LocTite rings?

[mark82]

Perrenial question dept;

Use Loctite on ring cap and/or base screws?

Dont want permanent so red is out. Maybe blue but given the small hex/torx screws and ease of stripping the socket I think maybe not. That leaves purple.

 

[Glassaholic]

I've never needed it, mostly use ARC rings and ERA-TAC, just got a Spuhr hunting but have yet to mount up. Good torque wrench (Borka or FixitSticks) is all that's needed.

 

[_Windrider_]

No. If you need to use loctite u r doing it wrong or the rings r garbage

 

[BND2763]

I dont loctite rings but I have used purple to loctite a base screws to action. Nothing has moved.

 

[cake5150]

I don't so much anymore, but did use thread locker for several years. A set of rings that I installed when I was a teenager (before I had a torque wrench) came loose ~10 years later at the wrong time, that leaves an impression on a person. I still do use it on autoloaders due to the vibration. Whether that is the right or wrong thing to do is subjective, but I have yet to have it cause a problem. YMMV.

 

[KeithR41]

No Loctite. Proper torque works.

 

[...]

im a belt and suspenders type of guy....i use blue loctite scope rings....but ive never actually felt a need to do so....just always as a "meh, cant hurt" measure.

 

[camocorvette]

Proper torque, witness marks and periodically check them. I have a small Warne wrench that I check them with nearly everytime the rifle is out of the drag bag.

 

[Glassaholic]

im a belt and suspenders type of guy....i use blue loctite scope rings....but ive never actually felt a need to do so....just always as a "meh, cant hurt" measure.

You do know you change the torque value with any kind of lubricant which loctite acts as when wet...

 

[Downtown]

Witness marks are a better choice.

 

[supercorndogs]

You do know you change the torque value with any kind of lubricant which loctite acts as when wet...

You do know that almost any time you are given a torque value, unless specified as dry, it is for a lubricated fastener.

 

[...]

You do know you change the torque value with any kind of lubricant which loctite acts as when wet...

... Yup...

It also makes absolutely 0 difference.....were talking about scope rings not fucking ICBM nose cones.....a torque difference of +10% is not going to make a difference when we are talking about 15-20 inchlbs.

You are also assuming your cheap ass birchwood cases torque wrench you've had kicking around in your toolbox for 10 years is still anywhere close to properly calibrated

 

[camocorvette]

You do know that almost any time you are given a torque value, unless specified as dry, it is for a lubricated fastener.

I think you are correct for automotive fasteners. I just tried to Google a bunch of different scope manufacturers and did not find any that specified "wet".

Rifle Screw Torque Settings Guidelines

I've had to reference back to these torque specifications a couple times, and thought it'd be helpfu...

precisionrifleblog.com

All my issued guns we put witness marks and tie wire so even if it did rattle loose it would just fall off and flop there.

All my personal guns I've always used a Warne wrench and torqued to that spec. Then added white witness marks.

Check periodically. Your milage may very.
I just installed a new handguard to my ar and the bolts had a dry paste style loctite (blueish brown). Which was fine until I had to remove it. Then I twisted 2 Allen wrenches into twizzlers.

Needless to say after I torched the bolt, it came out. I wire brushed the threads clean and re installed dry. Then added witness marks.

Check your gear as often as you use it.

 

[supercorndogs]

I am right for fasteners in general. And as I said, wet is generally assumed, dry is usually specified. For the most part torque specs are going to be based on faster size, and grade, and made by the faster manufacture. Wet vs dry is barley here nor there on little tiny fasteners like ring cap screws. Put the head on a 3406, and dry vs wet makes a big difference.

The hand wringing over torque wrenches for guns, makes me laugh.

I feel like wet vs dry ring cap faster argument was made buy the same people who say you can't put aluminum rings on a steel base or vise versa.

 

[6.5SH]

I think loc-tite for 40+ inch pounds on cross bolts isn't as necessary, on the common 15-20 inch pounds for bases and rings I'll keep using it and not have to worry about those coming loose.

