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Hi everyone
Is there a list anywhere on these forums for suppliers of reproduction SMLE stocks?
I have searched but my google-fu is weak, o only really came up with the EFD site. Unfortunately 190 pounds does not convert well to AU dollars
Thanks in advance
Are you looking to buy or sell a stock? The WTB/WTS forum is for that search. We do have a member in Alberta that has a pantograph and makes stocks to some end...
Sadly, SMLE stocks just aren't that cheap anymore - I've seen people in Australia buying deactivated SMLEs purely to get the stocks off them.
There was a complete fore woods for a MkIII on that site with acrutments (Bands,Nosecap etc) $586.00/AU plus postage............ can get a reasonable shooter for that.
That was the way here in Canada 25 years ago...let alone now.Quote:
Originally Posted by Colonel Enfield
OP hasn't been here since posing the question...
I bought some repro top woods ages ago from a chap over east but cannot remember who he traded as although I have not seen any more offered not the greatest quality will never use them the repro's are the 2 rear top woods and the front top wood the bottom top wood is a NOS in the white.
We must be getting to the point now where it's economically viable for someone who knows what they're doing to start making repros. You can buy synthetic "sporter" stocks; surely the same principle could be applied to making an authentic-looking set of furniture?
There are people out there making reproduction stocks. However, some buyers think that they should be available at surplus stock prices.
Making a military stock can take the same amount of time or usually, even more time than making a custom stock for a hunting rifle. A chunk of decent black walnut doesn't just fall off trees (er, maybe it does?), or come cheap.
I was just on line looking at exotic wooden stock blanks. Some were over $1000us just for a blank of wood. :move eek:
You gets what you pay for, and often pays for what you get.
Many of the 'semi finished' 95% inletted reproduction stocks still need many hours to fit and finish. If you want something perfect and a drop in fit (no such thing with an Enfield), you will pay the premium.
Stock makers won't find working for $2 an hour viable.
Ok, sorry, rant over. :bitch:
Anyhoo, what would be good is for a commercial stock maker with a multi-spindle three axis computer controlled machine to bang some out. The code for the program would take a bit to produce, but once done, stocks could be produced by the truckload. Sell them world wide.
Just as some people have done the footwork to produce nose caps and other hard to find components on CNC machinery, we need a computer geek to produce a 3d model file of the stocks.
The technology and equipment is out there, just needs somebody to step up and invest time and effort. It could be a winner!
Lee Enfield stocks.
Ross Rifle stocks.
Mauser stocks..............
And sell they would. We have a member producing Ross wood on a limited basis, I'm sure he has other employment. I'd love to be able to get NEW wood for a rebuild at reasonable cost...Quote:
Originally Posted by englishman_ca
A multi spindle CNC machine would be the key to reproducing stock sets. While it is possible to do them on a pantograph the time and labour is considerable.
I stopped doing them years ago due to the time needed to produce one and the inherent possibility of a imperfection in the blank rendering a stock into a piece of firewood.
Flying Pig has taken on the challenge of reproducing Ross stocks but possibly has encountered this. Nothing like spending 10 hours and then having a chunk of wood blow out and have to start over again.
I can't see someone making them for less...... there is a Guy in NZ who does a good job but don't think he mass produces and does more of a one off.Quote:
Originally Posted by BushyFromOz
I did buy a NOS front hand guard for a SMLE by Slazenger off eBay from someone in the States, at a reasonable price, about a year ago. At the time he had several available but all are probably sold now.
Another method I have used to acquire the top hand guards for a U.K. deactivated SMLE for which I needed a complete wood set for was to convert No4 top hand guards. I realise that this may sound far-fetched and it may not be suitable for live rifles but it was do-able for me and, although not perfect, resulted in a reasonable set of hand guards. Basically the "donor parts" which are needed are 2 No4 rear hand guards and one front hand guard. One of the No4 rear hand guards is reshaped into the SMLE rear hand guard and the front and the other rear No4 hand guards are glued together with an overlapped joint. It is then cut and shaped to size and small, thin slithers of wood may need to be glued to the inside of the hand guards. Obviously, I have massively simplified my description of the procedure in order to just give an idea of what's involved in the conversion. The point which I am making is that it is possible to convert the common No4 hand guards into the not so common SMLE hand guards if it's only going to be fitted to a deactivated rifle. As already stated this procedure may not be suitable for live rifles.
