is there any source for new furniture for a no4 mk1 ?
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is there any source for new furniture for a no4 mk1 ?
I Have seen these and they appear to be in good condition. But not new.Quote:
Originally Posted by olskool
https://www.libertytreecollectors.co...&idcategory=63
https://www.libertytreecollectors.co...No4SSbeech.JPG
The rear top hand guard appears to be mk2 without the ribbed sides. It should fit ok if you are not too bothered about it being strictly mk1. Why not have a look on eBay as there's often No4 woodwork available on there.
Be wary of flea bay the prices can get inhibitive there are stock sets in the U K at present you then have to factor getting to your local, try gun shows or Brian Dick may be able to assist put a WTB ad on this site
I'd want a set of walnut for that I think. A WTB here for sure...like Cinders suggested.
Try this one on flea bay 231998522882
Ribbed or plain rear handguards were not differently identified to us Armourers. They were all the same and equally at home on any mark/type of rifle. Non ribbed introduced in 1942 along with flat head (instead or radiussed head) handguard cap rivets by the Committee for the simplification of small-arms design. Just another of the thousands of relaxations allowed. I'm bound to ask what the ribbed handguards were meant to achieve? Unless you had hands like dinner plates, your fingers would be hard pressed to even touch the ribbed surfaces
I read somewhere the ribs were to help grip when fighting with the attached bayonet.
Surprising to me, at a militaria show earlier in the year one of the dealers was charging more for Beech No4 woodwork than for Walnut. When I asked him why, as I would have thought that it would have been the other way round, he replied that Beech is getting more difficult to get hold of for the No4 rifle. Obviously, this is only one dealer's view others may have different opinions.
That would make more sense to me, they're in the right place for that.Quote:
Originally Posted by Vincent
BRP has some "Like New Condition" furniture No.4 Mk.1 Stock, Trigger & Magazine Parts, SMLE
I have bought from them and they are very good people.
As for bayonet fighting and the ribbed handguards........ I would suggest that if that were the case then really, you'd be better off with a ribbed fore-end and even then, with vertical ribs instead of 4 horizontal ribs on the handguard. Just my take on things. We did our bayonet fighting training on the bayonet gallows with old and battered No4 with equally old clapped out No9 bayonets during real 'real soldiering' part of our apprenticeship late in 1965 prior to passing out into the real world.
The point I'm making is the handguards were only one part number, same as the rivets. Whether you got ribbed or plain, rounded head or flat etc was whatever was on the shelf at Ordnance.
As a matter of interest, when it came to parts, the initial issue of a part didn't (?) identify it as a Mk1 part. There was no need. It was only when the part was superseded did the NEW part become the Mk2 part. And the old part became the Mk1 part almost by default.
So for example, the rifle butt (and handguard.....)was the STOCK, Butt. Because there was never a Mk2 butt, the Mk1 suffix never applied. Just a small thing, learned while learning the quartermasters system intimately - for my own benefit in the years to come. And it came in rather handy too I hasten to add!
this is a rifle i paid 100.00 for about 6 mounts ago. i had it about 2 hour, then traded it to a friend along with a couple of other things for a nice 336a marlin in 32 special that i had traded him for that i owned originally. so now i got back the no.4 and the marlin. i traded him some 308 match brass for the no.4 this time. i like to trade, the wood has military repairs to the hand guards and the but stock has a lot of small dents. but the metal is all very good. i loaded some bullets today and shot it, it shoots good. i might dissemble it and steam the wood and see what i have. if it don't look decent i will put new or replacement wood on it.
i just took it apart. looks like it has not been apart for 50 years. it is a pure greasy mess, but it will clean up fine. the walnut stocks will be ok, but i will need the hand guards.
Under the wood is MEANT to be a thick greasy mess. Leave it there. We slosh this grease on as another layer of protection.........
yes sir i will just that. and yes it is a thick greasy mess! i was thinking of cleaning it good and then reapplying new gun grease but that might not help anything. one other thing, was the butt plates left aluminum or were they painted?
Peter, I have several boxes (5s) of new front and rear hand guards, some ribbed and some not, as you say the part No doesn't differentiate between ribbed and un-ribbed. The other thing it doesn't tell you on the outside of the box is what type of wood the guard is made from but it does say "Do Not Open Until Required For Use". Did walnut guards simply get put on beech fore-ends sometimes and vice versa?
They started with a blackening to them and it eventually disappeared.Quote:
Originally Posted by olskool
We would stain wood to suit, to make sure that generally speaking, it left the workshops all the sameish colour - within reason. You got from Ordnance what was first on the shelf. Walnut, beech, birch, ribbed, plain.........
MR. Peter thank you for your knowledge and your willingness to be a great help.
But you had no "Direction" to match wood by color if possible, just a tradesman's pride to make things aesthetically pleasing?Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter Laidler
There was a page on mixing the 'right' stain in the EMER. But in real life, the stain was just mixed in with the linseed oil bath. The wood went in and came out all the same sort of colour. Left to drip dry and that was it. After that it would stand anything that the weather and the crunchies could throw at it
I find that Fiebings leather dye is very good for staining wood and it comes in many different shades. You must, however, be sure to get the spirit/acrylic based type and NOT the water based version which is also available. Eye protection should be worn when the dye is being used and I would also recommend using gloves unless you wish to have an artificial suntan applied to your hands which will last nearly a week.
I use 3m red scotchbrites, followed by grey, to open the wood and prepare for finish. Then Liberon spirit dyes, carefully applied to the desired colour, followed by white spirit thinned raw linseed oil(it really penetrates the wood and brings a really beautiful depth to any figuring). As soon as the catalyst evaporates (about an hour) I switch to neat raw linseed applications for about two days, then remove excess and buff in a semi Matt finish. Looks great and lasts.
try T bone a mod on here he has a set of new unissued furniture for a No4 Mk1 he may be willing to sell OS, he was going to use it on a L42 build for me but I wouldn't let him cut it up it was simply to nice to waste.;)
Springfield Sporters has this. Stock setQuote:
Originally Posted by olskool
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...2004752T-1.jpg
I could certainly be mistaken, but isn't "furniture" the bands etc. that go on the stock, and not the wood itself?
You are thinking of "hardware" in this example, whether speaking of chairs or rifles, the furniture is assembled with hardware.Quote:
Originally Posted by M2phil
furniture (ˈfɜːnɪtʃə)
noun,
4. (Firearms, Gunnery, Ordnance & Artillery) the wooden parts of a rifle
You are correct sir...Quote:
Originally Posted by Sentryduty
The "spirit of the pike" died very hard.