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Bedding Scope to Rings?

Re: Bedding Scope to Rings?

I've heard of it, but never done it.

Typically, I'll loosely mount the rings to the base, loose enough that they can move around. Then put a lapping bar in the rings, push the rings forward, put on the ring caps (fully tighten), then tighten the cross bolt. Remove the caps & bar and put in your scope.

The goal was to help the rings better align when clamping down. It's helped me avoid ring marks, and the scope seems to turn more freely in the bottom halves.

I don't lap anymore.

Everyone has their own method for installing rings and bases.
 
Re: Bedding Scope to Rings?

Once upon a time, scopes came only in gloss black. On some hard kicking rifles, the glossy scope would shift forward.

The solution was a thin coat of 3M Liquid Electricians Tape on the ring half's. It worked. But now we have better made rings, lapping bars, and matte finished scopes.
 
Re: Bedding Scope to Rings?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 051F</div><div class="ubbcode-body">thats what lapping is for. </div></div>

Lapping is fairly common place, but actually gluing/epoxying your rings to the scope is not something I heard of before.
 
Re: Bedding Scope to Rings?

I could never see a need to bed the scope to the rings with quality components, lapping isnt even needed, ask any high end manufacturer ie. nf, uso, badger near ect.
 
Re: Bedding Scope to Rings?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: jbell</div><div class="ubbcode-body">ask any high end manufacturer ie. nf</div></div>

I'm pretty sure the manuals from NF, a few years ago (06'ish), recommended lapping.

The recent ones say something like: lapping may be required in some installations.
 
Re: Bedding Scope to Rings?

Looks like my memory is not failing me:

"FAILURE TO FOLLOW THIS MOUNTING
PROCEDURE MAY VOID WARRANTY."

Steps 1-3 were for lapping:

http://www.riflebarrels.com/products/user_manual.pdf
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
Step One
With bases and lower halves of the rings securely mounted to the rifle, mount the 30mm steel lapping bar and tighten top ring halves. This procedure will cause the rings to compress and take set to the lapping bar instead of the tube body of the riflescope. Do not use the riflescope in place of the steel lapping bar.

Step Two
Remove the lapping bar and apply lapping compound to the lower ring halves. Perform lapping procedure until a maximum of 75% of the surface area has been lapped of the lower ring halves. (Note: or until the bar moves freely. i.e. no binding halves.)
</div></div>
 
Re: Bedding Scope to Rings?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: gunderwood</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Anyone ever hear of bedding a scope into a set of rings? Using something like MarineTex where the rings meet the scope? Never heard of this before. Thoughts?</div></div>


i had a 82A1 w/swaro glass where the scope was glued to the rings.....
 
Re: Bedding Scope to Rings?

Thank you RIJNDAEL for the info I too have read the owners manuals that were included with my Nightforce scopes. But perhaps you missunderstood me, what I ment was with HIGH quality rings and bases (I guess I need to state the obvious that if you use high quality rings you should use high quality bases and not be drilling and tapping your action at home holding it between your knees in the dark so the holes are not properly aligned) there is no need to lap rings. Maybe you didnt read the paragraph just above the lapping instructions that is included for those of you who cannot determine for your self when it is necessary to do a specific procedure b/c you are too cheep to buy quality parts from the start. If you missed that part here it is: [Most production rifle actions or ring and base combinations are not manufactured accurately enough to ensure proper alignment
out of the box. After properly securing bases and rings to the action, alignment and compression of the rings is required prior to
mounting the riflescope. To fulfill this requirement a 30mm lapping bar kit is available from Nightforce or other suppliers of
precision shooting products. This lapping bar kit consists of a steel bar 30mm in diameter with a handle attached and a nonimbedding
lapping compound. This tool is used to remove unnecessary material from the lower halves of the rings eliminating
misalignment. This procedure allows both rings to align with one another, thus creating a stress-free platform for the riflescope.]
 
Re: Bedding Scope to Rings?

