Sorry for the dumb questions. I just ordered a set of dual dovetail rings with my SWFA 12x. Whats a good way to make sure they are alligned perfectly, and do they have to be lapped. And if so, how can i lap them without a lapping kit?
Rifle Scopes Setting up dual dovetails.
- Thread starter Coleman_P
- Start date
you can get a wheeler scope alignment kit Wheeler Engineering Scope Ring Alignment Lapping Kit 1
as for lapping, you may or may not depends on the QC of the receiver holes. Before you mount up your scope get a 1" dowel from Ace hardware and mount dowel first, it will get you in the ballpark as for aligning the rings, you will see if the rings mar the wood. Better the wood than the scope tube.
Also if you ordered Leupold rings it is good to get a Leupold ring tool, as using a crescent wrench will mar the steel. You can also use the 1" dowel if your rings are in fact 1".
Leupold Optics Ring Wrench - | Leupold Optics
as for lapping, you may or may not depends on the QC of the receiver holes. Before you mount up your scope get a 1" dowel from Ace hardware and mount dowel first, it will get you in the ballpark as for aligning the rings, you will see if the rings mar the wood. Better the wood than the scope tube.
Also if you ordered Leupold rings it is good to get a Leupold ring tool, as using a crescent wrench will mar the steel. You can also use the 1" dowel if your rings are in fact 1".
Leupold Optics Ring Wrench - | Leupold Optics
I have always used a set of alignment bars from Brownells. Turn the flat ends toward each other and make sure the two faces are aligned and parallel. Using the pointed ends doesn't really get you very much precision as both rings can still be twisted but pointing to the same point in space.
Once you get the rings aligned with the bar, gently set the scope in place. Check the 4 places where the tube meets the rings. They should be even and parallel. If not, more tweaking is needed. DO NOT crank the ring caps down until the scope fits in the ring bottoms perfectly. You can bend it very easily. Using this method, I've never found the need to lap. Of course, that may be needed if your receiver is not drilled straight.
As as far as lapping without a kit: I wouldn't try it. I think it would be nearly impossible to freehand the material removal without simply making the whole set up loose.
Once you get the rings aligned with the bar, gently set the scope in place. Check the 4 places where the tube meets the rings. They should be even and parallel. If not, more tweaking is needed. DO NOT crank the ring caps down until the scope fits in the ring bottoms perfectly. You can bend it very easily. Using this method, I've never found the need to lap. Of course, that may be needed if your receiver is not drilled straight.
As as far as lapping without a kit: I wouldn't try it. I think it would be nearly impossible to freehand the material removal without simply making the whole set up loose.
Ive seen where people mounting a 1" tube scope used a 1" dowel with emery paper to lap, but this is a 30mm mount. I was hoping there was some way to do something like that. I was stretching my budget just getting this scope. Don't think i could go the route of buying a kit too.
That seems like a bad idea to me. There is very little chance that a wooden dowel would be precisely 1" or perfectly straight. You can certainly remove enough material from the rings to prevent the scope from binding, but end up with a loose fit and slipping scope.
You could bed the rings instead of lapping them. A search will turn up lots of info on it. Just takes a little J-B Weld.
You dont even know if there is a problem yet that they would need lapping. I've used any size of dowel on dual dovetails. It doesn't have to fit precisly to push them around - the wood is soft enough to prevent any damage on the edges.
But I do reccomend the alligment bars - there's no going around that.
But I do reccomend the alligment bars - there's no going around that.
