I finally figured out why everyone's over-torquing their scope base screws

After seeing three stripped-out 8-40 threads in a row last week, I realized most people are using the inch-pound spec for the wrong screw material, so grab the manual for your specific base before you crank it down.

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3 Comments

henry1897mo ago

My old Weaver manual lists 15 inch-pounds for steel screws but only 8 for aluminum bases. That difference is huge and easy to miss if you're just looking up a generic chart. Stripping those soft threads is a one-way trip.

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robin_roberts847mo ago

Learned that the hard way mounting a scope on my old 10/22, turned those base screws into mush.

8

brown.gavin7mo ago

Remember when torque wrenches were just for cars? My dad had this old beam-style one in the garage, and I tried to use it on a bike once. The scale started at like 20 foot-pounds, so I basically just guessed on the stem bolts. That thing rattled loose on the first hill, nearly sent me over the bars lol. Good times.

1