Nice, I wonder where the wood came from?
.303 Lee Enfield MkIII* Australian SMLE rifle | Trade Me
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Nice, I wonder where the wood came from?
.303 Lee Enfield MkIII* Australian SMLE rifle | Trade Me
Yep not a bad looker, I did see in the ian skennerton and brian labbuda book on accurising 303s a set of timber from vietnam which was made from asian wood. Teak i would most likely say!
Regards
Fergs
As I understand, the teak foreends and then later complete wood sets were made in SE Asia for the guys that became AIA. They are very noticeably heavier than standard furniture and required a degree of hand fitting and finishing.
Lawrence ordnance used to sell stock sets in teak ready releived for teh Heavy barrels No.1. used to have one but couldn't find a heavy barrel. got rid of it, then found a heavy barrel (courtesy of Roger). Dammit. anyone know ifthey still have em?
The thing with teak is that it doesn't really like compression on the endgrain, using a teak dowel to punch something will quickly split it apart. Has anyone done alot of shooting with these teak stocks? They'd polish up beautifully though.
A friend of mine has one set up and it's fantastic, I agree with the tendency to split idea, but this shoots just fine.... As do the AIA's in teak
Never seen teak on an Enfield before. Thanks for posting!
How does teak weather after it's been dried and worked? Anyone know? Is it anything like Camphor? That looks good but it doesn't half shrink. I just have a funny feeling that if it was a good stock wood, then India would have used it as they're sitting on forests of it. The reason I mentioned the camphor was because that was tried in the 20's according to the OB procs.
You got any ideas about this/these woods TBone?
Teak weathers very well and is quite stable as it is full of natural oils. It was the preferred choice of the Admiralty for the last of the 'wooden walls' of Britain. And after navy turned to iron and steel, teak was still used for the decks as it is a excellent non slip surface when untreated. HMS Victorys venerable oak timbers are being replaced with teak as needed and it is thought the teak comes from a Admiralty store of the timber left over from the days of empire. Teak is still in great demand for the decking and superstructures of yachts though the great forests of Burma and India are long gone.
I assume walnut being the supreme stocking timber is its close tight grain and stability in extreme conditions.
perhaps camphor wood stocks would keep moths away from wool uniforms. :)
The weathering and the stability due to natural oils are all well and good at room temperature, but how does it go when a steel tube through the middle of it starts to heat up? The true test of any stock timber is it's ability to hold zero from the first cold shot, through the warm up and then while hot. Not many can, and there are a number of old tricks used to minimise the poi walking up or down the target with barrel temp. Most are stable once operating temp has been reached, but my fear would be the foreend continuing to dry out for ages after, would shoot different every time out. Any shrinkage will do that.
Are the Vietnamese rifles fully bedded or floating barrels? If floating, it won't matter a great deal. Even on the much heavier No4 profile barrel, having it bedded, the foreend may not move the barrel much during warm upl. It could be different on a No1 with a standard weight barrel.
I had a foreend here when they first started importing them. My father, a woodworker for 50 years, said you could still smell the possum pi$$ on it- his way of saying it was green. His advice was to stick it away out of the sunlight for five years at least, then, if it was dry, see if it still fits!
I deemed the fit to be not good enough to work with to bed a barreled action into at the time- weighed it up with the risk of it not being stable because it wasn't dry, and sent it back.
That teak furniture is made from what appears to be well-seasoned timber. The plant where it is produced also does a lot of teak outdoors furniture (as in the sit-on type furniture) for sale in Europe.
The bigest problem for users is that teak is denser than walnut, thus adding a bit of weight to a completed rifle. For target shooting this is not much of a problem.
I understand that the SMLE stock sets were deliberately made to require final hand fitting. For use with standard weight barrels, the channel needs to be packed at the normal bearing points. This was apparently considered an easier option than supplying two patterns of front wood. Note that the last time I saw them, the stock sets came complete with all the metal buts attached, all you need is the removably bits like nosecap, swivel band etc., including the brass butt plate.
I got the impression that the Oz party would have liked to have done them in walnut, but the economics of labour, material sources and shipping killed that idea.
Making the furniture in the correct timber here in Oz is fraught with problems. I found a source of coachwood and a CNC woodwork shop Then the fun started. this is not a boutique biz. The wood guy talks in tons, the CNC bloke talks in multiples of thousands, and that's before finding a source for all the springs, clips, rivets and caps etc that attach to the wooden bits. I haven't given up yet.
