Torque wrench or not?

[mailman22]

I have mounted a share of copes in my time. But not so, with springers. I have no clue if I get the tightness done right or not. 

I was wondering how many of you use a torque wrench. If so, is the wheeler good enough?

Or should I just carry on as usual?

 

[JamesD.]

Use the Wheeler torque wrench since you aren’t sure.
Springer needs a good BKL mount, and proper ft/inch torque applied. Loc tite helps. Degrease everything first, including the sharp dovetail you want the rings or one piece to bite into. 

So many scopes and other items get ruined by folks not using proper tools. Good you asked.

Believe me on the BKL. It won’t creep. 


https://www.bkltech.com/default.asp



https://www.airgundepot.com/bkl-mounts.html

 

[dizzums]

its more in the mount as mentioned .. it needs a 'positive stop' .. loctite around a scope is a 'no' and overtightening screws is a 'no' .. basically tighten the screws evenly with 2 fingers the threads dry with nothing on them, if the screws are popping thats it ... going further deforms the metal which will continue to deform as it settles and jars producing a never-ending poi shift lol .. i see no problem with an inch lb wrench as long as its set correctly and you have a proper bit set for it, i dont think its needed but hey, whatever floats your canoe ...

 

[Michael]

Yes the wheeler torque wrench works great. You'll needs some extra bits too https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000O5XDOG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

Once upon a time I actually broke a set of rings by over-tightening them. A torque wrench is a solid investment to protect your rings & scope form damage.

-Michael

 

[JimD]

Unless you can borrow one to get a feel for how tight is tight enough then I think the screw driver type torque wrench is a good idea for a springer - or a PB. I have one but do not generally use it on my PCPs. They are easier on scopes and I've used the wrench enough to have a decent feel for how much to tighten an aluminum mount. All of my recent purchases have used metric allen head screws. That is the tips I would want to have on hand. It is not a bad idea to torque the screws holding the stock to the action too - so they are consistently the same level of tightness.

 

[ImpactX]

Been putting scopes of airguns and .22lr for over 20 years and never used a torque wrench ever. Just tighten it till it stop and give 1/4 turn. Don't need to crank it down harder enough to damage the Mounts and strip the screws.

 

[napairgunner]

I use this one and have been very happy with it https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/vortex-torque-wrench

 

[Mr.H]

I have the Wheeler unit, I like it. And I write down on a notebook the torque settings for all the rings I have. All rings are not created equal.

 

[delooper]

Ideally you build-up a sense for what kinds of torques different materials can handle. If you haven't had the experience, perhaps try tapping some threads into some plain aluminum plate, then overtorqing a bolt into the thread, to get it to strip.

Once you've stripped a few threads you build up a sense for what threads can handle.

Typically if you are putting a bolt into a steel thread, the bolt (if it is properly designed) will break before the steel thread tears out. 

I don't trust torque wrenches for teensy little bolts. Maybe there are some good ones out there, but they're usually expensive and require calibration.

 

[Guest]

I have hundreds of individual allen & star wrenches I've gotten with this & that over the yrs. I found by using the small end to torque the scope rings with a little locktite (blue) I have had no problems with under tightening or over tightening. I do however torque the bases very tight & lap the rings before doing any scope mounting.

 

[MikeAndrews]

For years I would just crank down the screws (just to be sure) and I have a few scopes with dents in the tube to prove it. Since getting back into airguns I purchased a capri inch pound torque driver with bits and have secured a half dozen scopes with excellent results. 

 

[Teber66]

Fix-it-stick with torque limiters work well too. This is all I use anymore for scopes , mounts and action screws. 

 

[qball]

Torque wrench is at the very least a why not item. Don't need super fancy 400 dollar version, just a sub 100 dollar Amazon one would do. 



IF you are not willing to buy a torque wrench then tighten with your fingers with short end of the Allen wrench so you really can't over tighten. Just make sure the Allen wrench you use isn't the ball end style. 



Here is what I have:

https://www.amazon.com/Wheeler-Accurizing-Measurement-Gunsmithing-Maintenance/dp/B0012AXR4S/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3AEG5QH4128K0&keywords=torque+wrench+scope&qid=1649650355&sprefix=torque+wrench+scope%2Caps%2C138&sr=8-2



and fancier digital version:

https://www.amazon.com/Wheeler-710909-Digital-Firearms-Accurizing/dp/B01B3NW5TG/ref=sr_1_5?crid=3AEG5QH4128K0&keywords=torque+wrench+scope&qid=1649650355&sprefix=torque+wrench+scope%2Caps%2C138&sr=8-5





You will need additional metric and/or torque bits depending on your rings. 

 

[Guest]

Ring alignment is just as (if not more) important than over tightening the ring caps! As far as over tightening, the Allen wrench with blue Loctite method has worked for me for yrs. A rifle scope is as much a precision instrument as your rifle! If you mount it in bases that are not aligned, it can certainly do as much damage as over torquing the ring caps. Unless your gonna mount in rings with alignment inserts, I would first spring for a good lapping kit! That is if ya don't already own one.