Torque down scope mounts and rings

Iron Worker

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Joined
Apr 3, 2004
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2,614
Location
Reno Nevada
I usually mount scope rings and mounts hand tight . Haven't had any problems. Just bought some new ring mounts, directions say mounting to the picatinny rail 65lbs of Torque and the rings 25lbs . What's wrong with hand tight ?
 
Iron, that is inch pounds. Many here use the Wheeler FatWrench which torques in inch pounds. You could use it on action screws also. Much better than guessing or snapping screws off. Good luck
 
When I got a Wheeler I could hardly believe how much more I had to tighten things to get to their suggested torque levels. Torquing something to 60 in/pounds is the absolute maximum amount of torque I can exert with one hand. Being a small man almost seventy years old might have something to do with that.
 
......When I got a Wheeler I could hardly believe how much more I had to tighten things to get to their suggested torque levels. Torquing something to 60 in/pounds is the absolute maximum amount of torque I can exert with one hand. Being a small man almost seventy years old might have something to do with that.......

Reference points are more helpful to me. My hands have varied so much over the years, I'm either stripping something, or not getting it secure enough to stay.

I'm a menace with tools at my best.
 
Just because a certain size thread has a recommended torque is not the whole issue.
You never know how much thread engagement there is between the two threads . So what may torque up one screw nicely may strip another with less engagement .
Always remember , Gun sellers , gunsmiths , gun makers all hope you will damage your product so you have to get it fixed or buy a new one . Just because some spec says for example that 35 inch pounds is max torque does not mean it is wise to go straight to max torque . I always use the least amount that does the job and holds what it is supposed to hold on a gun . You can always add some extra . Stressing a thread right close to it's max tensile strength is just asking for it to pop later .
People who get inch pounds and foot pounds mixed up are a real worry .
I do all scope mounts and rings by hand and only use a torque wrench on alloy stocks and rigid pillar or block bedded jobs. It is fairly easy to crush a wood stock somewhat with too much torque .
 
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