RIJNDAEL, I see you have over 5000 posts and I respect that. I have only a handful (but then again I'm an actual sniper and dont fuck off online all day). If you continue to confer with NF... you will see that if you have a properly machined action and base (those quality components jbell was refering to) you dont need to do anything. I guess thats the difference in someone that reads the manual and someone NF calls and seeks info from a few times a month. No hard feelings.... chump.
 
Re: Bedding Scope to Rings?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BOLTRIPPER</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: gunderwood</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Anyone ever hear of bedding a scope into a set of rings? Using something like MarineTex where the rings meet the scope? Never heard of this before. Thoughts?</div></div>


i had a 82A1 w/swaro glass where the scope was glued to the rings..... </div></div>

Who glued it and why? Where they afraid of the recoil moving the scope or just hard use moving it?
 
Re: Bedding Scope to Rings?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: hiddenshooter</div><div class="ubbcode-body">you will see that if you have a properly machined action and base (those quality components jbell was refering to) you dont need to do anything.</div></div>

I've mounted a dozen NF scopes in about an 8 year period. I have come across more than a handful of NF scopes which had slightly larger tubes (OD) and would not fully seat in Badger or Seekins rings. These were being mounted a Surgeon action. You'd be hard pressed to find many folks that don't consider those to be 'high quality'. The scope was being pinched by the rings near the center of the tube. Lapping was required to get them to seated to the bottom of the ring. I even saw this issue with a NF Unimount, but in my experience NF scopes fit NF rings best.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: hiddenshooter</div><div class="ubbcode-body">No hard feelings.... chump.</div></div>
Sadly, name calling doesn't persuade others to believe you.

If you get your jollies over arguing about ring lapping, have at it. You won't convince me that your absolute statements about not needing to lap 'high quality' rings applies, I know better.
 
Re: Bedding Scope to Rings?

I would like to say that I am not arguing about anything, I know nothing is absolute. I am on this site to learn from others and hopefully to help some too. But you were pretty arrogant in the way you pointed out that you were right that Nightforce recomends lapping when production grade out of the box (which to me means low quality) components are used, of course they do any one would and you should. But in your last post saying that you have had some nf scopes w/ oversized tube od, that lapping corrected the problem has nothing to do with the mounting components it is a scope problem. Besides depending on how much oversized the od was lapping with a standard od lapping bar would not correct the problem. Lapping is to fix misalignment not to change the id of the rings. And by reading the last post of yours it appears you have lapped several sets of rings, therefore you know the rings barely get touched in the center (where the lower meets the upper half) whial lapping most of the contact of the ring and the lapping bar is in the lower part of the radius of the ring. I am curious how this fixed your prob. of a large scope tube. Oh and by the way rings that are misaligned will pinch the scope in the center of the tube and not allow it to fully seat in the rings.
 
Re: Bedding Scope to Rings?

interesting... and most of all i like the way you used my chump to chump me. keep up the good work and good luck with the "lapping" your rings for the oversized scopes.
 
Re: Bedding Scope to Rings?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: jbell</div><div class="ubbcode-body">But in your last post saying that you have had some nf scopes w/ oversized tube od</div></div>When I say oversized, perhaps I should quantify this. They run larger than many other 30mm tubes, like Leupold. Sometimes they are exactly 30.00, and I've had one or two at 30.02. It's enough to make a difference.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: jbell</div><div class="ubbcode-body">therefore you know the rings barely get touched in the center (where the lower meets the upper half)</div></div>That depends on your lapping bar. Generally, I've been able to just break that top edge and the scope drops in.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: jbell</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Oh and by the way rings that are misaligned will pinch the scope in the center of the tube and not allow it to fully seat in the rings.</div></div>Whenever I have a mounting issue, I remove the ring from the base and try to install it by hand. They were all still a no go. Of course you can't do that with the Unimount. When it's too snug, it's too snug, the user doesn't impact this.
 