Yes, I haven't heard much from him about this subject in a while.Quote:
Originally Posted by mr.e moose
Not an entirely unreasonable view, IMHO. Obviously they're not going to be super-cheap, but when they cost almost as much as a brand-new rifle there's a point where you can understand why people don't want to pay that. I'd be interested to know the feasibility of using synthetic material for a full SMLE stock too - that might be more affordable that working with wood?Quote:
Originally Posted by englishman_ca
Boyds gunstock in the USA already produce sporter stock for the Lee Enfield and also full military stock for the Pattern 1914. I'm guessing adjusting their program for a full length Lee Enfield forend would not be too difficult for them since they already have the rear inletting portion figured out. I tried sending a request on their ''request form'' but if not enough people ask for them it might be futile.Quote:
Originally Posted by englishman_ca
Like you said... a lot of people want them at 1990 prices.... not gonna happen.
New made wood wouldn't be cheap.Quote:
Originally Posted by tatou
Just like they want to buy rifles at immediate post war prices in factory new condition. Yeah right, lithgows in Australia are approaching $1,000 the snipers $6,500 +, XPs $10,000+ get used to the increases.
And did it sell for that price?Quote:
Originally Posted by CINDERS
# 18 That was the final sale price after 27 bids on fleabay + $25 postage so over $600 smackers thank you very much I heard the person that sold it had to be taken to hospital because they could not stop clapping :clap:
Im actually looking into a cnc router with a manually indexed 4th axis. So much open source stuff out there, its not overly expensive. Digitizing a stock is the more difficult problemQuote:
Originally Posted by mr.e moose
---------- Post added at 10:27 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:25 PM ----------
Due to the 100 dollar export limit, you would never get it out of the states unfortunately.Quote:
Originally Posted by tatou
The export limit for Canada was raised to $500 a couple of years ago.Quote:
Originally Posted by BushyFromOz
If they were to make them i would gladly spread them around the world ;)
Their Garand stock & handguards go for $160... i remember their P14 stock were $144.... surely they could make fore ends for under $200.
With the influx of Lee Enfield and cheap ammo in the US, in recent years, i'm sure they would sell and make production viable. IMHO
---------- Post added at 01:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:28 PM ----------
I think one of my buddy was the runner-up to that auction...... no matter what i told him he seemed to think the price was worth it.Quote:
Originally Posted by CINDERS
His money not mine.....
Wouldn't that be somethingQuote:
Originally Posted by tatou
Maybe I should look into the DIY CNC router idea some more. Maybe then I could have my fantasy No1 Mk3.... stocked in red gum with hand checkered grips and a PH5C vernier sight =D
That would be very pretty...and in 50 years a special one of issue to a General Officer at Gallipoli...do the 1907 scales to match.Quote:
Originally Posted by BushyFromOz
Would be hard to explain the 1917 action and the Walther barrel. Surely it could not possibly be mis-identified as some kind of one off" or "experimental" type rifleQuote:
Originally Posted by browningautorifle
As we all have seen, stranger things. The description would defy description...Quote:
Originally Posted by BushyFromOz
The immediate post-war factory price was about AUD$500 in modern currency as I understand it; considering how many million SMLEs were made I don't think it's entirely unreasonable thinking that should be about the going rate an average condition SMLE rifle today. Sure, $1000 for an all-matching, 9/10 bore with beautiful wood is understandable, but seeing rifles which are not in great shape being offered at that price annoys me and also makes it hard for new people to get into Service Rifle shooting.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bindi2
Sure, you can get rifles for less if you ask around, get lucky, or know someone who can sell you a rifle they're prepared to part with at a sensible price, but a lot of new shooters don't have those connections or that luxury, unfortunately.
