Scope ring aligning

S

Sonof A. Gunn

Guest
What method or tools do you use/recommend for checking alignment of rings?

I know about lapping, but want to know about checking ring alignment before doing so.
 
Brownells sells a pair of pointed 1" bars that can be used to check ring alignment. I usually just lap things in if i have any question about the alignment.
Scott
 
I prefer Burris Signature rings - the spherical plastic bushing self aligns during installation, grips the tube tightly without leaving marks, and is available with a variety of offsets that can be used to get the desired alignment without using ant of your adjustment range. I've used them for years with no problems, and they're my first choice.
 
In my opinion, the pointed bars are not an accurate indicator of alignment, and since proper scope mounting requires a lapping bar and or bedding the scope in the rings (unless you are using Burris Signature rings)...I think that the main use of the pointed bars is to see that the front ring of the old Redfield style ( that I never use)is paralell with the rear ring. There are other types of misalignment. What I get from most is a kind of "aw gee do I have to?" attitude about lapping and "dehorning" rings. Doing someting right sometimes requires buying a tool, and taking the time to use it correctly. I have never seen any rings that were a perfect fit to a cylinder without some work.
 
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It depends on the style of ring... Leupold twist in seems to be very popular where I am... mostly hunters... I use a 1 inch tube 24 inches long and use that to turn them in and line it up with the center on the barrel... then I use it to center the rear ring by loosening the ring top and sliding the tube back ... then I lap them...

I don't like to use anything with out lapping except the excellent Signature rings...
 
Instead of a pointed ring alignment tool, I like one that is just flat on the ends. With the two flat ends coming together, you can feel a much smaller mis-alignment than you can see. It works better for me and they are easy to make yourself if you have a lathe.

Lap every set of rings except the Burrris Signatures. I made that standard procedure after mounting a set of Warne Premier rings on a Sako that were way off. With the Sako integral mounts, it had to be either the receiver or the rings- it was the rings. The amount of lapping required would have been too much so, I sent them to Warne for replacement. I haven't seen any set of rings that wouldn't benefit from lapping.

Making a tool for lapping is cheap and easy. I use drill rod and drill and tap it for a handle which can be as simple as a bolt or you can buy nice handles if you like .
 
"Instead of a pointed ring alignment tool, I like one that is just flat on the ends."

Ditto.
 
These thingys.....
Scope%20bars%201.jpg
 
I have always been reluctant to lap high quality BR rings, i.e., Kelby, Jewel, etc. Do these really need to be lapped?
 
Like others.......

......I consider the pointed "alignment" bars to be less than useless. By definition, two straight lines meeting at a single point DO NOT define a straight line.

Years ago, I mentioned this to Brownells technical dept.......they agreed.......but the bars are still for sale.

Hmmmm.......

My $0.02

Kevin
 
The Jewels, now out of production, don't need lapping ( I think)because they have aluminum inserts shaped like the plastic ones that Burris uses in their Signature series rings. When I asked Speedy about this he said that he laps them to 50% contact and then beds the rings to the scope.
 
scope alignment tool

wncchester said:
"Instead of a pointed ring alignment tool, I like one that is just flat on the ends."

Ditto.
Click to expand...

Just reverse the pointed ones so you have two flat surfaces. Use the pointed ends for rough alignment, then turn around for final alignment. I'm not even that smart.
Chino69
 
chino69 said:
Just reverse the pointed ones so you have two flat surfaces. Use the pointed ends for rough alignment, then turn around for final alignment. I'm not even that smart.
Chino69
Click to expand...

Why bother with the pointy ends at all, use the flat ends to start with. If they're out you see it without even measuring. If they are out then you can start figuring where,what,and why. Is the receiver warped and/or twisted, bridge-ring different diameters, mounts and rings the same heights? Even a burr on the ring will show up.

Bill
 
Kevin Gullette said:
......I consider the pointed "alignment" bars to be less than useless. By definition, two straight lines meeting at a single point DO NOT define a straight line.

Years ago, I mentioned this to Brownells technical dept.......they agreed.......but the bars are still for sale.

Hmmmm.......

My $0.02

Kevin
Click to expand...

Well Kevin,
There is a very good reason why so many places sell the pointed bars. They cannot sell the flat-ended bars because there is an active patent covering them. It is held by the owner of Kokopelli Products, John Werre, me. They do not want to pay me for making the bars when the public is foolish enough to buy items that don't work at all thereby getting ALL of the profit rather than giving something back to the inventor. The purpose of patents is to thank the inventors for sharing their ideas with the public. The reward they garner for that sharing is that they have the exclusive right to make and sell the invention for 20 years from the date of the original application. Any one who makes or sells a dupicate of the invention without license from the inventor infringes the patent and is subject to legal action. Suggesting that others make the product and telling them how to do same falls into a slightly gray area as far as patents are concerned, but any action by a person which causes loss of business to another is certainly litigatable though it may not be a true infringement. There are, of course, innocent mistakes. Most folks who own patents defend them. I had one of the largest sporting goods dealers in this country in Federal Court for 3 1/2 years before they finally agreed to settle. Faced with a jury trial, they finally came around. Their cost was very substantial. I was forced to spend a lot of money on a new shop, CNC mill, 16X60 big-bore lathe and a bunch of other stuff to avoid a large tax bill. Infringing is not something to be taken lightly. For a little more background on the flat-ended bars and a bit of my background in optics testing and adjustment go to: www.kokopelliproducts.com and do a bit of reading. Nearly every gunsmith in the world has at least one of my products on the shelf in his shop. I can build a pretty accurate gun, too, but I'm not in the class of the guys who share info so freely here. I learn a lot from them. By the way, gun people are the nicest and most honest folks in the world and in 15 years of doing business through the mails I have never gotten a bad check. I don't even wait for them to clear before shipping products, I just know the check will be good. So everyone give yourself a well deserved pat on the back for that one! Sorry about the rant.
John Werre
 
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