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Thread: Removing Lee Enfield Firing Pins

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    Legacy Member ikesdad's Avatar
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    I made one out of a 1/4" drive 5mm deep well socket and my Dremel tool.

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    A Collector's View - The SMLE Short Magazine Lee Enfield 1903-1989. It is 300 8.5x11 inch pages with 1,000+ photo’s, most in color, and each book is serial-numbered.  Covering the SMLE from 1903 to the end of production in India in 1989 it looks at how each model differs and manufacturer differences from a collecting point of view along with the major accessories that could be attached to the rifle. For the record this is not a moneymaker, I hope just to break even, eventually, at $80/book plus shipping.  In the USA shipping is $5.00 for media mail.  I will accept PayPal, Zelle, MO and good old checks (and cash if you want to stop by for a tour!).  CLICK BANNER to send me a PM for International pricing and shipping. Manufacturer of various vintage rifle scopes for the 1903 such as our M73G4 (reproduction of the Weaver 330C) and Malcolm 8X Gen II (Unertl reproduction). Several of our scopes are used in the CMP Vintage Sniper competition on top of 1903 rifles. Brian Dick ... BDL Ltd. - Specializing in British and Commonwealth weapons Specializing in premium ammunition and reloading components. Your source for the finest in High Power Competition Gear. Here at T-bones Shipwrighting we specialise in vintage service rifle: re-barrelling, bedding, repairs, modifications and accurizing. We also provide importation services for firearms, parts and weapons, for both private or commercial businesses.
     

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    firing pins

    Good morning, this is my first post on this site so be gentle During there long service life these rifles some times would have the firing pins come loose. When the armmor found a loose fireing pin he would peen the end of the pin to tighten it up, that is the reasion that some will come out and some will not. Also the no.1 and the no.4 have identical pins except for the thread pitch. the no. 1 is based on the enfield inch and the no.4 is BSF this can cause problems if a No.1 firing pin is screwed into a no. 4 cocking peice and visa-versa. If the pin is peened TIGHTEN it up and file all the way around the end of the pin to remove the mushroomed metel. If the threads dont match you will have to heat up the cocking peice to get it off. It should not take a lot of heat.
    You will have to excuse the spelling the spell checker isn't working but I think you will get my meaning.

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    Legacy Member Frank46's Avatar
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    I've made the firing pin tool out of a piece of 1/8 NPT pipe. Filed the outside to clear the threads inside the bolt body, then cut the teeth again with the file.Case hardened with kasenit and used JB weld on the other threaded end to screw into a 1/8 NPT "T" fitting. Then two more 3" long NPT nipples in the "T" fitting and your done. The case hardening was done after the first tool had the
    first set of teeth shear off while trying to remove a stubborn enfield firing pin. One good tip. I usually put the cocking piece in between two small oak blocks and then into a vise. The oak protects the cocking piece from the jaws of the vise. And while in the vise you can apply more torque than holding it in your hand. Also prevents forcing the cocking piece up against the slot in the bolt body and possible damage. If it breaks (firing pin tool) just make another. But so far has held up very well. Also, sometimes the recess on the firing pin may have burrs on them. It helps to remove these burrs and prevent damage to the threads on the cocking piece. I have a long branch bolt that the locking screw for the cocking piece will not go all the way into its hole. Reason, large burr where the recess on the firing pin was machined. Need a carbide burr and dremel to remove it to prevent damage to the threads. Frank

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    Yes, I was going to mention the different thread issue, but you beat me to it.

    Don't ask me how I learned about it!

    Quote Originally Posted by tomjw3 View Post
    Good morning, this is my first post on this site so be gentle During there long service life these rifles some times would have the firing pins come loose. When the armmor found a loose fireing pin he would peen the end of the pin to tighten it up, that is the reasion that some will come out and some will not. Also the no.1 and the no.4 have identical pins except for the thread pitch. the no. 1 is based on the enfield inch and the no.4 is BSF this can cause problems if a No.1 firing pin is screwed into a no. 4 cocking peice and visa-versa. If the pin is peened TIGHTEN it up and file all the way around the end of the pin to remove the mushroomed metel. If the threads dont match you will have to heat up the cocking peice to get it off. It should not take a lot of heat.
    You will have to excuse the spelling the spell checker isn't working but I think you will get my meaning.