Some of the new shooters may not have the connections or not know where to look but some of them have deep pockets and buy the story and not the rifle like;
"This was Billy Sings personal sniping 303 he used at Galipolli don't worry about the 1943 date they messed that up at the Lithgow factory!!!!" :madsmile:
Dunno about that, but I have billy sing's "lane" peep sight though....:dancingbanana:Quote:
Originally Posted by CINDERS
Have I told you gents about a brige in Sydney I'm selling cheap? :p
Seriously though, I know there are folks out there with more dollars than sense, but IMHO the cost of old military rifles - particularly SMLEs - has really gotten out of hand here.
LMAO C E bit like selling the Eiffel tower for scrap remember that fiasco that a confidence trickster came up with by secret bids from wealthy business men of the time pre WWI I think, cannot remember whether he pulled it off.:yikes:
They are not making any more and some little jerk tried to sell them all overseas so maybe that has had a price effect upwards. Supply and demand control the price. I can think of some like HTs, XPs any with 30s date that are not going any were but up in price. The others will just tag along so you have two choices buy or sell.Quote:
Originally Posted by Colonel Enfield
I've often said the usual economic laws of supply and demand don't apply to military surplus rifles. They made several million Lee-Enfield rifles and there's still more than enough of them floating around for everyone who wants one to have one, along with a spare. Most gun shops I've been into have several on the racks (one well-known Brisbane gun shop has nearly an entire floor given over to them) and the major Australian used firearms websites have several pages full of them; there's always heaps for sale at gun shows... you get the idea. I'd go so far as to say a bog-standard SMLE Mk III* is about the least rare centrefire rifle in Australia, along with the Winchester Model 94.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bindi2
I totally get the prices on the HTs and XPs being really high - those things were never common anyway, and they're specialist rifles. But a standard-issue SMLE shouldn't cost as much as a brand-new hunting rifle, IMHO - even if they aren't making new Lee-Enfields anymore. They're not making Kodak Brownie cameras anymore either, yet they're readily available and very cheap despite the fact they stopped being made in an era when putting an astronaut on the moon was in that hazy spot between science fiction and actual possibility.
The several million made is out by a large margin. Lithgow made a lot less than a million and a large percentage of them were sold overseas leaving not a lot here. You are lucky if you have that many to choose from in one place in Brisbane. I tour Australia and NZ looking for Lithgows and I don't see very many anywhere in reasonable condition or any condition the supply has dried up. The local dealers here just shake their heads when asked about new stock. If you wanted to collect all the Lithgows by year starting now not buying a collection it wont happen. There would appear to be lot of sporterized rifles about most of which you cant buy ammo for eg all the 22/303s, 243/303 ,25/303, 270/303, 35/303 + the NSW short 303 and 310. Then there is the 22 hornet and the 410.
Parts and furniture have dried up as well.
I just got a No1 MkIII set (buttstock, forestock, two handguards) off of fleabay - NOS - for $272US. That price was totally worth it for me and will be going on a sporterized No1 MkIII which is in very good shape! There is currently a listing for NOS handguards and the gentleman is asking around $220US if I'm remembering correctly.
There are bargains out there but it requires allot of ground work and being in the know I happened on my 1921 Lithgow with matching serialized to the rifle 1921 Lithgow 07 bayonet & 1921 Lithgow double Stitch scabb by chance calling into a gun dealer who operated from home looking for Mk VII ammo and espied it on the wall as part of his collection.
It has in the white fore woods and still has grease in some spots but it has been fired think it got the new woods in 1943 the chap that sold it to the gun dealer had it from the WWII and had not shot it the gun dealer had it for 20 years and had not shot it and I have had it for 5 years and not shot it but I may next year.
It took me 4 years of slowly getting him to sell it to me for both of them $650.oo/AU which I though was reasonable but it was a chance the boonies is where you may uncover a sleeper but then again out there caring for weapons was not high on the farmers mind.
Whilst people are prepared to pay 2.5 K for in the wrap UF's the prices will remain up there, I look at Owen Guns site every now and then there is no shortage of 303's around just good rare ones like 1937's and the 5 1913 sent over to Lithgow!!! Well it costs naught to web shop and pine at what I cannot afford but am happy with my small 6 gun collection of which there are 2 jewels the '21 and my 5MD 1916.