 

[Rerun7]

I use blue loctite for virtually everything I attach to my guns. My POV is that it doesn’t hurt to add it and it’s a really easy step. I run my guns pretty hard so it’s one less thing to worry about. I also torque everything to spec.

Will stuff stay on without it? Probably so.

Have I had anything come lose with it? Nope.

YMMV

 

[AllGoodThings]

Vibratite VC3 is superior to blue Loctite, and I've used it with great success on a few accessories on a Barrett M82A1, as well as on a pistol mounted RMR. May not be necessary, but I like insurance

 

[tango11]

I have the Burris xtr rings and I applied blue loctite as per the instruction. I have a hard time removing the residue now

 

[6.5SH]

I have the Burris xtr rings and I applied blue loctite as per the instruction. I have a hard time removing the residue now

A wire brush usually does it for me. Acetone or nail polish remover can soften it up if needed.

 

[tango11]

A wire brush usually does it for me. Acetone or nail polish remover can soften it up if needed.

I have tried wire brush and heat with no luck. I will see if my wife has nail polish remover...

 

[Glassaholic]

You do know that almost any time you are given a torque value, unless specified as dry, it is for a lubricated fastener.

I did not know that super corn, thanks for the tip. I wasn’t intending to discredit as the torque values for scope rings are so tiny I doubt it’d make a difference but was just pointing out that torque values change with lubricity (is that a word?)

 

[spife7980]

im a belt and suspenders type of guy....i use blue loctite scope rings....but ive never actually felt a need to do so....just always as a "meh, cant hurt" measure.

 

[DIBBS]

The tapered base on my Stiller TAC 300 - 300 WM has come loose for the second time in a year..... I have a Borka torque wrench old style. Perhaps I need a new one. Stiller Precision recommends 22-25 in lbs

Based on the above, I am leaning towards using blue loctite this time around.

FYI Here is a older link to recommended torque values for rings, bases, actions...etc.

Rifle Screw Torque Settings Guidelines

I've had to reference back to these torque specifications a couple times, and thought it'd be helpfu...

precisionrifleblog.com

 

[_Windrider_]

The tapered base on my Stiller TAC 300 - 300 WM has come loose for the second time in a year..... I have a Borka torque wrench old style. Perhaps I need a new one. Stiller Precision recommends 22-25 in lbs

Based on the above, I am leaning towards using blue loctite this time around.

FYI Here is a older link to recommended torque values for rings, bases, actions...etc.

Rifle Screw Torque Settings Guidelines

I've had to reference back to these torque specifications a couple times, and thought it'd be helpfu...

precisionrifleblog.com

What does the scope manufacture recommen? Don’t exceed that even if the rings can take more

 

[DIBBS]

What does the scope manufacture recommen? Don’t exceed that even if the rings can take more

Sorry for the confusion... I posted about bases in a scope ring thread...

Badger six screw 34mm rings are fine... no loctite.

Problem I am having is with the 4 screws attaching the 20 MOA base to the TAC300 action

 

[_Windrider_]

Sorry for the confusion... I posted about bases in a scope ring thread...

Badger six screw 34mm rings are fine... no loctite.

Problem I am having is with the 4 screws attaching the 20 MOA base to the TAC300 action

I’m thinking you are confusing the ring specs on those. I’ve never seen rings lower than 50-60 in lbs

 

[NineHotel]

My gunsmith turned me on to Loc Tite Purple 222. I like to have it in place for vibration resistance. It's also reusable a few times in case you do need to remove or move things around in the field.

BTW Red is not permanent. It just takes more heat to release it. Once you reach that temp, the stuff is like butter. Below that, it ain't coming apart.