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    Legacy Member Frank46's Avatar
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    From what I've read here about diasembeling the lee enfield bolt there could just be more that what we are seeing. I recently bought a 1942 long branch and as is my usual routine with a new rifle, I completely disasemble it for a through clean and inspect. About the only thing I could not do was remove the cocking piece from the bolt. In a good strong light it was noticed that when the circular cut was made for the screw head the threads themselves were cut and not too evenly. In fact in my case I had to resort to using one of the dremel tools tiny grinding bits to clean things up. The way the threads were buggered up they would have interferred with trying to screw the cocking piece off the back end of the firing pin. I wnt to the garage and set the bolt between two blocks of wood. Then very carefully ground away any damage probably done by the gent running the machine caused while cutting the relief for the retaining screw. Once I had it apart, I cleaned up the threads with a triangular needle file and just before reinstalling the firing pin I liberally coated the threads with never seize. And scrubbed out the threaded hole in the cocking piece with an old bore brush and then oiled the threads. So for a few minutes work I can now take the firing pin out with no further problems. But having experience in working with steam powered machinery I can say that on some occasions there is nothing like a good application of heat. If that came to pass, I'd whip out my trusty coleman propane tank and torch and apply the heat to the area of the cocking piece where the threads run through it. You really don't want to get it too hot like glowing red, but a good heat so as to expand the metal and have whatever gunk is in ther release its grip on the threads. Then clean both the threaded section of the firing pin and the threaded hole in the cocking piece. I use pipe cleaners soaked with kroil and run a old bore brush to scrub the remaining gunk that still might be in there. Then clean both parts and oil and reassemble in reverse order. Frank

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    The firing pin on the Ishapore 2A I bought was badly eroded from a pierced primer - it looked like an ice pick. I made a removal tool from 1/4" automotive tubing, cutting the prongs with a file. The prongs must line up perfectly so don't hesitate to bend or recut them.

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    As an alternative to torch heating the firing pin, try freeze-thawing the bolt a few times. The concept is the same, but without the risk of destroying of the heat treatment. Once the bolt is back at room temperature, try to remove the pin.
    Spraying the thread area with upside down "dust remover" spray is effective. Wear gloves and goggles. A minimum of exposed skin is the goal -long sleeves etc. Do not aspirate the fumes. Do this in a well ventilated area. Also, don't drop the bolt when it is frozen. depending what you are using to cool the bolt, and the steel, it may be very brittle. There are reports of steel from some of the WWII liberty ships becoming brittle at temperatures close to the freezing point of water.
    If you give the bolt a generous coat of penetrating oil beforehand, some might wick into the threads as it thaws. This will also help protect against condensation.
    If freeze/thawing does not work after a few tries, then try torch heating. The combination of techniques may do what either does not.
    I learned this trick from an auto mechanic friend of mine who uses it to remove seized bolts from gas tanks. for obvious reasons the application of heat to these areas is problematic.

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    As an alternative to torch heating the firing pin, try freeze-thawing the bolt a few times. The concept is the same, but without the risk of destroying of the heat treatment. Once the bolt is back at room temperature, try to remove the pin.
    Spraying the thread area with upside down "dust remover" spray is effective. Wear gloves and goggles. A minimum of exposed skin is the goal -long sleeves etc. Do not aspirate the fumes. Do this in a well ventilated area. Also, don't drop the bolt when it is frozen. depending what you are using to cool the bolt, and the steel, it may be very brittle. There are reports of steel from some of the WWII liberty ships becoming brittle at temperatures close to the freezing point of water.
    If you give the bolt a generous coat of penetrating oil beforehand, some might wick into the threads as it thaws. This will also help protect against condensation.
    If freeze/thawing does not work after a few tries, then try torch heating. The combination of techniques may do what either does not.
    I learned this trick from an auto mechanic friend of mine who uses it to remove seized bolts from gas tanks. for obvious reasons the application of heat to these areas is problematic.

  11. #29
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    This past week I had a No 4 bolt in the shop that need to be disassembled. The firing pin quickly destroyed a quality bolt disassembly tool. Rather than risk damaging any parts and wrecking any more tools I decided to make in effect a miniature barrel clamp for a Lee Enfield firing pin. Below is a drawing of the clamping blocks I machined. I used T6 Aluminum. The two blocks were cut and then clamped together in the drill press. A .020 spacer was placed between the faces of the two blocks. This allows for a squeeze gap when used. A hole was centered on the spacer seem .030 from the end of the blocks. If you exceed .030 from the end you will restrict how much room you have to rotate the cocking piece. Restrict the height of the blocks to no more than .475 or they will not clear the cam lobe on the cocking piece.

    To use, remove lock screw. Pull cocking piece all the way to the rear and rotate so that the cam lobe rests on the back of the bolt body. Clean and dry the shaft and blocks. Place the blocks on the exposed shaft making sure you are clear the cam lobe. Clamp down on the blocks. I used a receiver wrench with the blocks turned over flat. A small vice will work just make sure you do not clamp or damage bolt handle or ball. I used an 8 inch crescent with taped jaws to grasp the cocking piece. I first turned slowly a bit to tighten. Then reverse to remove. Now remove from blocks and try a standard bolt tool. If it is still too tight for a standard bolt tool put it back in the blocks and index so you can unscrew it more. Just keep indexing so if you need you can completely remove with the blocks. Hope this helps someone and saves a firing pin and cocking piece.

  12. #30
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    JBS is spot on for the ultimate firing pin clamp. If it still wants to slip, introduce a touch of abrasive compound on the clamping surfaces. (A messy last resort!) Have also made a conventional tool out of 17-4ph 180-200kpsi material that has lasted near on 20 years!
    Last edited by jmoore; 09-02-2009 at 02:55 AM. Reason: commas are important!

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