Sorry, I should have clarified: I was referring to SMLEs from all manufacturers, not just Lithgows. Truth be told I'm not particularly attracted to the Lithgow SMLEs - they're obviously well-made rifles but don't appeal to me quite the same way as the English or even Indian rifles for some reason. My point is, getting an SMLE Mk III* in Australia shouldn't cost what it does because they're not rare and not hard to find.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bindi2
From Wikpedia (Manufacturers tables no shown.)
Production and manufacturers
In total over 16 million Lee–Enfields had been produced in several factories on different continents when production in Britain shut down in 1956, at the Royal Ordnance Factory ROF Fazakerley in Liverpool after that factory had been plagued with industrial unrest. The machinery from ROF Fazakerley was sold to Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF) in Rawalpindi where production and repair of the No.4 rifle was continued. Also contributing to the total was the Rifle Factory Ishapore (RFI) at Ishapore in India, which continued to produce the SMLE in both .303 and 7.62×51mm NATO until the 1980s, and is still manufacturing a sporting rifle based on the SMLE Mk III action, chambered for a .315 calibre cartridge the Birmingham Small Arms Company factory at Shirley near Birmingham, and SAF Lithgow in Australia, who finally discontinued production of the SMLE Mk III* with a final 'machinery proving' batch of 1000 rifles in early 1956, using 1953-dated receivers. During the First World War alone, 3.8 million SMLE rifles were produced in the UK by RSAF Enfield, BSA, and LSA.
Is it possible for you blokes Down Under to pick up a rifle in another part of the world and have it shipped down there?
We do see Lithgows up here from time to time, (Canada) and wondered about the possibility of sending the odd one 'home'.
You can but the paperwork and cost makes it prohibitive nowadays
Dick
Making the furniture, especially the fore-end and, in particular, the hand-guards, is not a task for the faint-hearted.
AIA / ACA got a batch made in Viet Nam about a decade ago. These came complete with all of the "fittings" ready attached. They were HAND-Carved from TEAK. As with ANY furniture, they required a bit of hand-fitting by someone who knew what they were doing.
As far as I know, these were not a roaring success, except among competitive Service Rifle types who needed the "look" and appreciated the extra weight of the Teak.
You do not want to be trying to rivet the end cap to a front hand-guard unless you have the right gear and nerves of steel. (Unless you have some stashed away, forget about the "proper" tiny screws; they are a mongrel size and have a bastard thread; stick with the brass rivets that anyone can knock up on a baby Unimat lathe.). Ditto the spring clamp under the rear hand-guard.
Yes, a multi-axis / spindle CNC centre could do the job. I have sought out people in Oz who have such things. The catch is ALWAYS; "How many hundred of these do you want in the next month?
PROPER front hand-guards have a barrel channel that is TAPERED to match the barrel profile and was originally made with a very long, specially shaped cutter. CNC would enable some simplification, (variations) on this internal channel, ditto that in the fore-end. If you demand absolute authenticity where it can't be seen, be prepared to pay serious money for it.
There is a GENUINE "substitute standard" hand-guard that has a PARALLEL channel; VERY crafty set-up. It is cut so that the "TOP" of the radius of the channel runs parallel to the TOP surface of a standard barrel.
And finally, as the Goons astutely noted, "You can't get the wood anymore". Walnut, yes; Coachwood and Queensland Maple? Just how deep are your pockets?
Good lithgows are not rare but getting harder to find. Let's be clear, I said good ones. Most of what you see advertised are average to poor or built up.Quote:
Originally Posted by Colonel Enfield
Please clarify, are the rifles in the Brisbane shop mostly his own collection or for sale?
Certainly a lot of what is advertised in Australia is overpriced because it's mostly rubbish at good gun prices, but I think four digit prices are in line for good quality matching examples, especially the the earlier years. Try find one!
