Lee metford/Enfield cavalry carbine restoration

[englishman_ca]

I was having a bit of a log jam with my carbine restorations. With RIC carbines and NZ contract jobbies I could get away with using a MLE rifle nose cap or one from a Martini Enfield. Not always an easy thing to find, but still doable. However, trying to find a nosecap for a cavalry carbine turned up a big fat zero. There simply are non out there to be found.

Then a chap in New Zealand stepped up with some nosecaps that he had made by investment casting. Very high quality and the fit is quite good. The nosecaps have a healthy price tag, but it is an expensive process and no other options if I wanted to complete those projects. I have restored a couple now with the cast ones, they turned out quite good.

So as an alternative, I made a contact with another collector who was into restoring a sad sportered cav carbine. He basically needed everything except the action. He has access to a full machine shop, including a master machinist with a CNC controlled milling machine. We made a deal. I made him a wood set and supplied the parts he needed, he supplied me a brace of nosecaps copied from an original that I supplied as a pattern. Win - win.


Left is a CNC machined unit, center is original, right side unit is investment cast.



Now to address the lack of barrel bands. Stay tuned!!

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[browningautorifle]

This will be a very neat little carbine in the end. How are you going to blue it? A rust blue, although time consuming will provide a beautiful deep rich finish that will mirror the original...

[englishman_ca]

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Two that I just restocked. The 1898 one has a spliced front section, the 1899 has new front wood complete.

For the most part, I don't refinish metalwork. Only if I have some major problem that requires machining or draw filing will I rust blue. I have a wooden rusting box (transit chest with steam feed), it is time consuming, yes, but a finish that can't be duplicated with anything out of a bottle.

The nose caps and barrel bands were originally oil blackened I believe. Fairly simple process too, but takes practice to get it just right. Basically the part is heated in an iron box on a camp stove, then dropped into used motor oil, washed and repeated until the desired black is produced. Tough as nail finish.

[browningautorifle]

the part is heated in an iron box on a camp stove, then dropped into used motor oil, washed and repeated until the desired black is produced. Tough as nail finish.

Excellent info, thanks. Lovely looking work.

[englishman_ca]

This is another one that needed some TLC. I replaced the barrel with one taken from a rifle and turned down to carbine dimensions. The wood needed a slice with the joint under the barrel band.

[englishman_ca]

And another one. An 1896 Lee Metford cavalry carbine manufactured in spring/early summer, one of around seven hundred made in this variation. Features are that it is manufactured without the D-Ring provision but does have the sling bar on the butt stock.

[browningautorifle]

Nice looking little carbines. We usually don't even see the sporterized carbines at shows now.

[englishman_ca]

There really were not that many carbines made compare to the rifles.

Most that I found locally have decent bores. That tells me that they were cleaned after use and maintained by their owners even in their sportered state.

A sportered carbine is the nicest little deer gun for dogging that you could wish for. Some sporters I will keep as sporters.


This is my pet. 1899 LEC Mk.I. Rear peep sighted. The comb on the butt and the pistol grip are added with wood taken from the front section of the forearm.

[browningautorifle]

A sportered carbine is the nicest little deer gun for dogging that you could wish for. Some sporters I will keep as sporters.

I would think they would have been gleaned as new from surplus and sold for hunting for exactly the reasons you say. If newish they'd be very attractive and I'd keep mine in good shape too.

[englishman_ca]

This one was worth saving. All matching Mk.I complete with D-ring.