ring torque

pe5b

New Member
Joined
Feb 25, 2006
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3
I am new to scope use and i mounted a scope and was not aware (i am now) about how much to tighten rings. i got them to tight and the side focus knob wouldnt turn. i backed them off a little bit an it turns fine. I zeroed the scope and everything works fine(focus, windage&elevation and lit rectical) my question is since everything works fine did i hurt the scope?
 
What kind of scope, and what kind of rings? I used to tighten my rings as tight as I could get them,and I mean really tight. Mounted lots of scopes and never had any problems. That was before I had a torque wrench that would measure inch/pounds. Now I tighten screws to 50 inch/pounds for aluminum rings and 60 for steel. Again no problems with any of my scopes. Some ring manufactures will give you reccomened torque values as well. Check the website of your ring manufacturer.
 
pe5b, You probably bound up your side focus as opposed to actually causing your scope tube to buckle. You were probably close to egg shaping or denting your scope depending on the type of rings. I've seen scopes actuall dented by bad rings tightened too tight. Good luck.
 
Not familiar with that scope. I've seen them in catalogs but don't know anything about them. They may be fairly thin walled which would make them easy to deform by overtightning rigns.

I did a little research AFTER answering your question (should have done it before /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif) As JonA posted, Badger reccomends 12 inch/pounds and everyone else that listed it on their websites were in the 10 to 15 inch/pound range. Looks like I have been way overtightning my rings for years. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif Fortunatly most of my scopes are heavy thick walled types that don't seem to have been affected by it.

Another thing to remember is to always de-grease your screws and screw holes. I generally use a dab of automotive carb cleaner on a paper towel. Then apply a little blue Loctite (not red!) to your screws and tighten. You should also tighten the screws up a little at a time, going back and forth between screws to make sure they are all even. (much like tightning lug nuts on a car wheel)
 
Hi; I talked to someone at Badger because I did not have a torque wrench that would go that low. Anyway he told me that you can use an allen wrench with the long end in the ring screw and the short end between your thumb & index finger. Tighten as tight as you can stand the pain of the wrench digging into your thumb..."no gloves" and dosen't apply to the above average in strength.
 
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