As a guide a friend brought a sniper T from the US some years ago it added another $1,000/US to the bill to get to Western Australia at least that's what he told me when I asked him
They're definitely for sale. They have a website which lists some of what they've got in stock, otherwise you can visit the store and have a look in person.Quote:
Originally Posted by Homer
The problem is most people can't tell/don't care about the difference between about a rare early model Lithgow Mk III and a generic 1942 Lithgow Mk III*. They're both "Old army rifles" - yet the prices on the 1942 Lithgow are heading towards the same ballpark as the early model rifles.Quote:
Certainly a lot of what is advertised in Australia is overpriced because it's mostly rubbish at good gun prices, but I think four digit prices are in line for good quality matching examples, especially the the earlier years. Try find one!
It's certainly possible - in my experience, the problem isn't getting them into Australia (At least in Queensland, the import paperwork is fairly straightforward to obtain) - it's getting them out of whichever country they're currently in. Shipping firearms internationally costs a lot of money and the export paperwork can be troublesome, depending on the country.Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard Hare
In Post 12 I mentioned that I had converted No4 top hand guards into SMLE top hand guards for my U.K. deactivated 1930s SMLE. I believe that Forum Members may be "missing a trick" here because I am not a carpenter or woodworker by trade or probably any more skilled than the average Forum Member. I am a metalworker and precision engineer and so I am very careful to measure correctly, double or trebble check my markings out before, hopefully, cutting once.
The main motivation for converting No4 hand-guards into the SMLE version was because I purchased a U.K. deactivated 1930s SMLE with no woodwork but I didn't feel inclined to pay the prices being asked for either original or "proper reproduction" SMLE hand-guards. The purpose of this little article is simply to show that it is possible to convert the plentiful No4 hand-guards into the not so plentiful SMLE hand-guard and hopefully to show other Forum members what is possible with a few basic woodworking tools and knowledge plus a little confidence.
A slight word of caution here as this conversion was carried out for a U.K. deactivated SMLE which is obviously only a show/display item. I don't know how well the No4 hand guard conversion would perform on a live rifle; this is something anyone trying this conversion would need to research for themselves.
This was the first time that I had tried out this conversion which I admit is not perfect but it is good enough for me. I thought that it would be possible because the No4 rifle was developed from the SMLE and all I have sort of done is to reverse engineer the hand-guards. The "new" rear SMLE is made from a No4 rear hand-guard cut and reshaped to size etc to match that of the SMLE. The "new" front SMLE hand-guard is made from a front and rear No4 hand-guard. You can see from my pictures the overlap/scarf type of joint. I further strengthened this by glueing thin slithers of wood on the inside of the "U". Obviously the combination was then cut to size and then shaped. I turned up a new steel "nose-cone" then sectioned out the bit which was needed for the front of the front hand-guard. This was then VERY carefully riveted to the hand-guard.
The purpose of showing what I have made is not to try to show off but to, hopefully show and to motivate other Forum Members of what is possible with basic tools and skills.
I was lucky enough to find a new old stock fore-end and I used a No4 butt.
This article is not intended to be a study of the U.K. deactivated rifle it's self, only the hand-guards
Nice looking handguard...might pass for correct...Quote:
Originally Posted by Flying10uk
Indeed. Finding a good quality Lithgow overseas seems to be fairly straight forward, but the cost of getting it imported and jumping through the paperwork will push the price up by 2 or 300%Quote:
Originally Posted by Colonel Enfield
Handguard's are not a problem. Find a forearm that it in good condition is a problem. When Springfield Sporters, numrich etc had all those indian and british DP's timber for sale, I was spiting chips as they refused to export even when splitting it up over multiple purchases would get each package under $100Quote:
Originally Posted by Flying10uk
Well done F10, all nicely coloured to match too. Certainly a viable option for a display rifle as No4 woodwork is still very plentiful and relatively cheap, there still seems to be warehouses full of the stuff!Quote:
Originally Posted by Flying10uk
You can, I believe make the subtle alterations to the No4 butt to match the SMLE profile.
That said, as Peter, Mike and our other resident Armourers have said in the past, fitting a No4 butt is also entirely correct too.
