Lap the rings or not? I post in optics but got no opinions thanks

[pgg]

I am the proud owner of a shinny new very expensive S&B 12x50-56 scope it was a gift and came with Barrett 34mm rings. I have it at my gunsmiths now and am wondering should I ask him to lap the rings? He said he has no 34mm lapping bar but I could get him one and wait. I have no idea if this is worth it or not so I figured someone here would have an opinion. While I have a few guns that cost 3k+ a scope in this price range has always scared me since there is glass in there. So since I am a new overly worried parent of this super pricy scope I want to do what is absolutely correct with it. Thanks for any thoughts. PGG

 

[nosualc]

Nice gift! I'd lap them or use rings with inserts.

What does your smith think?

-nosualc

 

[pgg]

Well he has never used those Barrett rings nor have I plus his response was I dont have a 34mm lap bar. So I feel like if he had one he would suggest doing it but I didnt ask directly. PG

 

[expiper]

Put the rings on the action and then lay the scope in em....see how strait or krooked they are...if they dont need lapped "wonderful" ...if they do then you got your answer...Roger

 

[alf]

I lap everything......always.......

 

[BoydAllen]

Lap and round over the inner edges and corners of the rings and their caps. No scope deserves to be damaged. I always run a lapping bar a few strokes to see how well aligned the rings are, and I have never seen a mounted pair that were perfect. The other option is to debur and bed the rings. I have seen some otherwise good looking rings that had sharp corners that would mark a scope, even if it was just laid in them. Take your time and do it right. Does your smith routinely lap rings? The reason that I ask is that I tend to frown on using smiths that do hurry up mounting, and act like anything else is just unnecessary trouble. Rings may be manufactured quite straight, but the finishing of many actions, and how they are drilled for bases, often leaves them less than perfectly straight. This can distort and or misalign bases, which then hold rings out of alignment. Tightening of rings on bases can also pull them slightly out of shape. Doing a proper job of mounting a scope can take some time, and may have to start with bedding the base or bases to the action.

 

[butchlambert]

Lap'em,
Doesn't your smith have a lathe? Wouldn't be much trouble to turn a 34MM lap.
Butch

 

[agr516]

By all means, lap.

 

[dreever]

Lapping rings will remove material from the rings. If you plan on moving the scope from rifle to rifle or removing it after mounting the rings should be lapped everytime you take the scope off which will eventually limit the rings holding ability.
Look at it this way even the most expensive rings are cheap compared to the cost of the scope.
Another valuable piece of advice is torque everything in the proper sequence everytime.
Just for your own peace of mind order a 34mm lapping bar and be done with it. You can always use the bar to help initally align the rings when mounting to the base.

Danny

 

[dreever]

So where can this guy get a 34mm lapping bar???????

I don't know about those Barrett zero gap rings. Might want to call Barrett and see what they say.

Danny

 

[Tozguy]

A call to Barrett is a great idea. Also if your gunsmith has a 1'' and 30mm lapping bar but not a 34mm he must understand the need to get a 34mm bar too. Once you have seen what lapping (and maybe bedding) does to the rings you won't do without it ever again. Rings with inserts is an alternative if you can find some (the 34mm size is not that common).

 

[Jim See]

I had the same problem once with the instal of a 34mm scope, I simply epoxy bedded the scope to the ring bottoms, with the release agent on the tube.

I had that scope back out a year later for an upgrade and the tube looked like new.

 

[lynn]

If you lap the rings and the scopes tube is not perfectly straight you are binding/stressing the scope.
Bed the rings for a stress free fit after doing the deburring Boyd referred to.
Lynn

 

[Johnboy]

if he doesn
t have a 34mm lapping bare then he should just make one.

 

[peter6mm]

To lap or not to lap, that is the question.

Cheap rings - lap. Quality rings - ?? I wonder how often incompetent lapping does more damage than good. Me I buy qualiy, check for any sharp edges (and have never found any) and mount the scope.

Rings I use - Nightforce, Kelbly, Badger Ordnance.

 

[BoydAllen]

I know the names sound impressive....until you take a couple of strokes with a lapping bar, in the mounted rings, you have no idea what you have, regardless of the brand. Do you really thing that we have only mounted scopes with inexpensive rings? Have you ever lapped or bedded rings?

 

[ChipEckardt]

I bought one from here http://www.kokopelliproducts.com/lapp.html
He shipped right away and it works well.

Chip

 

[Tozguy]

The main arguement I have for lapping is to get the best from a scope. Even a top quality scope works best when the crosshairs are centered in the tube and you have relatively equal adjustment of windage in both directions. Considering that the rings are sittting on bases and they in turn are sitting on a receiver, all of which were produced within tolerances, there is no garantee that even the best of rings will be lined up and parallel to the bore. Given the potential of misalignment, a light lap of the rings will quickly show up any such problem that you might not catch otherwise. If the rings check out OK with the lapping, boresighting will give you an idea of how parallel the scope (after using V blocks to center the crosshairs) is to the bore. In my books it is worth bedding the bases to the receiver and bedding the scope in the rings to get the scope pointing in the right direction once and for all.

 

[Yagingaboy]

http://www.kokopelliproducts.com

Very good laps on this site. Made right down the road from me too. Well right down the road by Montana standards ;D

 

[jlmurphy]

I used to lap my scope rings, especially when I used two piece bases, but now I only use one piece bases. As mentioned previously, most action exteriors are not even close to true, the solution is to bed the base, after making sure the base is truly flat. The only reason lapping is necessary is because misalignments beneath the rings have caused them to be non aligned.