opinion to match what actually happens with real parts.

For those not fully familiar with doing it correctly, lapping is only a final fitting procedure, not an effort to reshape anything or cut the rings in half with a over zealously applied lapping bar.

traveller · Mar 19, 2015

E.Shell said:
For those not fully familiar with doing it correctly, lapping is only a final fitting procedure, not an effort to reshape anything or cut the rings in half with a over zealously applied lapping bar.

That's why this obsession with lapping really puzzles me. Lapping only removes minuscule layers of material to obtain a specified degree of flatness and surface roughness. If your rings leave surface marks on a scope or even distors the tube, you are not talking about the kind of imperfections lapping will fix, it'll require serious machining or grinding.

Yoshi · Mar 19, 2015

E.Shell said:
The scope tube will know. Is a scope tube with a distorted tube and/or ring marks not damaged?"Should not"...LOL...but agreed...

"CNC"...This term means nothing when used to define quality. It is merely a high speed production technique, not a fool proof way to make things more precisely than any other method. They are ALL CNC produced, from the cheapest. sloppiest crap you can find, up to the most elite and expensive. No one on this side of the Khyber Pass makes rings or bases one off on manually controlled equipment.

Back to the practical application side, have you installed many? I'd suggest that if you installed 2-3-4 sets of upscale rings a week for five years, and another 50 or so sets before that, you would abandon the idealistic illusion of off the shelf perfection and change your opinion to match what actually happens with real parts.

For those not fully familiar with doing it correctly, lapping is only a final fitting procedure, not an effort to reshape anything or cut the rings in half with a over zealously applied lapping bar.

This!!!!

I've had a number of high quality rings that, per the manufacturer, didn't need to be lapped. Ed proved to me that they did. He lapped a few for me and all of them were uneven.

It's your scope, but I'd think twice before mountng it on unlapped rings.

Kevp · Mar 19, 2015

I continue to be amazed. A guy like Ed Shell, with his vast experience in this subject matter, lays it down and there are still guys that just don't get it. Go ahead- don't lap the rings and torque them down without a proper torque wrench. It's probably a Barska, so who cares. Those who invest in a $2-4K optic, and make good hits at 1,000+ yds care.

BossmanPJ · Mar 23, 2015

Yeah. My scope cost nowhere near that much and I had my rings lapped an installed the scope and base correctly.

rico903 · Mar 28, 2015

traveller said:
That's why this obsession with lapping really puzzles me. Lapping only removes minuscule layers of material to obtain a specified degree of flatness and surface roughness. If your rings leave surface marks on a scope or even distors the tube, you are not talking about the kind of imperfections lapping will fix, it'll require serious machining or grinding.

To each their own. Believe what you want.

Scope ring lapping.

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