Re: Bedding Scope to Rings?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: netranger6</div><div class="ubbcode-body">All of this, and I have a new set of BO's USMC in 34mm. Wonder if I should lap them? Lol...not a chance. </div></div>

I haven't had to lap any of mine, but I always use high end rings like BO, etc. The question was not about lapping, but about gluing the rings and scope together so that even the harshest abuse won't move them. Didn't know if anyone was doing this.

I seem to recall lowlight dropping a rifle off of the rifles only building when testing the hensoldt scope. I believe that video mentioned that the scope moved in the rings slightly. Read the comments.

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=SHLowlight#p/u/11/IOrkHJmKc-U
 
Re: Bedding Scope to Rings?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: hiddenshooter</div><div class="ubbcode-body">RIJNDAEL, I see you have over 5000 posts and I respect that. I have only a handful (but then again I'm an actual sniper and dont fuck off online all day). If you continue to confer with NF... you will see that if you have a properly machined action and base (those quality components jbell was refering to) you dont need to do anything. I guess thats the difference in someone that reads the manual and someone NF calls and seeks info from a few times a month. No hard feelings.... chump. </div></div>

Ohhhhhh, so your an "actual" sniper. Damn, I'm glad we finally got one of those on the Hide!!! Too bad we cant have a few.....shall we say...."champions" on here too. I'm certainly not one, just a lowly rancher with 40 yrs shooting experience, so WTF could anyone like me possibly know or contribute here...right? We needed someone like you to come on here and school us on ring lapping because we all know that no "proffesional" has ever lapped a set of rings. Yeah, we all know that all of the "quality component" manufacturers ("as jbell was refering to") always machine everything to 100% perfect tolerence........... What a f'n joke. Have you ever been in a machine shop....of any kind? Lapping rings has been common place in this sport since before I was born and still is. True, its not always needed and in fact, is being needed less and less these days but to make a blanket statement like you just did is just.....well.....wrong, plain and simple.
A proffesional like yourself with lives literally in your hands should do everything in his or her power to make his equipment "perfect" and you cant count on something straight off a CNC machine to be that way, not in a life and death way and that is IF the maker is even useing something with the quality of CNC. Many people here dont count on that "straight off" quality in a competition way either.

okie
 
Re: Bedding Scope to Rings?

Well, with 40 yrs exp. Id say we could learn a thing or 2 from you. I do take finding perfection seriously. Please dont go there. I would agree with you about finding error in even the best. I've just never needed to touch rings when Ive used good components. I dont think that you need to be a champion or sniper or anything else to be able to contribute... I was just trying to screw with RIJNDAEL for being an arrogant SOB who, in my opinion, is one of those guys that cuts and pastes instructions he doesnt read right into a forum to make himself feel better... which, sir, I cant stand. To be honest sir, after reading your post, it seems like you are fairly experienced but have some wierd agression problem. Im not tryn to "school" anybody, I'll be the first to tell you that i like to learn...from anybody. Maybe I just havent mounted enough scopes. But thanks for replying like you did. It was border line small man syndrome. Or maybe you've ran into a similar situation where somebody said something like I did and was a real jerk.... Anyway. No hurt feelings here.
 
Re: Bedding Scope to Rings?

A proffesional sniper would never learn anything from me, period and I never indicated that he would. I use good components too and I have rarely lapped rings....rarely but I have done it and it was needed. "Fairly experienced"?....Yeah, guess I can live with that..."weird agression", that right there is funny, dont care who you are, most here will get a chuckle out of it I bet. I wont go so far as to take up for RIJNDAEL, dont know him but his history here speaks for himself as does mine. And yes, guess I am a small man ( 5'10/165), never really thought of it but I've always been big enough to pull the heaviest triggers. And as far as replying like I did...no problem...anytime.

okie
 
Re: Bedding Scope to Rings?

Ahhh, I would ask but...I dont even want to know about anything oily when it comes to you BR.
wink.gif


okie