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I just talked to Clymer and ordered a field gauge for the Enfields in .074. They don't normally make them but they will as a "prototype". As a one off they do it after the production runs and it takes up to 8 weeks. However they said if they get a group of orders say 15 gauges they will do it as a production run alot faster.
So if anyone wants to order one you can contact Clymers at Clymer Tools Welcome - Reamers the cost is $30 plus shipping
Bloke if you know any fitters/machinists give them an empty 303 case get them to turn you up a set they do not have to be the same length as a round as you are only checking the head space not the lede,
I had 3 made up by a friend for @$60.oo/Au which were a same taper as the case with rim thicknesses of .064/.067/.074.
Also another thing I heard it is better to have the mag out and feed the gauge into the extractor as you close the bolt as I have heard to put it into the chamber and then close the bolt may I said may break the claw off the extractor if you 6' Gorilla it but that is just what I have heard guys.
But as P L and others have said there is a lot more to changing a bolt head on a 303 than just finding one that closes snugly on a .064 rather than a .067
Just a thing about CHS gauges. What Cinders says is right. A simple set for irregular use are easy to make and feeding them under the extractor will help. But there is absolutely nopoint in the world of having a .067 and .070 gauge........ Just a ,064 and .074 are all you need. Go on one and no-go on the other. Having a .067 and (as some do.....) a .070 is like needing a tin of red and a tin of white paint but buying a tin of pink! You don't need PINK!
If you are unsure about whether the bolt is closing too far onto the NO-GO gauge using light finger and thumb pressure, then just do the mechanical safety test. If the rifle passes that, then it has passed the gauge test too.
As apprentices we were taught to insert the reject/No-Go gauge and Mr Ayley would put his finger tip between your thumb and the bolt handle. And when you had reached the right load/pressure, he'd say so. That pressure stays in the memory banks and finger tips for life
Peter I have heard there was an emergency size of .76 but only for battle usage, if you get to this stage of firing weapons this bad chances are you were about to be over run by the antagonist.
Is there any truth to this bloke or is it just another Furphy that has surfaced over the years TIA
I'm not sure that measurement ever applied to us. In fact I'm sure that even the EY and Sub Standard rifles had to conform to the standard CHS spec too.
Incidentally, if anyone has a strange, .074" gauge without the rim part, then that was for the Vickers and .303 Browning types as the .074" 'rim' part of the gauge wouldn't slip down the extractor slots
Sorry Peter I should have explained myself better it was purported a WW-I-II expedient in dire emergencies that troops could utilize the weapons with a CHS of .76 to neutralize the threat.
Again TIA and hows the new book coming on the Armourers Perspective II with ancedotes of course and will Ian be involved again....!