Some body close to Lithgow needs to go to the museum and ask about teak furniture and presentation 303 Lithgows.
I believe someone in NZ is making stocks in walnut. Ive seen on a Long Tom a new made stock as well as on a Mk1 a stock which I did not think was from EFD. (they dont have their Mk1 handguards quite right) My friend who now own both rifles asked the seller where the stocks came from but the seller didnt divulge any useful information. The stocks were expertly done and the only way I could tell them as being new is that they were, well, new.
Anything like this Roy? 1910 NZ NO1 MK1 303 FULL WOODS | Trade Me
I saw that one go through, unfortunately im overseas at the moment and can not indulge as it were. The forend does not seem like a EFD one, it looks alot more 'full' than the one i have and the hand guard seems to have the correct square step which my EFD one doesnt. I'm developing a dangerous facination with the Mk1.
There's an ad on the front page of enfield resource for nz wood, I wonder if there's a connection?
...and I totally love my No1, great lookin rifles
Hey rog, what's wrong with your site, less info now than when it started, waiting for updates.
Regards, Kev.
Hi Kev, there's been some significant tech issues that have finally just been solved, I'm finally able to start getting those awesome inages up soon now.
The teak enfield?
.303 Lee Enfield MkIII* Australian SMLE rifle
Winning bid: $1,358.00
wow, I should order some teak wood sets.
Stuart will start making teak wood sets rather than walnut ones!
Ok, its too good, I've brought the photos over here for us to keep and cherish.
I can't help thinking that the look of the teak keeps reminding me of that cheap plastic wood grain paneling on 70's chevy station wagons in the US, lol, or the furniture in those cabin cruisers from Taiwan back in the 80's,
I think its not that it looks bad, it just that it has such a pronounced grain compared to the close grain we usually see on walnut forends.
I think there needs to be a small investigation into presentation rifles from Lithgow for RMCD
Keep pushing Bindi, someone will get the hint soon.
Hi Roy, Funny you should say this, i have been experimenting with several different types of Asian and pacific walnuts, haven`t thought of teak,must admit it looks nice!! Will have to try some! Stuart.Quote:
Originally Posted by Roy
I was intrigued by the notion that Lithgow made presentation rifles, has anyone seen them or know a little about them, ie did they make a lot or a little, how nicely presented were they? ie basically stock in appearance or well tarted up?Quote:
Originally Posted by Bindi2
We need to know lol
There is one presented every year i was told and there appeared to be a large supply in store. That teak one shown looks very similar.Quote:
Originally Posted by RJW NZ
I have a picture of one somewhere. I think they look terrible.
Damn it Bindii, you gave it away.
Ok, everybody settle down and get the news straight from the horses mouth... or rather a mate who saw the pile of wood at the Lithgow factory set aside for refurbing rifles for presentation pieces
Old mate Heatseeker did a story on the factory late last year. It included an extensive tour of the facility and a yippee shoot with a few old favourites and the latest gear too. I recalled him saying about the presentation rifles, so I just spoke to him and yes, there is a pile of very pale, almost white SMLE furniture there. He looked at them, all looked to be marked SLAZ42 or 43 as far as he could see. It is all coachwood. Every last bit of it.
Coachwood is generally white in colour. It got it's redish hue by being dipped in creosote- I believe before it was dipped in Linseed oil. They no longer use the creosote, so a soak in Linseed oil only turns the wood to a pale honey colour.... which is what has been seen.
the top two are raw, the bottom has had some treatment (creosote?) all three unissued
Attachment 28005
and before anyone gets excited, the stuff at Lithgow cannot be sold, it belongs to the gubmint
Although these are my handywork, the presentation rifles out of Lithgow are the same internally....Quote:
Originally Posted by RJW NZ
Attachment 28006
Attachment 28007
Make you weep! I thought from what they said at the factory, that the officer cadet was presented with a fully functioning presentation grade weapon. Makes sense though... GARBAGE!
Eeeek! I'll have nightmares after that for a week.Quote:
Originally Posted by Son
I am with you on this one T BONEQuote:
Originally Posted by tbonesmith
You are lucky... my nightmares are re-occuring- I have another five to do at the moment.Quote:
Originally Posted by RJW NZ