I use an electric heat gun when taking things apart that have Blue on them. Saves grunting and possibly boogering things up. Depending on how much you want to localize the heat, a soldering iron works too. I'll do the same with Purple 222 if at a bench, but the stuff is still workable in the field which is nice.

https://www.amazon.com/Loctite-555339-Purple-Strength-6-milliliter/dp/B0002KKTT0

 

[lariat]

I’m thinking you are confusing the ring specs on those. I’ve never seen rings lower than 50-60 in lbs

Or it could be the threads on either the hole or the screws are too loose and aren’t allowing a high % contact. I have seen this happen. Thread locker of some type in this kind of situation helps immensely.

 

[sboone]

If its a threaded fastener I use blue 242 on it. Dont care what anyone has to say about "proper torque is all you need" "a properly engineered piece of equipment doesnt need thread locker"
Ya whatever. In the real world, shit happens, and that blue 242 is nice insurance to have in what is generally a high vibration and possibly high heat application. Its akin to using lock wire on bolts for pumps. Do you need it? No you dont, until you do and wish you did

 

[_Windrider_]

Or it could be the threads on either the hole or the screws are too loose and aren’t allowing a high % contact. I have seen this happen. Thread locker of some type in this kind of situation helps immensely.

New rings works better

 

[lariat]

New rings works better

My point is that there are differences in both the internal thread and external thread dimensions that allow for 75% contact of the threads all the way down to the low 60s. Known as major and minor threads dimensions. If you get both an internal and internal dim that are sloppy you can have issues. Most do not have the equipment to test this and will never know it, but could experience it when components shake loose. Especially after torquing it to spec. It’s in these instances that loc-tite May be of real service as it derives to increase the contact % by filling the gaps. It can also help if you have a heavy handed mfer who goobers up the threads, causing the same result albeit through a different means. Hopefully this explains what I meant better.

 

[Crews]

I have a RRS 1pc mount that has been moved to every rifle I’ve owned in the last 5 years and whooped on pretty hard. They spec 15in/lb for rings and base clamp, and I make sure it’s not an inch higher than that with a good wrench.

Those screws have never seen a drop of anything on them. And they’ve never backed out. Although torque values are higher, I have had similar experiences with Seekins rings. So, I say buy good equipment and don’t worry about it. Get a paint pen and do witness marks if it makes you sleep better at night.

 

[_Windrider_]

I have a RRS 1pc mount that has been moved to every rifle I’ve owned in the last 5 years and whooped on pretty hard. They spec 15in/lb for rings and base clamp, and I make sure it’s not an inch higher than that with a good wrench.

Those screws have never seen a drop of anything on them. And they’ve never backed out. Although torque values are higher, I have had similar experiences with Seekins rings. So, I say buy good equipment and don’t worry about it. Get a paint pen and do witness marks if it makes you sleep better at night.

My point exactly. Minor thread major thread all that stuff is irrelevant because the quality manufacturers have tight tolerances.

 

[TOTS]

I always follow the manufacturer’s recommendations. Their engineers probably know what best suits their designs. I most recently used blue loctite on the base screws per EGWs recs and did not put any on the scope rings per Vortex recs. Vortex specifically warns that, as stated above, thread locker, when wet, can reduce felt torque on the screws while allowing a higher tension load on the scope tube. Ie, it will take a higher torque to make a tq wrench click when using a lubricant. This supposedly has led to a large amount of crushed scope tubes and erector failures.

 

[kortik]

Before potentially complicating your life with use of Loctite (or any other thread locker), consider this:

"If the joint is critical it would be wise to consider specifying a multiple pass tightening sequence. With such a sequence, each bolt is tightened more than once so as to reduce the preload reduction caused by the tightening of the other bolts in the joint."

Tightening Sequence for a joint consisting of several bolts

This situation is customary called "Crosstalk" and may become a cause of an issue with rings and mounts, which use more than 2 screws.

 

[Halberdier]

You do know that almost any time you are given a torque value, unless specified as dry, it is for a lubricated fastener.

This is the correct answer. Between loctite and oil, I choose loctite.

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