Isn't that strange I google earthed Mexico in Australia and got 2 hits in Qld when you get down to it all it shows is empty bushland though it is close to Jericho airport 210klm's south off Faraday Rd from Jericho as the crow flies by my scaled ruler.
May be another pine gap kept off the satellite pictures, bit a secret service stuff out there BushFromOz................?:confused:
May sound strange but I use leather die to die/colour match wood, the spirit based type or the environmentally unfriendly type, if you prefer.
Not unusual, I've heard here about guys using food coloring.Quote:
Originally Posted by Flying10uk
I was going through my photo collection earlier and found this pic I snapped at the Lithgow Small Arms Museum a few years ago - it's a Lithgow SMLE Mk III* with an experimental Bakelite stock.
Attachment 79332
Bakelite turned out not to be great for making rifle stocks with (couldn't handle the pressures generated when the rifle was fired repeatedly), but modern polymer plastics would be more than up to the task - so it's certainly possible and feasible to make a reproduction SMLE stock out of modern plastics that would look and function like the originals, while being considerably cheaper to make and more durable than wood...
Has anyone ever looked into seeing whether or not it's possible to modify a No4 Fore-end into a SMLE Fore-end? It may seem unthinkable to some but I do wonder if it's possible; it would require some extra wood grafting onto the front of the No4 Fore-end plus some other alterations.Quote:
Originally Posted by BushyFromOz
There is a sporter stock available in plastic now. Maybe those people could be asked to make a full length forend for a No1 Mk3. Be interesting to see how the stock handled the harmonics and heat from range use.
An old friend now deceased once told me about a visit to AJ parkers in the 1950's as part of the RAF Rifle Team.Quote:
Originally Posted by Colonel Enfield
Whilst there one of the team saw an SMLE with target sights in SR"b" configuration with unusual figured furniture. It turned out to be Lignum Vitae
and at that time AK Parker's were experimenting with it on the basis that the heavy wood could be useful in target rifles.
The team were allowed to borrow the example for trials but it did not produce the goods in the way of reasonable scores and it was returned to parkers.
I've often wondered if it's still out there somewhere?
Have a look at this site: PPHU Fox - Wooden stocks
Not CNC, but very nice work from what I can see.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Surpmil
They do look good quality, I've been searching for DSM 34 stock for some time, one I have was sporterised........
I surmise that once they are gone, there won't be any more as the proprietor of EFD has just died.Quote:
Originally Posted by BushyFromOz
Sorry to hear it. Geoffrey called me about a month ago & told me that things were not looking good, but I hadn't expected anything so soon. RIP.
Very sorry to hear that about Mr. Organ.
Were the stocks not made by Colin Moon, or was it just his machinery?
That's a terrible shame
Hi, checking to see if anyone is currently making SMLE NO.1 MK3 stocks as they are harder to find than hens teeth.
I fitted a new manufacture Mk.V forend that was purchased from EFD several years ago by a client and vowed to never do another. The quality of the inletting was horrible and the time it took at my full hourly rate would have been mind boggling. Since I didn't want the owner to have a MCI when he got the bill, I just stopped counting the hours after a certain point and wrote the job off as a big time loss. The thing i don't understand is why; with all this modern cnc machining and computer programs, can't the new stuff be even close in quality and ease of fitting as the original replacements made back in the day? I've fitted quite a few Enfield and Lithgow late/post war forneds and they are a treat to work on. Even the bulky South African replacement wood for the No.4 is very well inletted and fits up nicely. Does anyone know if those beech wood sets were made in England for a South African contract or actually manufactured in South Africa? I just finished up another butchered No.4T for a guy in Hawaii and it's perfect. I still have to fit the scope bracket, (from the good Dr. Payne), to collimate it. The scope has been serviced and I'd put it up against any No.4T I've ever had for performance.
hi southern cross militarized in queensland sell new wood sets for smles
Pisco I just checked Southern Cross and with the price conversion it would be well over $650 dollars for that stock set.
hi that’s not good there is a market for these wood sets i would love to be able to set up to make them
That can't be right - the Australian Dollar is worth a lot less than the USD.
