LongBranch Enfield Newbie questions

Hello everyone, I am new to the forums and I thought I would post two questions on a 1945 LongBranch No.4 Enfield that I am breaking down.

1) I am trying to identify the stamps on the barrel (picture attached) '78', '80', 'B', 'I'. I assume the '45' is for the year of manufacture. I am using the North Cape Publications Enfield book, but I am not having much luck. Any help on what the stamps mean?

2) I am trying to remove the buttplate, but the screws are pretty frozen in place (picture attached). I am used to breaking free frozen bolts on old British cars with lubs & heat, but I think those approaches would do more damage than harm. Any advice for removing the frozen screws on the buttplate?

Thanks again & very impressive forum.

The "B" is "LB" for the maker Long Branch. "I" is the number "1" for bolt head size. The other numbers are part of the factory inspectors marks. Very nice 1945 dated barrel and appears original to the rifle.
To free the butt plate screwts you need a driver that fits the bolt slot in width and depth. Clean any debris from the screw head slot with a small file or sharp edge. Use a long handled driver so you can get some torque on the screw and you should be able to remove it.

Hope this helps,

Ron

Ron - Thanks for the informed response! My next question is > 'What type of furniture do I have?' How the British refer to the wood on the rifle. Per my research, Walnut was the wood of choice, by 1945 they were substituting Birch or Beechwood at the LongBranch facility. Walnut has a dark color and Birch has a yellow almost blond look. Do I have a combination of woods on my rifle? I am not a wood working kinda of guy... The Buttstock and one of the other pieces look dark like Walnut, while the other two are light like Birch? Sorry to sound like a noob...:wave: I plan on using BLO on the rifle for maintenance. What does the community recommend I cut the BLO with? 50% thinner, etc?
-Devin

Looks like you're on the right track. Walnut was primarily used however Birch and Maple were approved subsitutes. Beech was on Brit rifle and sometimes found its way on LB's when repairs were made at the unit level. I'd at a minimum change the wood to the same species. Should have a finger grooved rear top guard as well.

On your BLO cut with turpentine.

It was perfectly normal to see two toned issue rifles. Over 50 years ago, the one I was issued had birch and walnut. Shot a 5" group at 200y with it. There were many others. If you are rebuilding a rifle, no harm in using all matching wood, but it certainly isn't the way things always were.

Maple was not approved for use. It was trialed, and during the trials maple failed the cold test because it shattered like glass. Not good for a country like Canada.

I plan on keeping the rifle with the current wood. I am just breaking the rifle down, cleaning all the parts & putting it back together. In regards to taking the rifle apart, I just ordered the special tool to disassemble the bolt tonight (dam British). Quick question, does anyone recommend the 1/3 BLO, 1/3 Beeswax, & 1/3 Turpentine mix for the stock? The Enfield is missing the safety group, so I will be looking for replacement parts. Can anyone recommend a vender that the site promotes?
Thanks,
Devin

Brian Dick at BDL Ltd. should be able to help you.

Thanks, sent a PM.

Jona, regarding maple not being approved for use........... Are you sure? I ask because as apprentice Armourers learning all about the good and bad wood, what to expect and how to go about repairing it, we were reminded of the properties of maple and I recall the two points that I remembered should an exam question should ever ask us to discuss two features of XX wood. Maple was great weight/density and oiliness. It is recorded fact that Mk5 Sten guns had maple butts that came in billetted blanks from Canada to Tibbenham in Suffolk. We have Mk5 Stens with maple butts and true to form, patching a maple butt was not an easy task

Maple was an approved alternate . You see some outandaing colour and figure on Long Branches. I've seen the "frozen and cracking" statement on the net a few times however it's just a tale. Doesn't make sense as moisture content was tightly controlled in any wood species (8-9% prior to duplicating) and then saturated in BLO finish....proved to be water repellant for many decades. A forend cracks for structural reasons such as a flaw in the wood, action not bedded or loose. Just my two cents worth. Ron

Information about maple was from Warren Wheatfield. Perhaps he will chime in with details.

I was able to break the Enfield down to small components, clean & lubricate. I have done a bit more research on how to care for the stock and the discussions seem a bit confusing. Some state that BLO makes the stock shiny and is not a valid substitute for the RAW Linseed Oil originally applied to the rifle stocks. The link below has a picture of a stock with BLO on the left and RAW Linseed Oil on the right:

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o...1/IMGP2270.jpg

The push back on BLO > no one went into combat with a shiny rifle. So, should I track down BLO or 'RAW' Linseed oil to apply to my Enfield stock? Some even state that Raw Linseed oil is not toxic, while BLO is very toxic due to the additives...

The top/right stock looks like it could take more oil, the shiny one looks like it has had a finish applied to it, not just oil.
Remember to take some of the comments with a grain of salt, maybe even the entire shaker sometimes, when it comes to finishing/oiling timber, there are enough different idea's out there to make your head spin, some members are so set in their attitudes to even create conflict when questioned or see something that is not within their scope as ideal. I have had a rough time at their hands early in the piece and now do not comment on cleaning or finishing methods, I will just keep doing it my way or if I see a better way, will try that.
Do what you think is best, if it doesn't work, try something else. What the heck, at our age we have little else to do.

The "ENGLAND" stamp is interesting, maybe suggesting your Long Branch left service in England and was surplused directly to the States from there, possibly pre 1968 before the importer's name was required? Cheers, Don

BLO contains a drying agent and can produce a wonderful, glowing "sporter grade" finish if many coats are applied thinly, rubbed into the wood and allowed to dry between coats. If BLO is just slathered on to a stock most of it will will sit on top of the stock, rather than in the wood. It will never dry properly and the end result will be a sticky mess. The military specified raw linseed oil for initial treatment and maintenance of stock finish. This should be applied and allowed to penetrate the wood with any excess wiped off the surface. I can recall getting gallon cans of raw linseed oil to re-condition our FN stocks after a spell in the field.

It seems that any MILSURP forum will include an ongoing whizzing contest over raw, versus boiled linseed oil on military stocks. The US military went to tung oil at a point in Garand production with raw linseed specified for maintenance. I like pure tung oil for stock maintenance on any milsurp. Just wipe it on, let it penetrate for 10 minutes, then wipe off the excess.

The Enfield is done, broken down and put back together. I used a light coat of BLO after cleaning the stock. I even installed the safety assembly (missing prior), thanks to Brian at BDL. Thanks for all the support. :dancingbanana: