OpticsTalk by SWFA, Inc. Homepage SWFA     SampleList.com
Forum Home Forum Home > Mounts & Accessories > Rings and bases
  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed - One-Piece scope mounts (I like 'em)
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Events   Register Register  Login Login

Visit the SWFA.com site to check out our current specials.

One-Piece scope mounts (I like 'em)

 Post Reply Post Reply
Author
Message
Litehiker View Drop Down
Optics GrassHopper
Optics GrassHopper
Avatar

Joined: August/03/2016
Location: Mojave Desert
Status: Offline
Points: 45
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Litehiker Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: One-Piece scope mounts (I like 'em)
    Posted: September/07/2019 at 22:59
Ilya, Your Dreadfulness,

In my opinion a well made one-piece scope mount (Nightforce, LaRue, etc.) should not need lapping for a good fit with no torque on the scope tube. If well made the machining should be very exact and being of one piece (in the base) I hoping the top rings would match extremely well.

Am I nuts?

Eric B.
There are no comfortable packs - some are merely less uncomfortable than others.
Back to Top
koshkin View Drop Down
MODERATOR
MODERATOR
Avatar
Dark Lord of Optics

Joined: June/15/2004
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 13181
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote koshkin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/08/2019 at 12:04
On mounts: single piece mounts do not need to be lapped. If yours needs to be lapped, return it and get a different one.

On your sanity: do not ask questions where the answer might make you uncomfortable...

ILya
Back to Top
Litehiker View Drop Down
Optics GrassHopper
Optics GrassHopper
Avatar

Joined: August/03/2016
Location: Mojave Desert
Status: Offline
Points: 45
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Litehiker Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/08/2019 at 15:44
Ilya, 
Thanks for confirming my suspicions on quality one-piece scope mounts.

On my sanity... you sound much like my wife. Loco

Eric B.
There are no comfortable packs - some are merely less uncomfortable than others.
Back to Top
Kickboxer View Drop Down
MODERATOR
MODERATOR
Avatar
Moderator

Joined: February/13/2008
Status: Offline
Points: 23679
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Kickboxer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/08/2019 at 16:08
ILya has a lot of "wifely" qualities...
Opinion,untempered by fact,is ignorance.

There are some who do not fear death... for they are more afraid of not really living
Back to Top
supertool73 View Drop Down
Optics God
Optics God
Avatar
Superstool

Joined: January/03/2008
Status: Offline
Points: 11814
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote supertool73 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/08/2019 at 16:31
i have 10 or so double ring mounts from american defense, bobro, seekins, vortex, larue.   I have personally tested every one with kokopelli products alignment bars. All of them have been perfect. I have two $40 ones i bought off amazon that look exactly like a $85 vortex one i own and they were also perfect in ring alignment. 
Lifetime warranty and excellent customer service don't mean a thing when your gun fails during a zombie attack.

"A Liberal is a person who will give away everything they don't own."
Back to Top
RifleDude View Drop Down
MODERATOR
MODERATOR
Avatar
EVIL OPPRESSOR

Joined: October/13/2006
Location: Texas
Status: Offline
Points: 16337
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RifleDude Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/08/2019 at 18:03
Ring alignment is influenced as much by the trueness (or lack thereof) of the receiver surfaces and screw hole alignment that the mounts are attached to as the precision of the mounts themselves, maybe more so. The mounts are usually blamed when rings aren't aligned, but often as not, they aren't the culprit; it's the receiver they are bolted to. It's hard to build a square and level house on an un-level foundation.

Keep in mind that receiver surfaces are frequently polished and ground on by hand to remove tool marks as finish prep prior to applying bluing or other finish, affecting geometric "trueness." Add to that the fact that some are cast surfaces, and slight stress-relieving/warpage can occur when material is removed during machining steps prior to then. Then, there's the fact that screw holes by themselves cannot locate bases with precision due to the clearance between the screws and the screw holes in the bases. All of these potential sources of geometric error combine into "tolerance stackups."

A 1-piece base mount eliminates axial and radial misalignment because the whole unit is machined in 1 piece in the same machine setup, so geometric relationships are maintained. However, if the receiver surface it's mounted to isn't true, you can still have some degree of misalignment when the screws are torqued down and the base bends to comply with the surface. Lapping is certainly an option to correct for any misalignment, but I think bedding the base(s) against the receiver plane(s) they mount on is a better option, if noticeable misalignment exists.
Ted


Money can't buy happiness... but it's much more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than on a bicycle.
Back to Top
Litehiker View Drop Down
Optics GrassHopper
Optics GrassHopper
Avatar

Joined: August/03/2016
Location: Mojave Desert
Status: Offline
Points: 45
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Litehiker Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/12/2019 at 23:11
I agree with Rifle Dude that the "truest" way to mount one-piece scope bases is to epoxy bed them. Remember to not torque the screws down to, say, 24 inch  pounds until the epoxy has cured. Just tighten enough to feel some resistance, wipe off the epoxy that squeezes out and wait 24 hours or the curing time indicated on the epoxy instructions.

My Browning X-Bolt Pro and many other rifles now come with Cerakote which can act as a "release" coating to keep the epoxy bedding from sticking to the action.

Otherwise it's best to coat surfaces with a release agent before applying the epoxy.

Eric B.
There are no comfortable packs - some are merely less uncomfortable than others.
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply
  Share Topic   

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down

Forum Software by Web Wiz Forums® version 12.01
Copyright ©2001-2018 Web Wiz Ltd.

This page was generated in 0.160 seconds.