New Lithgow N0 1 Mk 3

[Slater]

Just bought this SMLE at a local gunshow. A 1945-marked weapon, s/n's match on nose cap, receiver, and bolt handle. Serial number has an "A" suffix. A Jovino parts gun?:

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[SpikeDD]

Hello Slater and welcome to the boards!

You are indeed correct on your assumption of a Jovino parts rifle, but it's a beauty. Lithgow rifles never had a suffix letter and a 45' dated on would certainly not be associated with an "A". The prefix letter would be "E" or "F". For what it's worth, the nose cap is correct for a 45' dated rifle Enjoy it!

[Slater]

Researching this topic, I see that I should inspect for the presence of recoil plates in the forend, and install some if they're not present.

Is coachwood really that prone to splitting? I would imagine that the Aussies had a tough time with keeping their stocks serviceable.

[Brit plumber]

Thats a real nice looker. It looks like it needs a bit of BLO on the wood though.

[Bruce_in_Oz]

All early Lithgow rifles were stocked in Italian walnut, as per the original SMLE specs. Bulk supplies got hard to find in ready-cured form in WW1 hence the substitute timbers. During WW2, Italian walnut was right off the menu. Queensland Maple (not really a "maple" at all) a bit better, but a much rarer timber, was the first substitute timber. Coachwood is VERY straight-grained, slightly less dense and more prone to splitting than walnut, hence the generous use of threaded brass reinforcing rod in Oz furniture, even brand-new unfitted stuff.

Interestingly. with the adoption of the L1A1 in the fifties, coachwood stayed on as the timber of choice. That may have had something to do with how much of the stuff was sitting in Mr. Slazenger's warehouse. The L1A1 butts were repaired with the same threaded brass wire as their SMLE predecessors. The early "solid timber" handguards on the L1A1 were replaced by the more pedestrian, but much more robust laminated pattern in the mid 60's. Competition shooters in the services often tried to keep a set of "vintage" triangular section handguards as they were felt to be more comfortable than the more elliptical laminated type.

Regarding the "ears" on the nosecap, there was an official modification in the system for Field and Base level armourers to ventilate them to a set specification. One reference is: WEAPON D 117-2, Issue 1, Sep 76. That's right, 1976! As I understand it, just after WW2, someone finally worked out, it would be a neat idea if the front sights could be adjusted or even replaced without removing the nosecap. In the above refernce, which is part of the instructions "decade" for the HT sniper variant, the apertures are cut as symmetrical rectangles. However, in paragraph 6 it states that the rectangular aperture may be cut on the right hand side and on the left, a 0.375" diameter hole conforming to the centre of the rectangular aperture.

Factory apertures seem to always be as per the second option, one round and one rectangular. The sight blade goes in and out the same (rectangular) side using the nifty armourer's appliance and is not meant to be pushed all the way through.