Noi MkII* Heavy Barrel Resto.

I have all sorts of questions going about this particular rifle so now the thread about it.
It’s a 1942 Lithgow No1 MkIII* which has in 1955 if I read it correctly, been fitted with a Lithgow heavy barrel and turned into a range rifle. The wood somewhere along the line got sporterised.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../smle_hb-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../05/bore-1.jpg

The aim is to have a good shooter that has been restored as best I can. Maybe I will get a no drill scope mount one day but for the moment I am going to work on getting it all back to the way it got pumped out from the Lithgow factory … well, with the HB as well.
TBone has helped me out with a great set of wood already inletted for a HB . As usual with these things, all is not straightforward as I have found some of the spares I have been collecting are not quite right. The nose cap I have for a HB will not go on. I quick check against the other No1 I have shows why.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...osecones-1.jpg

I will dig up another one but interesting to note that there is a clear difference in the internal shaping. I will also find one not reamed for a HB as I think it looks a bit better with the regular sized hole for the barrel. If it doesn’t shoot then I might try a full free floating / rubber grommet but until then … I will leave it.
I have a reamed rear sight coming from The Gunsmiths in NSW which I will try to put on myself. I have to come up with a way to keep it flat at TDC or else I will just have to pay to have it done. More on that when I get it and have a think about it.

I will clean the wood and oil it up shortly. Once that’s done I will start fitment. There is a wealth of information about bedding HB Enfields so I will have some reading and digesting in front of me.

I've found the rear sight bases a real bugger to drill for the indexing hole at TDC. The last time I did it on my little mill with centring bit, after milling a little flat, that went fine. I've got a couple a little wrong, and just deleted that srcew and ended up only using the cross pin to secure it. Not right but they worked fine. Next time I'll make an adequate drilling jig.
I'm sure you'll sort out a set of parts that work and fit well.
I love these sort of projects. They're not always a cost effective way to acquire a running rifle, but if you just went out and bought one that shot well off the bat, you'd miss out on learning about all the details about fit, and the relationship of parts, which I find very interesting.
Good luck with this build!

after a week of oiling the wood up I decided to do a trial fit today. Rear sight still hasn't arrived but I wanted to see it together. I had to pillage a couple of buttplate screws from no 4 butt and in the process made an important discovery. Don't drop the die cast butt plates. I also had to borrow the nose cap from the other No1 to see how it all looked finished. I realise I have the sight protector on backwards .. I will fix that once the stock comes off again.
Moving on....

before
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../smle_hb-1.jpg

after
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo..._wood_on-1.jpg

Pretty happy myself.

.....looking like something that you can proudly show at the range. Its amazing how a bit of care and attention have transformed your rifle from sad to desirable. Well done.

Paul

Thanks Paul ... there's still a little more to be done before I can take her out but I am pretty happy with how it's going. I will replace the mag with one that's a little cleaner and a few bits and pieces.
I checked and the barrel is free floating all the way. I did take a pic but to cut to the chase .. it's crap and I have put everything away.
I have read everything I can find on bedding these babies and have a few more things to check ( fitting against the drawers ) but it feels okay with no lateral movement. I put in the spring that creates tension between the nose can and the barrel though I am not sure if it's needed for a HB though.
If nothing else I have enjoyed learning and at least understanding what I am checking and what it relates to. The fun is in the journey and that sort of stuff.
Next job is figuring out the rear sight .. when it arrives that is.

Looking really good - keep up the good work!! I enjoy shooting these rifles, but I am not sure I don't enjoy seeing them restored just as much - just a "little" outside my skill set right now though!

Thanks DMan. Believe me, I am not in the same hemisphere let alone the same league and people like TBone and Peter Laidler. Everything I do can be done by anyone as it is just working out what's needed and getting it then fitting it. It's people on ths forum that give me the information I need to know what to get rather than doing the trial and error method. Even this extremely basic type of resto is giving the confidence to think about other tasks rather than just farming them out. I will at least contemplate and try out things that can't be reversed or repurchased. My ultimate aim is to be able to make a no4 sniper repro following Peter's 'how to'.
Funnily enough, I too am enjoying this and the collection part ( even though these are 'bitsas' ) as much as the shooting. Maybe I will sell this when I am done and get another project .. or maybe not :)

I have the rear sight base and another nose cap which brings me to pose a couple of questions:
1. Has anyone got an idea on how to put the rear siht on level? I would guess basing it off the flat bit on the know form.. any ideas appreciated. I am 'in between opportunities' for the moment and can't spend any more money.
2. With a heavy barrel, does the spring for the nose cap need to be there? The barrel is fully floated from about an inch forward of the breech.

The good thing about being unemployed is time to play with toys, the bad.. obviously.. no money to do things to the toys!

I took the plunge and removed the front sight ( note to self: get proper pin punches ) and slid on the rear sight. I used my hammer and wood tool v1.0 to tap it to where it looked like it would be right then used a spirit level to make sure the whole rifle was level and then the rear sight. Anyway, it is on and once I am 100% sure that it is correct I will drill a hole and tap it and put a screw in to hold it ... and probably some soft solder too.
Progress at least. Now to find the bits to complete the rear sight and take it out for a spin. I have checked the bedding and unsurprisingly given the source, it is spot on. Hopefully it will shoot as well as I think it will.

Thanks again to TBone I have the rest of the rear sight on and ready to roll.
When I take it to the range I will work out the positioning of the sight base, get it drilled and put the screw in and take better pics. All things being okay I should be off next monday to give it a run.

Excuse the IPhone picture, you can also see where I get my user name from :)
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...complete-1.jpg

Looking very nice.

I've just had another look at the first picture you posted of this rifle, then looked at the picture above - it's a toss up as to who said it best - Mr Burns ("Excellent, Smithers!") or Fatboy Slim ("You've Come a Long Way Baby"). Seriously, congratulations - this is great work - thanks for sharing it with us!

lol, thanks Dman and TBone. It's 99% of the way there. Once done I will have to think about it's future. I always wanted a HB SMLE but I have to say I have enjoyed putting it back together so much I kind of want to do another one. I might revisit my old man's SMLE and check the bedding out and so on. I have learned so much since doing that one that I will find a whole lot more wrong that needs rectifying I think !

Jeff I will swap you my No4 Mk2 for your purple car.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bearclaw

Jeff I will swap you my No4 Mk2 for your purple car.

---

As tempting as that sounds Myles, I will pass thanks :)