The cheapest way to do it here is buy a deactivated SMLE and strip the woodwork off it, but so many people did that the price of deactivated SMLEs went up too.
Check outthis, from Canada. I believe he will ship internationally.
https://www.adpost.com/ca/sports_games/10546/
Thats a good find Harry and a very fair price I would think, all depends what they modelled the fore end on, early SMLE fore ends with the recess for the volley sight are the ones to go by, the later newer ones without, just don't have the same character and are a bit more chunky.......
Regarding previous posts, The deactivated dealers cleaned up years ago regarding timber etc, only until recently I'd of gone along with what Brain says regarding making them now with the modern Modern Machinery available etc, but a walnut blank doesn't come cheap anymore.......
Its why you see more job lots of barrelled actions etc at the auction, just not cost effective to rebuild etc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bigduke6
I had a No1 Mk3* barrelled action and was struggling finding 'bits', I happened to be in my local (very rural) RFD Gun Shop (he sells loads of shotguns and the odd .22rf) to farmers and I saw a Lee Enfield muzzle sticking out from behind a rack of clothing.
Long story short :
It was actually two Lee Enfields - a No1 Mk3 in full wood bored out to 410 shotgun, and a barrelled action No4 Mk1 barrelled Action in 410 shotgun. Picked up the pair for £100 all in.
Sold the No4 barrelled Action to another RFD (who knows about Enfield's) who had been asked by a customer to make him a No5 look-a-like, got £100 so all my money back.
Stripped the No1 Mk3* (410) and used the bits to rebuild my No1 Mk3* (303) so rebuilt it for zero cost.
Took the barrelled action No1 Mk3* (410) back to the original dealer and asked him to scrap it for me (it got it off my licence)
The ad says no international shipping.Quote:
Originally Posted by harry mac
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan de Enfield
The rural Gunshops, you speak of Alan is where the bargains are to be had, they get items in at times which they don't really know what they are or they have....... I've struck lucky in the past
There's also a chap based in UK called Martin Brown doing them in Beech. You'll probably find him on the Facebook page "Lee Enfield SMLE Collectors Society".Quote:
Originally Posted by bigduke6
PM altadiver on here, he helps Bill at Alberta gunstocks with orders. Bill makes Ross, Long Lee, No.1, No.4 stock sets. Never had to pay more than $400.00 CAD for a stock set although I haven't bought one for a few years.
Didn’t realize that the stock I was talking about was in New Zealand and not the UK.
If you go with Alberta Gunstocks get Bill to wipe it down with RLO. The USA doesn't like raw wood coming in even though Bill probably gets his walnut from there.
These are hand guards i have made, i also made the rivets and roves for two of the rear hand guards. the rear hand guards that show the clips were the first two i made, they are on the two SMLEs pictured
the decidedly reddish SMLE in the last pic has upper hand guards made by me as well as an extended sporter fore end. will do it differently for the next refurb. the red colour comes from medium brown leather dye. great for long rifles, not really the right choice for SMLEs. the lower almost normal colour SMLE has my upper hand guards and what i call an oversized fore end from Numerich gun parts.
I apologize for the giant photos
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../gpEfKzB-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../CPwZHB0-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../gnHWlDJ-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...Z51wjpg1-1.jpg
Eggwelder, Impressive work. I think making a complete fore stock by hand is feasible, especially when compared to the prices quoted above.
Thank you Salt Flat. i`ve made well over 100 upper front hand guards but only 10 rear.Quote:
Originally Posted by Salt Flat
i have a fore end under construction, but all work is being done by hand, and i`ve already messed up the draws. good thing for Peter Laidler`s information on repairing that area. its not a simple process, inletting several places at the same time and on multiple angles over a length of 30 inches. i have set mine aside for now, will probably get back to it in the winter. i am thinking about casting a fitting template from aluminum, essentially taking a negative cast of the inletted areas.
i don't recommend hand carving if someone wanted to go into production, CNC, duplicators and the other automated forms is the way to go.